Ball Around

Paul Pierce Slams Heat For Treatment of Star Jimmy Butler

Matt Levine

Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

One of the main storylines going around the NBA right now is what the Miami Heat are going to do with star Jimmy Butler. Butler has now asked the Heat for a trade out of Miami and it seems that the organization will end up moving him.

Miami made the decision to suspend Butler for seven games while they figure everything out. It remains to be seen if Butler will be moved but teams normally don't make decisions like this unless they are serious.

Everyone in the NBA circle has weighed in on this situation including former NBA star forward Paul Pierce. Many people have looked at Butler as being in the wrong but Piece went the other direction.

The former NBA champion slammed the Heat organization for how they've treated not only Butler but all their previous star players over the years.

"You ran Shaq out of town, you ran LeBron out of town, you ran D.Wade out of town... Now you're running Jimmy Butler out of town."

Miami is one of the better-run organizations in the NBA but they do tend to have a habit of doing things on their own terms. Unlike some other franchises, Miami doesn't normally allow star players to dictate things and it has seen them lose some talent over the years.

Butler is just the latest in a long line of this as Pierce points out. But the Heat will need to be careful in how they approach this Butler situation.

Other stars are watching to see how Miami handles this and if it's handled poorly, players may think twice about coming to the Heat in the future. Much of this game with star players is about perception so the Heat will need to handle this in the right way.

Miami may not get a good deal back for Butler as the six-time All-Star can become a free agent at the end of the year. Butler has a player option and even if he were to opt into it, it's only for one season.

The main source of the frustrations between Butler and Miami has been about his contract status. So whichever team lands him in a potential deal will then take on that burden.

We should know soon if Butler will be traded but at this point, it's just a waiting game.

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Matt Levine
MATT LEVINE

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