According to NBA reporter Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia 76ers “regret” losing Jimmy Butler to the Miami Heat in 2019.
Butler joined the Heat in the offseason of 2019 via a sign-and-trade deal with the Sixers.
Miami has made the NBA Finals two times in the Butler era, while Philadelphia hasn’t advanced past the second of the playoffs in the Joel Embiid era.
“Talking to my sources, the 76ers’ ownership group — they kinda regret what they did five years ago [in trading Jimmy Butler] and they see the success that he’s had. And they realize … he could be in their eyes, the missing piece, and they’re willing to give him the money he…
— Philly Sixers Galaxy (@sixers_galaxy) May 29, 2024
During the 2018-19 season, the Sixers acquired Butler from the Minnesota Timberwolves, pairing him with Embiid and Ben Simmons. Philly finished the campaign with a stellar record of 51-31 and looked primed to go on a deep postseason run.
However, the Sixers lost to the Toronto Raptors in the second round of the 2019 playoffs in seven games.
May 12, 2019, was the final date Butler, Embiid and Simmons played together, as Butler signed with the Heat in free agency, a move the Sixers haven’t recovered from.
Butler, Embiid and Simmons should have been a lethal Big 3 for the next decade. However, the Sixers didn’t re-sign Butler in 2019 because Simmons reportedly got jealous of him.
Butler was the primary ball-handler for the Sixers in the Raptors series and that reportedly didn’t sit well with Simmons.
According to NBA insider Yaron Weitzman of Fox Sports, “Simmons’ frustration at being relegated to off-ball duty during the team’s 2019 second-round loss to the Raptors contributed to the front office’s decision” not to re-sign Butler, who joined the Heat via a sign-and-trade deal on July 6, 2019.
The Sixers are interested in acquiring Butler from the Heat this offseason. Butler is extension-eligible and Philadelphia is prepared to pay the small forward max money.
Butler will make $48.8 million next season. He has a player option worth $52.4 million for the 2025-26 season.
A Marquette product, Butler has career averages of 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists with the Chicago Bulls, Timberwolves, Sixers and Heat. He’s made six All-Star teams, five All-NBA teams and five All-Defensive teams.
