Ira Winderman: Organizational reset, Jimmy Butler, and the need to take a deep breath
MIAMI — It has been a month now since the Miami Heat headed unto the unknown after their humbling, season-ending 118-84 loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.
In the moment, it was arguably the lowest of low points for the franchise since being swept out of the first round of the 2021 playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks.
A week later, Pat Riley did not sugarcoat in his season-ending comments, the Heat president essentially challenging his leaders to show up for such moments of truth.
In the immediate wake of both the loss in the Celtics’ building and amid Riley’s comments at the Heat’s arena, there was a sense of an impending organizational reset.
Not tanking, mind you, because the Heat insist they do not tank, and because when two of your next four first-round picks are headed elsewhere, that door already has been slammed shut, anyway.
But of a dramatic shift to the approach of these past five years.
As in the Jimmy Butler years.
In this ensuing month, Butler has been speculated from Philadelphia to Golden State, mostly because of an impending window for a contract extension that opens next month.
As the playoff field thins, such is the way of conjecture, 28 teams no longer concerned about the immediacy of Xs and Os.
In a way, perhaps it is better that Riley vented on May 6, that his words were allowed to resonate before the Heat necessarily had to or have to act.
In some ways, it was as if Riley was issuing a challenge to Butler similar to the one he issued to LeBron James in June 2014, when the Heat had just failed against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals and James was about to enter his free-agency window.
The difference is Riley’s comments that year came just a week before the draft, two weeks before free agency.
So Shabazz Napier was added in the draft in a bid to appease LeBron, the UConn point guard who previously had been mentioned as James’ preferred choice at the position.
A week later, the Heat reached free-agency agreements with Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger, in an attempt to show LeBron that the roster that had struggled against the Spurs could quickly be rebooted.
It all was knee-jerk and counterproductive, with LeBron nonetheless leaving.
In the current scenario with Butler, there has been time for both exhorting and exhaling.
Since Riley’s comments, there has not been a Heat personnel move, even with the NBA reopening the trade window as soon as a team’s season is over.
Yes, there has been plenty of presumption, publicly and otherwise, from all sides about what might happen next.
Ultimately, though, this is not the LeBron James situation. Jimmy Butler is under Heat contract for next season, with a player option for the following season. If Butler is to walk, it would be July 2025, not in a matter of weeks or days.
Which brings it back to “organizational reset,” and where the Heat ultimately should be headed. And that should come down to whether the Heat believe the current mix either is good enough now or can get good enough, particularly with a full season of Terry Rozier, instead of just 31 games.
Whether another team would be willing to offer Butler a maximum extension this summer should be moot in the mind of Riley, Andy Elisburg and the Arisons.
Whether Butler might act out in the void of such an extension also should be moot. (If anything, it could instead put him in contract-year mode.)
The only factor, for a team that has shown it solely lives in the moment, is whether it would be better now by dealing its leading man.
A month ago, as their season careened to a close, the Heat showed they needed more Butler.
Days later, Riley said this current Heat mix has to get more from Butler.
In the wake of Riley’s comments, the debate over more money for Butler became the talking point.
All of that resonated, but what wholly should matter is whether the Heat have an immediate window to become better without Jimmy Butler. Or not.
Which is why these two intervening months before any potential movement matters, with air that needs to be cleared.
IN THE LANE
OR NOT: Amid the speculation regarding Jimmy Butler, former Heat captain and current Heat executive Udonis Haslem said to count him out. “Hell to the no,” Haslem said during an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up regarding a potential Butler trade. “He can’t get out of the 305. You gotta go through me. I’m standing at the county line.” Haslem’s work on ESPN’s morning show drew praise from no less than Magic Johnson, who posted on social media, “ESPN – You definitely have an excellent team of ex-players already with Kendrick Perkins, Jay Williams, Tim Legler, and JJ Reddick…but you should hire Udonis Haslem permanently! He’s been spectacular breaking down the NBA playoffs – from the players’ game and mentality, to the x’s and o’s, as well as the philosophy of the game…Udonis has done it with intelligence, charisma, and flair. And he’s funny too!”
BEEN THERE, SEEN THAT: That Luka Doncic continues to ascend to the NBA’s highest level, including the Dallas Mavericks’ appearance in the NBA Finals, comes as no surprise to former Heat guard and fellow Slovenian Goran Dragic. No sooner had Dragic returned to the Heat after winning EuroBasket with Doncic and Slovenia in September 2017, than Dragic said, “He’s a born winner. No, I’m not kidding. He already has a lot of trophies, and medals. I’m happy for him. Mark my words, he’s going to be one of the best in the whole world.” Doncic then went No. 3 in the 2018 NBA draft, after Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III. Worse, he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks and then traded to the Mavericks for Trae Young and a 2019 first-round pick. Of course, that also was the same draft when 10 players went ahead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
THE NARRATIVE: The Boston Celtics enter the NBA Finals aware of the narrative of perpetually coming up short with the current core, including last year’s Game 7 home loss to the Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. Enough is enough, forward Jaylen Brown said. “We feel like we’re a different team than we were last year and the year before that. I know everybody wants to continue to kind of pigeonhole us to what was happening in the past, but we’ve had a different team every single year, different coaches. We’ve had like three coaches in the last five years. And still people want to make it seem like it’s the same, it’s the same, it’s the same.”
WITH MEANING: Having worn custom sneakers on April 5 to support the autism awareness initiative of Utah Jazz coach Scott Morrison, that custom pair of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra are now up for auction. The Spoelstra-signed Size 12 Air Force 1s are now up for bid through Tuesday at Sotheby’s, to benefit the To the Max Foundation. There is no reserve for the bids, with details at Sotheby’s website.
INSIDE STORY: As has been the case with many sporting venues, the Heat for the first time will offer Kaseya Center arena tours starting this month. The hour-long tours are being offered at $39.99 for adults and $24.99 for children. Per the Heat, “The tour includes stops at VIP locations including Miami Heat locker room and training facilities, arena suites and lounges, media control room, and more.” The tours are being offered on select dates between June 24-Sept. 27. Details are at KaseyaCenter.com/AllAccessTours.
NUMBER
4. Teams that have made it to the NBA Finals in the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. with the Mavericks now joining the Heat, Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavericks’ lone previous two Finals appearances were against the Heat in 2006 (Heat title) and 2011 (Mavericks title). Dallas coach Jason Kidd was a Mavericks guard when Dallas won the franchise’s lone championship.