The Philadelphia 76ers may have lost two straight games, but they are definitely trending in the right direction to start the new calendar year. After brandishing an unwatchable brand of basketball for the first couple of months, the team has regained its mojo and has began playing playoff-caliber basketball thanks to a relatively cleaner bill of health and improved team chemistry.
But as is the case with a franchise led by Daryl Morey, not even an upward trend can insulate the 76ers from getting swirled around in the rumor mill. While still verging on an actual need, a trade does not really stand as their biggest priority right now, though a pretty climactic development is perhaps making that a moot assessment.
Miami is currently at the center of the NBA landscape, albeit for all the wrong reasons, Franchise centerpiece Jimmy Butler has publicly requested for a trade out of South Beach, with Pat Riley and the Heat responding by slapping him with a seven-game suspension for “conduct detrimental to the team”. The situation has gotten pretty toxic and is one that badly needs a mutual resolution.
With Joel Embiid’s endorsement, the 76ers reportedly tried to trade for Jimmy Butler last offseason
The Heat find themselves in an unenviable midseason position, but it’s not like they deserve a pity party. Pat Riley and company letting Butler down is one thing, but the fact that they could have prevented this quagmire in the first place is another.
After all, the 76ers apparently tried to “help” the Heat avoid this kind of situation in the first place. According to Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill, Philly tried to engage Miami about possibly trading for Butler over the summer with the blessing of and under the impetus of Joel Embiid, though those talks, if any, did not materialize in any manner.
Eventually, the 76ers front office pivoted to signing Paul George in free agency without giving up any assets, though that has not panned out as expected — at least not yet.
The Heat could have gained considerable assets from the 76ers’ crest if they heeded that call — a move they should have considered in anticipation of a looming fallout the moment Riley publicly chided Butler and called him out for not being available to play due to injury. Instead, they clinged onto their old-school beliefs that playing through it all would mend all wounds.
Clearly, it didn’t, and Miami’s insistence on keeping Butler — one they dragged out with a public announcement of a no-trade just last week — now looks like a lethal miscalculation. Now, the 76ers have the chance to trade for Butler again, but this time, with all the leverage in the world.