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The Miami Heat's tumultuous 2024-25 season is almost over, so it is easy to see why any Heat fan or player might be lamenting the departure of Jimmy Butler, including Tyler Herro.
Before Game 3, in which Miami was thoroughly dominated by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Herro admitted that part of him knows that the Heat do need Butler, who the team traded before the deadline.
“Obviously, I know I need Jimmy to win. If we had Jimmy right now, I feel like it’d be a completely different situation,” Herro told The Athletic's Jared Weiss. “We probably wouldn’t even be the eighth seed. So finding that middle balance of like, damn, we need him, but also understanding, sh–, that’s his career and what he wants is ultimately his right to want what he wants. It was just tough to be in the middle of both sides.”
It has been an understandably frustrating season for the Heat roster. After last season's first-round exit at the hands of the Boston Celtics, Butler said that Miami would have eliminated the eventual NBA champions had he been healthy. The comment sparked a nine-month war between Butler and the Heat front office.
Shortly after Butler said that, Heat president Pat Riley said that Butler should keep his “mouth shut” if he didn't play. He also generally stressed the importance of availability going into the 2024-25 season, which also seemed to be directed mostly, albeit not entirely, at Butler.
Combined with the public back-and-forth was Butler's desire for a lucrative, long-term contract extension, which the Heat were reportedly unwilling to give. The negotiations or lack thereof only poured more gasoline on the proverbial fire, and eventually, Butler came out and told the media that he did not believe he could find “joy” in playing basketball for the Heat any longer. For “conduct detrimental to the team,” Butler was suspended, and shortly after his return, suspended again for missing a team flight. He was suspended a third and final time after walking out of practice. The suspension lasted about a week, at which time he was traded to the Golden State Warriors.
Now, Butler's Warriors are up 2-1 in their series vs. the second-seeded Houston Rockets (despite Butler being out injured), while the Heat are on the brink of being eliminated from the playoffs by the Cavaliers.
Miami, which trails 3-0 in the series, hosts Game 4 tonight. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
