Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler’s relationship with the Heat organization might’ve reached a new low recently.
Butler reportedly left a team shootaround after he was told that he would not be in the starting lineup beginning Monday when Miami played the Orlando Magic. The Heat then decided to suspend him indefinitely, marking the third time in the month of January alone that Miami has handed Butler a suspension.
But Heat legend Tim Hardaway still seems to think that it could work between Butler and the Heat. He explained that players like Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo need to go to Butler and convince him that the team can compete this season if he buys in.
“I still think it could work, man,” Hardaway said of Butler in Miami. “I still think it could work if your team, the team — I think Herro, Bam and those guys have to come to Jimmy and be like, ‘Yo, Jimmy, man, we need you, man. Just come out here and just play and let the chips fall where they gon’ fall.’”
Hardaway added that the Heat would have a “chance” if Butler were to return to the team and play to his potential.
On top of the fact that Herro and Adebayo have been important players for Miami in the 2024-25 campaign, they’ve also been teammates with Butler for a long time. Butler has played with the two ever since he joined the Heat in 2019.
History suggests that Hardaway is right in the sense that the Heat could contend for a championship if Butler sticks around in Miami past the trade deadline and buys in. Miami has frequently advanced deep into the playoffs since the dawn of the decade with Butler in the fold.
Since the calendar flipped to 2020, Miami has reached three Eastern Conference Finals and a pair of NBA Finals. The only team in the league with as many appearances in the NBA Finals during that span is the Boston Celtics.
The closest Miami came to winning a title during the stretch in question came in 2020, when the Heat lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in the championship series.
The Heat are ultimately still seeking their first title since the year 2013. LeBron James was leading the way for Miami back then, and the Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs to claim that year’s championship.
