This season’s trade deadline saw two of the most ridiculous deals happen within 4 days of each other. Luka Doncic got traded to the Lakers on the 2nd of February, and soon after, Jimmy Butler went to the Warriors on the deadline. Former Dallas Maverick Theo Pinson recently spoke on Pat Riley and the Miami Heat trading Butler away, and he didn’t mince his words. Pinson didn’t hide his belief that this move was worse than the Mavs’ decision to trade Doncic.
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The former guard shared why he thinks trading Butler was a massive mistake, despite the notably high tensions between the six-time All-Star and the Heat in recent months. Pinson believes Miami should have found a way to make things work with Butler because of everything he brought to the team and city.
Instead, Miami shipped off their former leader for the first decent package they could cobble together, a trade that Pinson believes was worse than Nico Harrison’s. The 29-year-old didn’t hold back in his criticisms of the Heat, who are now firmly entrenched in mediocrity.
“That is a worse trade than Dallas and the Lakers, by far… Jimmy Butler was Heat culture. Regardless of what the f*** you thought he was doing off the court, that motherf***** brought a toughness. He brought a mentality. He had leadership,” Pinson said on To The Baha.
Pinson stressed how regardless of where Miami finished in the playoff field, Butler found a way to navigate the team through the postseason. The Heat did rise from play-in team to making the NBA Finals just two seasons ago, after all.
“Bro, I swear to God, it did not matter what seed the Miami Heat were—if they got in the playoffs, any team that played them didn’t want to see him and had to buckle the f*** up,” Pinson continued.
Unlike Dallas, who has been ravaged by injury ever since moving on from Doncic, the Heat aren’t missing any key players. Pinson pointed out how the Mavs are flailing due to injury while Miami is simply just missing Butler’s on-court leadership.
The Miami Heat have struggled immensely without Jimmy Butler
The Miami Heat have looked completely helpless in Butler’s absence, limping to a 4-15 record since the trade became official. The team is currently on an eight-game losing streak with no end in sight. After once being viewed as a playoff lock, the Heat are now in danger of following out the Play-In Tournament altogether.
Both Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo have failed to rejuvenate a Heat team that has looked completely lost for over a month. As the franchise’s two stars, Herro and Bam must find a way to turn Miami’s season around without Butler or the team could be heading for a rebuilding phase.
By the end of Butler’s tenure in Miami, it didn’t feel like the team had any other option but to trade him. But if the Heat could have seen how the future would play out without him, they may have been a bit more open to giving the 35-year-old what he wanted.
