Section 215
Fansided

Fear of Jimmy Butler potentially preferring Heat over 76ers beginning to sink in

By Dan Parzych

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 02: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts against the Toronto Raptors in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center on May 2, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Raptors 116-95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 02: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts against the Toronto Raptors in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center on May 2, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Raptors 116-95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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Could Jimmy Butler be on his way to the Miami Heat in free agency instead of returning to the Philadelphia 76ers?

Until a new contract is officially signed with the Philadelphia 76ers or another team, it’s going to be difficult for basketball fans to avoid the topic of which team Jimmy Butler will end up with.

Despite the Sixers being in the perfect position to offer Butler a max deal, there has been speculation over the possibility of the star forward ending up on another team such as the Miami Heat or the Houston Rockets through a sign-and-trade.

As frustrating as this may seem for Philadelphia since Butler has arguably been their top priority all offseason, the team may have to give in by agreeing to a sign-and-trade since getting certain players in return would be better than nothing.

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Then again, the argument can also be made that the Sixers could be in the driver’s seat with this situation since both the Heat and Rockets would need to clear salary cap space in order to offer Butler the money he desires, so it will interesting to see how this all plays out.

For now, Philadelphia fans can’t help but continue to feel anxious towards this situation since if Butler did plan on returning to the Sixers, it would seem like some sort of news would have been released by now.

Instead, Sixers fans continue to get the updates they don’t want to hear in regards to Butler, such as one of the latest reports indicating that he plans on telling the Heat they are his team of preference.

First off, as mentioned at the beginning of this piece, nothing is set in stone at the moment, which is what Sixers fans need to continue reminding themselves since plenty could still happen with this situation.

Butler hasn’t been shy at all about his preference to earn a max deal this offseason, and when looking at the current situation in Miami, the team would still need to clear some salary cap space in order for this scenario to play out properly.

Still, the one difficult factor to accept over this latest report is if the Heat are in fact Butler’s preference, it seems like he would be willing to wait the situation out if Miami needed to free up some salary cap space.

From a contending standpoint, there’s no question that Philadelphia still seems like a better fit for Butler than Miami since the Sixers still have plenty of room to grow while the Heat came up shy of even earning a playoff berth last season.

Sixers fans have been doing their best to stay positive over the situation involving Butler, but if this latest report about Miami being his preference ends up being accurate, it may be easier to allow the acceptance process to begin now.