deliver championships, and the organization is primed to do so again this summer.
A great deal of discussion around the Heat as it pertains to this offseason has been about the potential of the team trading Jimmy Butler, who has led the locker room to three Eastern Conference Finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances over the last five years.
However, Bill Simmons of The Ringer recently suggested a trade proposal that would keep Butler and big man Bam Adebayo in South Florida, while still netting the Heat an elite offensive point guard from the Atlanta Hawks.
Trae [Young] for [Tyler] Herro and [Duncan] Robinson and Miami’s pick in the [2024] draft — they’ll have to draft a guy and trade him — and then their [2029] unprotected first,” Simmons said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” that aired on June 10. “And then, if you’re Miami, you keep Butler, you have Bam. Trae, Heat culture — this is the kind of guy, he’s a warrior. If you go back and watch him in the playoffs a couple years ago, he’s unafraid. He’s [a Heat] kinda guy. He’s competitive as s***.”
The Hawks own the No. 1 overall pick in this week’s draft and have exited the playoffs in the first round in each of the past two years after making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals following the 2020-21 regular season.
Atlanta made a trade with the San Antonio Spurs for Dejounte Murray in June 2022, though his addition has not been the needle-mover the Hawks might have hoped. As a result, several analysts have suggested that a reset is likely coming to Atlanta this offseason, meaning that either Young or Murray will be on the move.
Murray is playing on a favorable contract of four years and $114 million, which keeps him locked up through the 2026-27 campaign and includes a player option the following season. Young, meanwhile, is playing on a five-year deal worth $215 million that keeps him under contract for two more seasons with a player option in 2026-27.
