"Everything from Pat Riley's end of season presser - from the missed media day, to losing his joy, to subtly throwing Erik Spoelstra under the bus, to the three suspensions, to the Arison meeting, etc. - was all bad. The Heat ultimately divorced Butler after five-and-a-half amazing seasons in February ahead of the deadline, trading him to Golden State in a five-team blockbuster. At the end of the day, everyone exhaled and moved on - before it got even uglier."
"As a result of the Butler trade, the Miami Heat scored the Golden State Warriors' 2025 first-round pick. The Heat's own first-round pick was a lottery-protected pick sent to Oklahoma City, so the Warriors' pick was their only one. And they, somehow, landed a top-8 prospect (in my eyes, anyway) at No. 20 in Kasparas Jakucionis, who averaged 15-6-5 in his lone season at Illinois while dealing with a forearm injury. He had an uneven summer with still plenty of development to go. But Jakucionis' upside as a lengthy two-way point guard is quite intriguing."
"The Miami Heat's biggest move of the summer came in a three-team trade for Norman Powell. The cost?! Essentially nothing ... well, Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love, two respected vets, are technically something. But Powell was coming off the best season of his career and, so far, has topped that through 28 games, averaging 23.8 points on 62.2 percent true shooting."
The Miami Heat closed 2025 with wins over Atlanta, Indiana and Denver. Jimmy Butler was traded to Golden State in February after a fraught end-of-season presser, missed media day and multiple suspensions. Miami received Golden State's 2025 first-round pick and used it to draft Kasparas Jakucionis at No. 20, a lengthy two-way point guard who averaged 15-6-5 at Illinois while managing a forearm injury. The team acquired Norman Powell in a three-team deal, sending Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love and adding a scorer averaging 23.8 points on 62.2 percent true shooting through 28 games. Coach Erik Spoelstra's Miami-Dade home burned in early November; the fire is under investigation and no one was harmed.
Read at Hot Hot Hoops - Miami HEAT NBA Blog
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