"Not going back to the gutter town": NBA fans clamor at wild Jimmy Butler trade rumors
Following the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers' elimination from the 2024 NBA playoff, a big rumor involving these two teams and a potential Jimmy Butler comeback started swirling on NBA media.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the 76ers are 'expected' to monitor Jimmy Butler's situation in Miami this offseason. The veteran forward has been one of the best and most reliable players in his position for a while now, and the Sixers want to have him back, having parted ways with him in 2019.
That summer, the Heat landed Jimmy Butler via sign-and-trade with the 76ers following a painful playoff exit at the hands of Kawhi Leonard and the eventual NBA champions, Toronto Raptors.
This rumor didn't sit well with plenty of fans, who didn't hesitate to call out the 76ers for letting Jimmy Butler walk away when they had everything to be perennial title contenders.
"Jimmy [Butler] already asked for an extension w Miami…he’s not going back to the gutter town….," @ShannonTFortune wrote on Twitter.
"Better give us Tyrese Maxey and all your picks before that happened," @WheelerJaylen claimed.
"Ain’t no way Jimmy is coming back to Philly. If anything, Embiid to Miami when he asks to be traded," @BB_Bundy added.
Other fans recalled the 76ers' decision to let Butler walk to favor Tobias Harris.
In case people don't remember, the 76ers decided to move on from Jimmy Butler to keep Tobias Harris, who scored zero points against the Knicks on Thursday night, allegedly to keep Ben Simmons happy following the 2018-19 NBA season.
Anything can happen in the NBA, but it's hard to imagine Butler leaving a situation where he's the face of a franchise to return to a team that already did him wrong.
Jimmy Butler is reportedly set to demand a huge contract extension with the Heat
To make things worse for the 76ers' hopes to land Jimmy Butler, the 34-year-old has reportedly identified what type of contract he'd like to get next with the Heat.
If Heat's president Pat Riley decides to give him his desired two-year, $113 million new deal, there'll be nothing the 76ers can do to lure him away from Miami.
After a tumultuous season that ended with a 4-2 loss to the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, the 76ers are ready to bounce back next season. However, they'll need to make some improvements to the roster to catch up with the top teams in the East. It's unclear if they have an alternative to Jimmy Butler, but that move looks highly unlikely to be completed right now.