“He’s going to win a championship in Miami.”: Jimmy Butler’s agent shuts down Kendrick Perkins' trade narrative
Jimmy Butler's agent, Bernard Lee, made headlines with his recent comments surrounding the Miami Heat superstar's time and potential future with the franchise.
Bernard was seemingly frustrated with rumors surrounding Butler as the Heat continued to struggle, which made him tweet:
"So my week started with squashing OJ wanting to fight someone I worked with and continues with this sh*t? This isn’t why I didn’t go to Harvard. Put simply he’s never going anywhere.. EVER. He’s going to win a championship in Miami."
Following the Heat's seventh consecutive loss, a 118-105 defeat to the Phoenix Suns at home on Tuesday, NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins made a resounding statement about what the Heat must do with Butler during his remaining tenure.
Perkins said on the set of "NBA Today":
"It's time for the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler to go their separate ways."
Heat fans will be pleased to hear that Butler intends to stay with the franchise for the long term, particularly since he has led the team to considerable success since joining the Heat before the 2019-20 season.
Jimmy Butler's tenure with Miami Heat
Jimmy Butler has led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals in three out of four seasons and made it to the NBA Finals twice since he's played with them. He is currently playing in his fifth year.
Despite not winning a championship in the Butler era, the Heat made an unexpected run to the Finals as the No. 8 seed last season. Butler played a significant role in this achievement, averaging 26.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game over 22 playoff games.
Jimmy Butler and Miami Heat's season so far
However, this season has been subpar, especially after their success last season. They lost key players like Gabe Vincent and Max Struss to free agency all the while not being able to land Damian Lillard.
They pulled the trigger to send veteran guard Kyle Lowry to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Terry Rozier, who has averaged 21.3 points, 6.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds on 44.9% shooting, including 35.6% from beyond the arc.
The Heat snapped their losing streak against the Sacramento Kings, 115-106, led by Jimmy Butler's 31 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a steal on 10-of-14 shooting and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Butler did not make the All-Star team as a reserve, instead his teammate Bam Adebayo will play in behalf of the Heat. Butler has played in 33 games this season due to sustaining a calf strain which kept him sidelined. This could be attributed to him not being nominated for the All-Star game.