It is the JR Sport Reshow here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. There's so much talk about people going and coming and leaving and signing and being traded and moving in the NFL. But there's a big story in the NBA right now as well about a superstar player who apparently wants to move on or is not moving on or wants to be traded or doesn't want.
There's so much to discuss. To talk about the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler joining us right now is someone who covers the heat for the athletic. His name is James Jackson. James, how are you, man? I'm doing great, man. I'm grateful, man. How are you doing, JR? I appreciate your time, man.
Oh, thank you for taking the time to hop on. I guess the biggest question. What's the latest with Jimmy Butler? There's meetings with the owner and Pat Riley.
What's the latest? The best way to put it is signs are pointing to him returning to the team, as my colleague Sam Amick was pointing out earlier this week, actually. And to your point about just the comings and goings and just the fluidity of everything, Jimmy returning to the team doesn't necessarily have to mean that he's going to return to the lineup tomorrow, because remember last month when he had about a two-week layoff before his two-game return, he was returning to conditioning to get himself into shape. And so, as I alluded to with Sam's report earlier this week, Jimmy's biggest thing was making sure that he just wasn't going to lose coins further, because he was already fined about two and a half million dollars from the seven-game suspension. And so, at this point, he isn't on the injury report and he is looking to get back into the lineup with the team, but at the same time, you want to quell all the stress and stuff that everyone's been obviously noticing. You're talking about the trade demand that he was reported to have, the team fielding offers for him, of course, but the market hasn't buried out like the way that either Jimmy would have liked or for Miami to have liked. We either solved this by now, but at this point, Jimmy's making sure that he's keeping his money in his pocket, but also making sure that he can play good with the team, you know, in good faith, and being sure that they can move this on as peacefully as possible. We know the trade deadline is going to be February 6th.
I mean, I guess there's a possibility. Do you believe you'll still be on the team past that? I could see it honestly, just because it says more about Miami's history with stars and discontent, of course, you know, like Dwayne Wade, he left town here, went to the Bulls, went to the Cavs, had a cup of coffee elsewhere before he came back, and then he just got a statue last year. LeBron led the team to a few finals runs and such like that, wasn't happy, went back to Cleveland. And so, it wouldn't surprise me if Miami's going to do what's going to be best for it. And if no trade has obviously come about just yet, the Heat aren't going to rush into something before it's ready, especially given the fact that Jimmy is effectively going to be a rental if he does go to another team, you know what I mean? James Jackson is here with us, covers the Heat for the Athletic.
We have heard from Ty Lee Hero and Eric Spulster, they've made points about, hey, we got to pay attention to the guys who are actually here. And Kevin Love puts up a, I don't want to call it a vague post, but he's just like, he's not leaving and he's, he's coming back and all of this. What does this mean for the actual chemistry of the team? Honestly, Coach Eric Spulster does a great job of making sure the focus trickles down of just focusing on game to game. And so, the team just came back from a six game West Coast road trip and it split those. And including the 36 point loss that it had the day after suspending Jimmy, it's three and four since he has last played for the team. But at the same time, over that six game road trip, the team had a top three defense, so it was still playing to its identity. It was moving the ball well, too, honestly, too. It was given opportunities for players like Hamid Hakez Jr. to step up. He led them in assists while they were away. You had Nikolai Jovic, who sees Jimmy as a big brother, honestly. He was stepping up into his role as such as well. Kalil Ware, who a lot of Heat fans have wanted to get minutes as much as possible.
He led the team in blocks and field goal percentage on the road. And so, obviously, the Jimmy stuff has made for external chatter and interesting clickbait and everything for everyone else. But the Heat game to game, even if they're struggling to close out games or maintain leads or really find their footing, they've been making sure that they keep their focus on the game plan. Just because two things can happen from this.
You alluded to it. They could even trade Jimmy and they're already getting a little bit of a head start on having life without him. Or Jimmy comes in and bolts as a team that's growing into his debt. So, in either case, the Heat are just making sure they keep their focus on the court because Bam said it a few weeks ago, honestly, like, this is between Jimmy and the front office. Like, Bam isn't the general manager. Telly Hero is not the general manager.
And say all of this stuff pans out just fine. You know, it could be awkward, but Jimmy comes back and maybe they make another playoff run. Who knows?
Wow. Well, Pat Riley has certainly, you know, spoken publicly about this and Leboutin and what have you, making jokes about, hey, you know, maybe I am washed up. I think that's far be it from the case. This is a team that went to the finals a couple of years ago. How do fans in Miami feel about this situation? And Pat Riley, people aren't thinking that he's he's kind of fallen off a little bit and he's he runs it with too tight of a fist. Thoughts aren't changing about Pat, are they?
No, you can't not nine championships. He's been part of what, 34 percent of the league's NBA finals appearances and such. I guess the proverbial notion of it could be this is how the sausage is kind of made. You know what I mean? Like, it's not fun to see them be seeing the team beef with the star players, but he runs with a different beat in comparison, like other teams, honestly. So in this instance, you know, this has been going on since like last year when Jimmy was saying, hey, if I was playing in the playoffs, we would have advanced Pat saying, hey, man, like, we don't want to really hear that. That happens, you know, but Pat's from a different cloth.
You know what I mean? Like, he comes from a different class of things where he wants things to be proven on the court. But when you're talking about the money and stuff being involved, like it's understandable for Jimmy to be wanting to put his long term future with some sense of clarity. And so this is just business happening, in my opinion, where you have a situation where, like, as we allude to Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, even Alonzo Mourning, people love Alonzo Mourning down here. And he had to leave, too, after a contract disagreement. And so a lot of people, to be honest with you, the temperature that I take from everything is not fun, of course. It's like seeing two parents, like, fight with one another, but it's business, too.
And it be like that sometimes. James Jackson here with us from the Athletics. So the public perception of Jimmy Butler, although nationally, people are like, this guy is a royal pain in the ass. You think about his stops in other cities, whether it be Minnesota, Philadelphia, what have you. The perception hasn't changed about Butler in Miami? People, I mean, people are frustrated with the situation, but that's more so to what you allude to. The team has been making finals runs since they got him about five, six years ago.
And that says more about wanting to get back to the status quo than anything else. If Jimmy gets back into the lineup tomorrow and he's dropping 30 points and getting 10, 12 rebounds and dishing assists, and he's shooting a career high of 55% this season, honestly, he's also shooting about 56% in clutch time situations, too. And he has, like, what, a big six losses by three points or less. You put him back in the lineup tomorrow, man, people will move on from this just because winning cures everything, everything. And so if people are frustrated with any of it, it says really a lot more about just wanting to get back to what feels good, you know, but in terms of, like, how Jimmy's perception has come off, he's going to his big face coffee shop.
He's like, yeah, he has good vibes and everything like that. But at the end of the day, people have to respect that business has got to be done. Chris What is the most likeliest of outcomes? I mean, we're sitting here, let's say it's April, May and June, the week even pushing into the summer. What do you think is going to happen over the next several months with this team and in this situation? Jimmy Well, we recently reiterated reportedly that he doesn't have any intentions on being on the team next season. But all that really boils down to whether or not the high end priority is more money or the regression in his role that he was frustrated by a few weeks ago. And at this point, if he does decide to exercise his $52.4 million player option for next season, that would honestly accommodate a trade if you wanted to go somewhere else. But that's going to be easier in the off season when teams have cap space, and there's more flexibility. There has been reports, of course, as Sanamic reiterated earlier this week that Phoenix is the apple of Jimmy's eye, but Bradley deals no trade clause holds up a whole lot of things. And if he does, and if Brad and rather, Jimmy Butler does end up opting out of his deal, he'd be eligible with Miami for about a four year $243 million contract, or he can opt out and get three years up to 171 million elsewhere.
But a lot of that at this point boils down to both parties playing nice. Because in Jimmy's case, you have to show that you can consistently dominate games so that way teams aren't going to feel like they're mortgaging their future for rental. And then on Miami's case, you want to be able to say that, yeah, we want to make sure that he's in the lineup showing in good faith that you want to make sure that you can market it to market him rather to a team that is going to be able to give up something that's going to make it worth your future as well.
Bam out of bios, 27 years old, Tyler here was 24 years old, and the latter is going to be up for a contract extension sometime later this year, because that's coming up on two years since his last contract. And so Miami does have to focus on his future. But in order for Jimmy to aptly get what he wants to like you, he's going to have to show that he consistently dominate games. But he's shown that he can still play, obviously, no one's going to question whether or not Jimmy can play. But in order for any of this to work, in order for you to have that one team that can come through and really have a deal that's going to finally make Miami want to pull the trigger, you've got to show that it's going to be worth pulling it off.
And you're not going to do that by just sitting them. The biggest thing that you know, in terms of Jimmy's availability is the player participation policy, like there are going to be chances in terms of the future of extenuating circumstances, where the league could look the other way in terms of a star player sitting out extensively. But in Jimmy's case, the players union did come to his defense of the seven game suspension, and he wanted to fight it on his behalf. And so unless things like really, really get really get bad, I would more so anticipate him being able to come back to the team in good faith.
And by the time until it is that either he finds the trade by the by the deadline, or and they write it up for the rest of the season and try to make one more playoff run and then Jimmy get the flexibility that he desired by opting out and seeking a contract elsewhere. And James, this is like two parents sticking together for the sake of the kids, what we know what's gonna happen at the end. This is what it feels like, James. Yeah, it can kind of feel that way a little bit understandably, especially in a situation like you allude to it, Pat, like, Pat can come off like, you know, he is stuck in like a different generation necessarily. But that's the man that's had an enduring approach to winning for years and decades.
And when you're talking about Jimmy Butler, he's also overachieved with this team and lifted it to heights that it hadn't seen since LeBron left. And so this is rightfully, you know, a battle between two egos. But at the same time, they're both established people in terms of their in terms of their success. And at this point is going to be a matter of making sure that this can be as amicable as possible. You're not going to do that by, you know, throwing dirt up against the wall and hoping that it sticks. But in the case of a lot, it seems as though Jimmy's gonna find his right his way back to the team, as I alluded to, keeping his coins and everything like that.
But you're not going to be able to inflame things and get the and get the desired outcome. I hear that. James, thank you so much for the time. Where can people follow you and all of your work with the athletic? Oh, I appreciate you, man. Well, you can find me on you can find me at on X, is it that they call nowadays?
I ain't calling the Twitter no more, I guess. JJ double underscore NBA X or James underscore Lamar J at Instagram. And if you want to find me at the athletic, you can find me in my work. We do heat today, just about every day covering the heat and anything that's going on with it. Today, we actually wrote about the youth movement that Miami actually has going on when it, you know, just came back from a six game road trip. And so if anyone wants to support can definitely find me there. And James, thank you so much. We'll catch you on down the line. Certainly a tons of storylines down in Miami.
Whisper: medium.en / 2025-01-16 22:09:15 / 2025-01-16 22:15:22 / 6