When Jimmy Butler joined the Heat in 2019, the franchise was in the no-man’s-land. The dreaded middle. Lost in the woods.
However you want to put it, Miami had very little direction before Butler joined the team. From 2015-19, the seasons alternated in and out of the playoffs. Dwyane Wade left and returned. The big contracts were handed out to Hassan Whiteside, Dion Nadels, and others. The team never threatened in the playoffs and it didn’t hit the bottom either.
Butler had narrowly landed in the Heat’s lap four summers ago, thanks in part to mismanagement by Philadelphia and his own relationship with Wade. Since then, Miami has been one of the most successful teams in the league. During Butler’s tenure, the Heat led the NBA in both playoff and Finals victories. While not quite at the top of the superstars’ stratosphere, Butler has dealt with some greats over the past few years, including LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid.
All of which is to say that Butler has offered everything the Heat could have asked for and exceeded even the wildest expectations since becoming the man for Miami. Now, after losing their second Finals in the past four years, the Heat are entering an off-season perhaps as pivotal as the one that got them Butler. Will they be able to find the missing piece Butler?
Butler, of course, didn’t do it alone. In concert with Bam Adebayo, Miami has one of the strongest duos in the league. While Jimmy and Pam may not quite be on the level of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, they have achieved as many if not more consistent successes than tandems like LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Embiid, James Harden, Jason Tatum, and Jaylen Brown. Butler and Adebayo have proven that they have to be taken seriously heading into the playoffs, and with these two players, the Heat have the pedestals of a potential champion.
In a normal summer, the Heat would go out and find the right third piece to complement their best players. Damian Lillard has already floated Miami as a potential destination if he were to order out of Portland. Miami reportedly made Brooklyn an offer for Kyrie Irving at Deadline. There’s a new administration in Washington, so there’s a chance that Bradley Bell will become available.
Getting this type of player is always easier said than done, but at least Heat will be in the mix. When Wade was a Miami star, Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron’s Pat Riley landed him, realizing the need to get involved.
Butler deserves the same, especially after putting the eighth seed on his back all the way to the championship round, even as his ankle looked a lot more appealing as the playoffs went on. The problem is the inflated new payroll in both the CBA and Miami.
The Heat has committed more than $170 million to just nine players for next season. If they populate the roster with their first-round pick and minimum number of players, that really puts the gross salary above the second-round yard, which would not only cost owner Mickey Arison a huge amount of money, but would also restrict moves the Heat could make to the roster margins. And that count doesn’t even include Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, the important starting blocks in every postseason game they’ve played. Even if Miami returns them to team-friendly deals (say, underpaying them), their luxury tax bill will skyrocket.
This puts the front office in a dilemma. Does Riley believe in this team as a competitor? Because The Heat have been willing to pay the tax before when this has been the case. Miami could theoretically bring back Strauss and Vincent And Wheel and deal about butler and bam, tax be damned. Or the Heat could try to duck under the second apron and make more subtle moves, but that could mean moving a piece like Tyler Hero or Kyle Lowry in a deal that at best borders on a salary dump.
This summer will reveal the heat. It would be difficult (though not impossible) for the front desk to do half the measure. Miami will spend what it takes to prop it up around Butler and Pam, or it will try to tread water with a series of salary-driven moves. Given where this team was before Butler turned 34 in September wanted his way to Miami, it might be time for the front office to put their money where their star is.