Watch: Intense-looking Jimmy Butler sits at high-stakes poker table with Neymar Jr. and Ryan Garcia
Jimmy Butler continued his offseason by playing poker with football superstar Neymar Jr. and suspended boxer Ryan Garcia in Los Angeles. Butler has spent some time with Neymar the past few days, and both attended the World Poker Tour's Legend of the Felt event.
The event was streamed on Ninja's YouTube channel with a total of nine participants. Butler, Neymar, Garcia and Ninja were joined by boxer Chris Eubank Jr., social media influencer Dan Bilzerian, poker player Alan Keating, comedian-vlogger Jon Vlogs, and Pedro Velasco, who is close with Neymar and Butler.
Here's a clip from the livestream showing the Miami Heat star trying to keep his poise as Garcia did a lot of antics:
Jimmy Butler spent some time with Neymar and Pedro Velasco before the poker event. They drank wine, played footvolley and practiced poker yesterday, with Butler sharing all of it on his Instagram stories.
Jimmy Butler seems recovered from his knee injury
Jimmy Butler suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee in the Miami Heat's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Butler hurt his knee after entangling with Kelly Oubre Jr. in a layup attempt in the first quarter. He played through the injury but was too hurt to appear in the final period.
Butler missed the Heat's next game against the Chicago Bulls, but it didn't matter. They advanced to the first round of the playoffs and were matched up against the Boston Celtics. "Jimmy Buckets" was unable to play for Miami as the Celtics won the series in five games.
With Butler playing footvolley with Neymar recently, it seems like he has fully recovered from the injury. A sprained MCL has a typical recovery time of four to six weeks, so he was likely cleared for contact late last month.
Miami Heat to trade Jimmy Butler this offseason
Jimmy Butler reportedly wants to sign a two-year, max contract extension with the Miami Heat. However, the Heat might not be inclined to give it to Butler because of his age. He will turn 35 in September, so a decline in play is certainly possible.
According to The Ringer's Howard Beck, rival executives are predicting that the Heat will trade Butler this offseason.
"Credit Butler for powering Miami to two Finals in five seasons. But a team built around Butler and Bam Adebayo isn’t enough to challenge the Celtics, Bucks, or Sixers in the East. Pat Riley is known for moving off his high-priced players before they fall off a cliff. And Butler at this stage would be much more valuable as a second or third option on a contender than as the top dog in Miami. This feels like the right time for a pivot," Beck wrote.