The Heat are his team to lead. Not Jimmy Butler's. And most definitely not Tyler Herro's.
Bam is the man in Miami, and it's time to act like it.
In a nutshell, it's time to move on from an era known for grit and miracles into one more based on reality. Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra can no longer bring a knife to a gunfight in the NBA playoffs as they have the past four seasons. It's time to reload and prepare for a long-term war, not a seasonal battle.
It's time to trade Jimmy Butler — not because he isn't valuable to the Miami Heat, but because he's likely very, very valuable to someone else in a much more desperate win-now mindset than Miami. This is hard to consider given Butler's contributions to the team over the years, but what must be done eventually should be done immediately, especially with Butler approaching free agency in the 2025 offseason, at which point he'll be 35 years old.
In the words of the great philosopher Kamala Harris, the Miami Heat must imagine a future of "what can be unburdened by what has been."
Move on now, so that tomorrow arrives sooner rather than later.
Bam Era Is Now
Over the weekend, Bam signed his max deal, reportedly valued at $166 million. The deal will keep him under Heat control through the 2028-29 season, his eighth in the NBA. The longer move means Miami's 14th overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft is one step closer to being a Heat lifer and certainly the focus of the franchise's long-term plans.Miami is Bam's house. Anyone else is just passing through. Yes — at this point, that would include Jimmy Butler, whose lease runs out at the end of this season.
With Bam now locked up into his 30s and surrounded by a hodgepodge of teammates ranging from promising draftees to Just For Men cover models, it's time to shift the franchise's blueprint from the Butler-savior teams the Heat have heavily relied on in the past four seasons to building an unstoppable, deep squad around the homegrown gold medalist most believe has the talent to be a top-5 player in the NBA when put in a spot to succeed.
To be fair, Butler's numbers are still strong. He averaged more than 20 points per game and shot nearly 50 percent from the field last season. He's been an ace ever since he arrived in Miami in 2019.
But unless the Phoenix Suns somehow ship Kevin Durant to Miami for Tyler Herro and a case of Cafe Bustelo, the Heat look to be cooked in Butler's final year with the team. No amount of try-hard and Coach Spoelstra's pep talks can overcome just how deep the gap is between Miami and the current favorites.
Even in a perfect world where the entire Heat roster remains healthy and all the young players contribute, it's tough to see the Heat lining up a championship performance even if they can add a star via trade.
The choice is clear, depressing as it may be for Heat fans: Either gamble on a Jimmy Butler on the wrong side of 35 or load up on assets and young players that give Bam the best chance at competing for a championship in years to come.
Unlucky #13: Cautionary Tale
The time is now to trade win-now parts for total-rebuild parts, or else the Heat risk pissing away Bam's career much like the Miami Dolphins did with another famous #13, Dan Marino. If the Heat sit in the middle, much like the Dolphins did for years during Marino's tenure, Bam's career will be better known for many close calls and what could have been rather than champagne-soaked trophies and Finals MVPs.The Heat made it to the NBA Finals twice in the last four seasons against all odds. But those odds have worsened by the day, and it's hard to believe it will happen again.
The Heat are both salary-cap and talent-poor. That's a lousy combination heading toward an offseason in which Butler is a free agent with a history of injuries.
Swallow the pill and trade Butler. Move on. Not just to rebuild but to reload. Quickly around the second-greatest draft pick in franchise history.
Embrace the Bam Era. Before it's too late.
