17-Year NBA Veteran Compares Jimmy Butler Trade to Unexpected Clippers Player

Lou Williams relates Jimmy Butler's situation to his former LA Clippers teammate.

Dec 8, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) smiles at the bench against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images / Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

After making the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the past five seasons with two NBA Finals losses, the Miami Heat seem to be falling apart.

Heat star Jimmy Butler has reportedly requested a trade out of Miami, sending the NBA landscape in a spiral, and is certainly stirring up the South Beach organization.

Butler, 35, has elevated his career in Miami but the clock is ticking ahead of February's trade deadline. As Butler's situation heats up, many media outlets discuss what could happen, but former LA Clippers star Lou Williams compares Butler's situation in Miami to Blake Griffin's situation in LA.

"I was in a scenario like that with the Clippers with Blake Griffin," Williams said. "He had been there so long before I got there that his relationship with the front office and the coaching staff had deteriorated, and even though we were playing good basketball there was still a lot of tension in the air. It just became uncomfortable to a point where they had to do something about it and eventually, Blake got traded while we were in the middle of a winning streak... Tyler Herro being in this scenario, I'm pretty sure he wants Jimmy to be happy. At the end of the day, the players always side with the players."

At the end of the day, no matter what’s going on in the front office, players are always going to side with there teammates 🤝🏾@TeamLou23 recalls going through a situation with Blake Griffin while with the Clippers, that resembles the current one going on in Miami!… pic.twitter.com/xABELskZwv

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 3, 2025

The Clippers traded Griffin to the Detroit Pistons during the 2017-18 season, making him the last member of "Lob City" to leave LA, marking the end of an era for the franchise. If the Heat trade Butler, as expected, it will certainly be the end of a Miami era that took them to two NBA Finals.

Related Articles

Ex-NBA Star Calls Out Drake for DeMar DeRozan Comments

Patrick Beverley Makes Statement on Possible NBA Comeback

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Makes Honest Statement on Clippers-Thunder Trade