Q: Ira, between Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier (his play, even before all of this) and even losing Josh Richardson (a favorite of mine), I find it refreshing to see the young players like Kel’el Ware, Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson, and I’m still hoping for Jaime Jaquez Jr. Let the young guys play. Let everything else fall into place. We’re not winning a championship, anyway. – Rogers..
A: I do find it interesting how Tyler Herro, at the ripe old age of 25 isn’t also included in the kid stuff, as well. But I agree that Kel’el Ware, Nikola Jovic and some of the other young players have added a refreshing energy to a Heat season that can definitely use some. Still, the Heat are smart enough to acknowledge that youth, alone, only gets you so far. But that also is why any Jimmy Butler trade will be interesting when it comes to pieces potentially acquired. And just throwing this out as any example, and not a forecast, would a Bobby Portis automatically play ahead of some of the current emerging talent? What the Heat, or any team, can’t afford is to stay from the promise of a better tomorrow, particularly when the current moment has been so middling.
Q: If Terry Rozier received a lifetime ban, what compensation would the Heat be awarded, if any? Also, would they get cap relief ? – Brian.
A: Way, way, way too premature for any of that, with no charges in place and only the outlines of an investigation that the NBA, for its part, said nothing was found to be incriminating. I raised the example, that, yes, the contract of a banned player automatically comes off the books, the cap, the tax. But this situation is nowhere close to anything like that. For now, just an investigation into an issue that sports leagues have been complicit in when it comes to their embrace of gambling outlets.
Q: I can’t help thinking that a big factor in this Jimmy Butler mess is Pat Riley responding to Jimmy’s assertion that if he was not injured, the Heat would have beaten the Celtics in last year’s playoffs. While I don’t agree, Jimmy had the right to voice his opinion. Pat Riley telling him to keep his mouth shut was unnecessary and uncalled for. Why insult your best player publicly in such a way? Pat Riley should have kept his mouth shut instead of creating a festering wound. – Ray, Margate.
A: And that certainly is part of it. If Pat Riley would have said that and then offered a contract extension, there would have been a toast in Riley’s executive suite. And if you listen to Jimmy Butler’s take, it got sideways because of a Heat playing style that brought no joy. The reality is it takes numerous issues and incidents for anything to get this ugly.