Miami Heat, NBA Free Agency

Miami Heat acquire Jimmy Butler in sign-and-trade with 76ers

Just hours after free agency opened, the Miami Heat acquired Jimmy Butler in a sign-and-trade with the Philadelphia 76ers.

It looked like the Miami Heat were headed for another boring offseason, but after solidifying a meeting with Jimmy Butler tonight in Miami, the Heat agreed to a sign-and-trade with the 76ers in order to bring Butler to Miami.  ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Butler had been moved to Miami for Josh Richardson.

Shortly after it was announced that Butler had been sent to the Heat, Shams Charania of The Athletic, reported that he had agreed to a four-year maximum contract with the Heat worth $142 million.

Dating back all the way to the beginning of last season, it was extremely obvious that both the Miami Heat and Butler wanted to link up. However, after trade talks fell through with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Heat stopped the pursuit for Butler as he ended up being traded to the 76ers.

There is no doubt that the Heat have been looking for a new superstar to join their franchise since the era of the big three. It was only a matter of time before Pat Riley would land his next big star player, and it finally came with the acquisition of Jimmy Butler. With the Heat roster just being good enough to contend for a playoff spot before trading for Butler, the Heat knew they needed to do something to improve their chances in the highly competitive Eastern conference moving forward.

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For now, the Heat have sent guard/forward, Josh Richardson to the Philadelphia 76ers. However, because they do not have the cap space to sign Butler while only losing Richardson, look for there to be more moving pieces from the Heat in order to clear cap space.

Pat Riley has finally landed his next “whale”, and the Heat once again have another superstar on their roster.

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