BREAKING: Miami Heat Bring Back Precious Achiuwa | Will He REDEEM Himself? | Jimmy Butler’s LEGACY

BREAKING: Miami Heat Bring Back Precious Achiuwa | Will He REDEEM Himself? | Jimmy Butler’s LEGACY

Precious Tachua is back with the Heat. What’s his role with the team and can he be better the second time around? We’ll answer that and talk about a player that left on bad terms but led the team to incredible moments on today’s episode of Locked on Heat. [Music] You are Locked on Heat, your daily Miami Heat podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. All right, welcome to Locked on Heat, your daily podcast on the Miami Heat. Whether you’re tuning in on YouTube or on your favorite podcast app, thanks so much for making Locked on Heat your first listen every day. I’m Wes Goldberg. I’m the host of Lock on NBA Daily and Bill Jam Radio. And I’m here with David Rmill. Both of us are credentialed Heat Media members who cover this team every day. And David really excited for today’s show. We are continuing our 25 and 25 series with Jimmy Butler. and I was tasked with writing the history part of our Jimmy Butler thing here. And I did my best to be nice. So, we’re I’m going to leave it there and we’ll get to that in a little bit. Uh, but we do have to start today with the news that the Heat have signed Presua to a one-year non-G guaranteed deal. He is the 15 mana 15th man on the standard roster, at least for now. We’ve talked a lot about the Heat and Achua over the last couple of weeks. Uh, and uh, they finally got a deal done. What do you make of them getting this deal done and the Heat seemingly filling their need for a backup center? Seemingly, I think, is the right word to use there because Chua, you know, somewhat of a limited player. And so, there’s an obvious area of need for the team. They were lacking in quality big men that have NBA experience. And that being the case, Hua seems to fill that need. And yet, what’s the ceiling for a player like Hua? Obviously, he was drafted here. He had some moments. I think Aua, again, he’s he’s the most basic of centers that you can possibly get on the market. There’s not really better options. He’s a he’s not a shooter. Doesn’t have good touch around the basket. He does bring high energy. He’s a motor kind of guy. Will be active and chasing rebounds okay defensively, although I think he tends to gamble a little bit more. He just doesn’t have the size either to be a quality shot blocker. He’s just he’s an unskilled power forward that plays a center position basically given his size. And so uh I’m kind of torn because I do love a good reunion story. I mean we were both very excited about Josh Hson returning to the team even though that didn’t work out quite the way we expected to. We’ve talked about a number of players who have left and come back uh during this 25 and 25 series that we’ve gone into NBA history or heat history and and there’s always great moments there. It’s all it should be something exciting and fun. And yet with Precious, I’m kind of like, huh, I I don’t know if that’s the right option. I don’t know if that’s the best center that was available out there. I don’t know if it was worth it to sign somebody just to say, we sure have something like a big out there on the roster. So, um I don’t know. It’s a move. It is really a move. You to your point, you hope this isn’t Michael Beasley returning where that just didn’t work, right? And it feels a little bit like that because like Michael Beasley, there was a lot of questions about Preichua’s want to is we could call it maturity, although I think it’s a loaded word that I don’t really like, but you hear that word thrown a lot around a lot with precious and and things like that. If I were going to spin this positive, what you said was he’s a proven big man. He’s a guy out there and yeah, that’s it. That’s all he is. He’s not asked. I know he was the former 20th pick in the draft. I know they chose him over Tyrese Maxi and Desmond Banner. That’s all in the past, man. Let it go. Right now they have Khalil Wear, they have Bamabio, they have their front court of the future. We know what it is. We don’t need Precious to be that guy anymore. We need Precious to be a warm body with NBA experience. And guess what? That is exactly what he is. He is a warm body with NBA experience who isn’t going to even play if he’s on the roster, by the way, which we’ll get to here in a second. Isn’t even going to be playing most nights. Certainly not heavy minutes. That’s Bam and Kell. Even if Bam and Kell start, those guys are going to be toggling between center uh at center most of the game anyway. This is a break glass in case of emergency in case Bam or Kell get into foul trouble or one of them is hurt, tweaks a hamstring or even if Vlad Golden isn’t ready to play right away. That’s what this is. It’s also, you know, like I said, Warren B. The guy’s played 26 playoff games over his career. That’s not nothing. Played eight playoff game. He appeared in eight playoff games for the Knicks during their run last year. That’s not nothing. And when he played for the Knicks, he wasn’t productive. He wasn’t helpful, but he wasn’t hurtful. And that’s all we’re looking for. He’s not the You’re not thinking about him as the 20th pick, the guy you took over Maxi anymore. You’re not thinking about him that way anymore, Heat fans. You’re thinking about a guy who could just come in and spot you some minutes, eat some innings, and then get off the floor for the most important moments. Yeah. I I wonder though it’s we know what he’s capable of, but would it have been better to say take somebody who might be more of a floor spacing big that kind of provides somewhat of a complimentary skill? You have a name? I I No, no, no, I don’t. I I don’t know if there’s just market is dry right now, man. Like at least with Precious, you have first round talent, athleticism, you’re familiar with him. Okay. And and here’s the other part now. And maybe now here’s the part that get it matters that he was willing to take a fully non-g guaranteed contract. I don’t know that all the centers who were out there and I don’t have a list of names. It’s just not important. None of them are any good. That was really important here. We’ve like said we we’ve talked about the precious Chua option a lot and we was okay how do you go how do you go get Precious Archua or any big man to fill up that 15th Roster spot and we kept talking about do you wave to Rosier creating another $1.5 million in space in order to get enough space to sign Precious to a guaranteed veteran minimum contract. Do you do that? Do you try to wave and stretch Simone Feio before that deadline had passed by a couple weeks ago? That deadline passed by that no longer became an option. Do you trade somebody else in a salary dump type move like you did with Heywood Highmith? that really worth it for a guy like Precious Achua and obviously the Heat decided no. None of those options are worth it for Precious Achua. Everything you guys are saying in terms of concerns, we have those concerns. We’re not doing any of that stuff. We’re not jumping through those kinds of hoops for Precious Aua, but we recognize that we could use a body there anyway. And you look across the league, David, and what’s striking to me is how many veterans, Monty Morris, Thomas Bryant, Malcolm Brogden, Landry Shamut are taking fully non-G guaranteed deals to sign with teams, which essentially amount to training camp invite. Malcolm Brogden and Landry Sham are on non-G guaranteed contracts right now for the Knicks, battling it out for their final roster spot. These are names. These are guys who have played in big moments and they’re just like hoping to make a team right now. And I think you’re seeing that trend across the league. So it doesn’t surprise me necessarily that pressure is willing to do that. But that’s what this is. This is a training camp deal. The Heat by signing Precious Chua are over the luxury tax now by about $600,000 according to Bobby Marks. They can get under that if they just wave Precious in the middle of the year. They can do that or obviously before the season starts if they deem that he’s not good enough or that Vlad Golden is just better than him and more and ready to kind of contribute those games and then they can always kind of loop back around to pressure situation and sign him to a pro-rated minimum and have him on the roster anyway or any other backup center for that matter. Would Thomas Bryant have been a better option? That’s a lot of uh We tried that now twice. We’re going to go a third time at least with Precious. like we tried it once. I don’t know. I don’t think a better option. No, I suppose not. I mean, Bryant and Drew Smith in the same offseason would have uh literally felt like I’m like we just did this a year ago. At least this is just copy and paste the transaction and the uh press release from last year. Just make sure you change that four to a five. And Stephen, I’m excited, man. I’m excited for Precious to at least show up in training camp. I’m excited to go cover him at FAU. Like, I want to see what this guy’s about. It didn’t work out the first time. Can he make it work? We, like you said, I love a redemption story. There’s a lot of stories like this that end up with a positive ending. He’s not going to be worth the 20th pick ever. But can he be a serviceable break glass of in case of emergency backup big man? Absolutely. I have no question that he’s capable of do capable of doing that. He played 57 games last year for the Knicks. You know that not that’s not not Do you echo your words? Not that’s not nothing. It’s not nothing. Um you got Carl Anthony Towns of the team. You know what? That’s a big deal when you go from nothing to not nothing. It’s a big difference because before this had nothing behind Kell and Bam and now they have something and that’s his job is just to be somebody at that position. I do hope it works out. Um, of course, I hope he he has his moment there where he can kind of provide that spark and energy. To your point, it’s he’s not going to be playing a lot, at least barring any injury that you can’t foresee. He’s not expected to play a lot or regularly. Yeah. Innings, minutes here, but he can go out there. He’ll he’ll he’ll provide some energy. He’ll get his hand caught in the cookie jar. He’ll be a little foulrone. Uh, and he’s got something to prove. I like that. I like that on a chip. That’s what I’m hoping for. That’s what I’m hoping for. Does he recognize right was this summer a wakeup call on that for a four-year player that was a high draft pick and has some athleticism and has some experience that somehow and hasn’t even it’s not like Bryant who’s gone through injury issues and you question whether or not he can continue to be healthy or impactful and yeah a okay defender. Um, maybe again I guess the the ying to Thomas Bryant mediocre yang. Uh, you know, he provides a defense that he lacks on offense versus what Bryant does vice versa. It’s less of a and a yang and it’s more of like a y and a yang. Um, yeah. Last point on this. Can we uh So, we like we like that he’s coming back. We hope that he got the chip on the shoulder. I’m excited to talk with him at media day on Monday and kind of get to the bottom of this. But um just in terms of the housekeeping notes part of this, no a roier trade is not coming. Um the deal was fully non-g guaranteed which allowed Miami to operate in yes technically above above the luxury tax but in a space where they don’t really have to worry about it. It’s very easy for them to get back under the tax. You don’t have to be under the tax when the season starts. You have to be under the tax when the season ends. So it’s a very important part here. So for uh for when we keep talking about the heat, they have essentially a mandate to be under the luxury taxes. They’ll never tell they’ll never call it that, but let’s just call it what it is. Um this doesn’t affect like they are technically over it, but it’s not a big deal. They can get under it very easily. I did see that the salary cap might be somewhat that the hit to the salary cap might be somewhat lessened because Tyler Hero is unlikely to reach whatever bonuses that have been baked into his contract. So, it’s a an unlikely to receive bonus at this point. That might put them under the cap. Is that possible? I didn’t I didn’t see that. My understanding was with the new CBA that unlikely bonuses were already baked into the cap. I don’t know if there’s some way like kind of retroactively take those out if you don’t hit like a games played type of thing. I don’t know. But I think that’s what it is. Either way, the Heat are not operating in a space where they’re worried about the luxury tax after signing precious. It’s also not a guarantee that he makes the roster. I want to make that very clear. This is essentially a training camp deal. So, the Heat are going to have to wave somebody that was on an exhibit 10. We don’t have word on who that is yet. Frankly, I don’t think it matters all that much. Um, and then, uh, and we’ll see. We’ll see what Precious can do at media day and a training camp in Boca Raton. But, we’re going to keep it uh, we’ll we’ll stop there for now on the Precious Aua stuff. 25 of 25 is next and we’re talking about Jimmy Butler while the wound is fresh. David, today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NFL season’s here and FanDuel is making sure you’re ready for kickoff with a can’tmiss offer cuz right now new customers can bet just $5. If your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets and use to use across the app. Uh you’ll love using FanDuel because it fits however you like to bet from player props to building a same game parlay or even jumping in live as the actions unfolding. Makes every game more exciting. Whether you’re watching your team or just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup or any team that’s playing right now, it’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s the best way to add a little bit more energy to your Sunday. So, are you ready to play? Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanuel.com to get started. That’s fuel.com to place your first $5 bet. We’ll be right back. [Music] Thanks again for making Lockdown Heat your first listen of the day. This is our 25 of 25 series, looking back at the top 25 Heat players of the last 25 seasons. Each episode, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at every player who made the list as voted by on by us and our locked on Heat insider community through the lens of what made them a definitive part of the franchise’s history. Checking in at number four was Chris Bosch. Now, we are in the top three, David. His arrival single-handedly ushered in a new era of heat basketball. He’s so good that his last name is literally not literally buckets. Some love him, some hate him. Some love him and then hate him. Overlook him in the regular season if you want, but don’t underestimate him come playoff time. And definitely don’t choose Tobias Harris over him. It is Jimmy Butler. David, here we go. Like I said, I’m trying to be fair here. I have a reputation. Noted Jimmy Butler hater, Wes Goldberg. I am I’m going to my I’m going to try to be fair here and hold no grudges. You let me know at the end of this whether or not this was fair. All right, fair enough. Start with the facts. Jimmy Butler joined the Miami Heat in July 2019 through a sign and trade deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, marking the beginning of a new era for both him and the Heat franchise. Miami has long sought a true superstar to lead its next chapter after the big three era. And Butler quickly embraced the challenge. His arrival signaled a cultural alignment with the Heat’s famed Heat culture, toughness, accountability, and a relentless work ethic. Butler’s impact was immediate. In his first season, he led the Heat to an unexpected run to the 2020 NBA Finals inside the Orlando bubble. While some players were getting wings delivered to the bubbles’s boundary, Jimmy Butler was practicing in his hotel room, dribbling so loud the neighbors could hear. As teams fell away, the Heat marched on through the bubble. Despite the Heat being heavy underdogs, Butler delivered legendary performances, including a 40-point triple double in game three against the Lakers. Without BAB and Goran Dragage for most of the series, Butler and the Heat still pushed LeBron’s Lakers to six games. Despite the loss, Butler’s effort and iconic photo bent over the stansion cemented his reputation as one of the league’s fiercest competitors. Over the following seasons, Butler consistently elevated the Heat in big moments. He led Miami to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022, coming within a single shot of returning to the finals after a 47point masterclass in game six against the Boston Celtics. In 2023, Butler carried the eighth seated Heat through one of the most improbable playoff runs in league history, upsetting the Bucks, Knicks, and Celtics to reach the NBA Finals again, where they lost to the Denver Nuggets. His fearless play earned him the nickname Playoff Jimmy, a persona he downplayed publicly but often embodied. There were other personas, too. Dreadhead Jimbo, Emo Jimmy, and Cowboy Jimmy all had their own looks and origin stories, but all were uniquely Jimmy Butler and appreciated by Heat fans. In Miami, Jimmy was one of the most confounding players in the league on and off the court, and Heat fans embraced him as their own, as only they could. For five seasons, Butler delivered memorable moments in classic performances. He elevated the Heat to the brink of greatness more often than not, even when, no, especially when the odds were stacked against him. Bill S Bill Simmons labeled the Heat the zombie heat. For the rest of the league, Butler was the boogeyman. For Miami, he represented the perfect blend of star power and grit. He restored the Heat to Contender status, proving that toughness, leadership, and belief that the Heat were only out of it when you killed them off for good. And that’s what made his departure that much more heartbreaking. An ill-timed injury sidelined him for the 2024 playoffs. And when he told somebody holding a phone that the Celtics were lucky he didn’t play in the first round, Pat Riley responded by telling him to shut his mouth. What followed was tension over a contract extension, questions about Butler’s future, Butler quiet quitting on the team mid-season, and ultimately a trade request. Tensions rose to a bowling point of no return, and in February, Butler was traded to the Warriors in a deal that netted Andrew Wiggins, DaVon Mitchell, Kyle Anderson, and a firstround pick. Now Butler is in Golden State, and the Heat are beginning a new era, hoping to rise from the ashes of the bridges Butler burnt. No, the Heat didn’t win a championship in the Jimmy Butler era. Ultimately, they’ll be remembered as a team that always was close, but also always so far. A team that didn’t win a championship but was the final boss for multiple champions. Whether it was the Lakers, Nuggets, or Celtics, storied franchises and all-time great players had to go through Jimmy Butler in the Heat before they could meet immortality. Jimmy Butler’s greatest strength was that he made his teammates better. Perhaps his greatest weakness was that he made his enemies better, too. Was I fair, Dave? Oh, yeah. More than fair. I think there’s no doubt that about that. you were positive, glowing, and honest. And I think it’s honestly uh something that all He fans should remember. Like I don’t think I I really don’t know if there’s still a lingering animosity towards Jimmy. I know that we saw some sector of the fans kind of divided about that. Uh some were indifferent. He’s no longer here. It doesn’t really matter. Some were very focused on the positive. Some focused on the negative. the way he he ended his his tenure with Miami. But I think you did a good job of capturing those positive moments. I don’t think anything’s ever split the fan base as much as Jimmy Butler’s slow burning departure. Dwayne Wade leaving um whatever LeBron James leaving like what nothing split the fan base quite some were Jimmy Butler supporters the it’s the front office’s fault. Sleepy Pat, all this stuff that that was that was that fact. Others were like they he quit on the team. I there’s no forgiving that there there was that like it was it was totally split. So So to answer your question like we don’t know how the fan the the wound is still fresh and I still think that Heat fans are are kind of reconciling with this maybe. Um I I could I could understand that perspective but I I just honestly I can’t help but focus on the positive. Like I I never really leaned into the quiet quitting of the team because I I just can’t help it. Like he wanted something different than the team did. Like he wanted to get paid. The team didn’t want to pay him. And I and I think that’s fair. Like I I I respect both perspectives and that Jimmy, like most NBA players, wants to get paid as much as they possibly can. And he got his money. That’s what he’s supposed to do. He wants his money. He got it. His agent, Bernie Lee, wanted that money, too. And he got it as well from Gold. I guess my biggest problem with it, not to go into the Jimmy Butler hater stuff, is that he literally said all the time that it wasn’t about the money. And I know that and people like, what what else is he supposed to say? You don’t have to say that. You don’t have to say it’s not about the money. No, you’re right. You don’t have to do any of that. So, it’s it was always the the public didn’t always the He is very media savvy and he was very aware of what his brand was and how to maximize that brand. And it was so much fun to cover him. It was so much freaking fun to cover him those five years. But I cannot help but it’s very hard for me to separate Jimmy Butler from the fact that the public image was very different than who the player actually was or did. The actions didn’t always back up the words with him all the time. And I think that is the thing that rubs some Heat fans the wrong way. The actions on the court or off the court. On and off the court. Right. I think the the ultimate was, hey, we’re going to win the championship. And boy, did they get to the brink of that a couple times. So, in that sense, I would say the actions got really close to backing up the words. And if all you paid attention to were the bold predictions and the bold proclamations and then the Heat almost winning it, then you’re g then you’re telling me, Wes, you’re full of bleep right now. What are you even talking about? What I’m talking to you about is how he’s always there for his teammates, representing the heat culture. It doesn’t the money doesn’t matter. All of that stuff. And then uh I’m the hardest working player on the team, all that stuff. And then the kind and then when things don’t go his way, all that stuff just disappears. And that was the problem that I think a lot of Heat fans had. Yeah. There’s there’s a lot more, you know, behind the scenes of of the tenure with with Miami and everything else like that that uh honestly I hope it never comes out. Um I think the front office would have wanted to and I don’t think the the players and coaches would have wanted to because really uncomfortable some of that stuff started to leak out during the Butler trade. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. No, I just uh the acquisition was uh for me I was covering the team by myself at that point. You know, Jimmy, I think you you covered his trade or sign and trade with the Miami and then you you went on to cover the Warriors and uh that first season there. I remember being in Miami covering media day and watching Jimmy do his introductory uh media scrim and watching as Dion Waiters on the team at that time walks by and Jimmy extends a middle finger towards him. But it was like it was brash, it was arrogant, it was kind of in your face and it was perfectly tongue and cheek as well. That was just who Jimmy was. Like he just he didn’t mind poking the bear. He didn’t mind saying things that would upset and rile up some of his teammates. I think he kind of liked it that way. He was just a different he was uh he was his own unique flavor. Absolutely. In a positive I mean that in a positive way. He had fun. Yeah. Yeah, he did. Uh, you know, I remember even going back, I know I’ve talked about it before, but even going back to when he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves and and covering him uh when he was in Orlando. Weird. They had like an early morning availability before practice started. So, I had to leave from Gainesville to Orlando like at 6:30 in the morning to get there before practice started at 9:00 because they were going to have media availability at 8:30. Whatever. It was a crazy, very unusual for teams to do that. And he wasn’t even available. He was he was actually going to be out that day and uh he made fun of believe Jeff Teague was on the team at that point in time and and Teague fell over on his chair and and Jimmy Butler loudly in street clothes yelling that’s what you get that’s what you get like making fun of Teague but Teague loved Jimmy too and uh that was the whole tension between him and Towns and wigs and everything like that but I remember talking to Jimmy and he just he spoke so glowingly about Wiggins because he had so much potential towns not so much. But Wigs he spoke very highly of and uh just you could tell how important it was the work ethic and everything else like that. That’s why even years before he joined Miami, I always thought he would be a great for a long time. I remember talking to you about like you were like that Jimmy is the guy. He’s the next guy. You’re right. And he was the guy. He was the guy for five years and it was an awesome five years. And uh I’ll always appreciate that run. This is to me where I think with Shaq, I remembered the positives more than the bristling ending. And we you kind of remember the ending and and I kind of the end of Jimmy Butler was so such a left such a sour taste in my mouth that I think it’s going to be a little while before I kind of fully um sort of have a warm feeling about the Jimmy Butler era, but um you know, I I’m admitting it, right? Like that’s you know, that’s that’s part of it. The highest he was ranked by our panel was two. The lowest he was ranked was five. You and I had him each at number three. We’ll talk about trivia after this. 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So, shop skims men’s atks.com. Let them know we sent you. After you place an order, select podcast in the survey and select our show in the drop-own menu that follows. That’s skims.com. We’ll be right back. [Music] Ready for some trivia? Absolutely. Jimmy Butler ranks first in Heat history in this category, ranking ahead of LeBron James, Bam Adabio, and Dwayne Wade in that order. What’s the category? Free throw center for game. No, good guess though. I’ll give you one more guess. [Music] Be I don’t know. Triple doubles with 13. Yeah. Wow. LeBron had nine. Bam has eight. Dwayne Wade had five. That’s amazing. 13 triple doubles. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Um, I should have known that. You should have known that. Butler insisted at media day that his dreadlocks for his famous dreadhead Jimbo look were not extensions, were they? Yes, absolutely. That was an easy one. Uh, you reported on it for the ring or the whole process. Thank you. I was I was trying to plug it there without being too shameless. Jimmy Butler started a music video during his stint in Miami. What band was a music a music video for? Is it Fallout Boy? It was. There you go. Those are easy trivia questions. Like it was hard to come up with. It’s also fresh. It’s hard to come up with stuff like you remember all this. You’re living here. Yeah. You’re living through the whole era and everything else like that. You could have gone like where’s he from? I think Yeah. I was like Tumble, Texas. Like whatever. I I don’t like the biography stuff. It’s like too much of like a history quiz which too triggering. Um, these are our recurring segments. Let’s get into our sliding doors moment. This is a what if moment that could have changed the way that this player is remembered for better or for worse or could have changed the trajectory of his career. Did you come up with anything for this? It’s got to be the departure, right? Like it it changed everything. Yeah. So, what if he gets the extension? Well, I think he’s remembered differently. But, you know, cuz even if you overpay him, which it would have been an overpay had they been able to, or if he takes the hometown discount and he agrees to sign with the team, would he edge closer to two on the alltime list? Let’s play that one out, though. If he takes the hometown discount, yes, everything’s gravy. What if the Heat overpay him? How does that impact his legacy as a guy who had is his body isn’t what it was when he was acquired by the Heat in 2019? He is missing more games more often. He did not finish the last two playoff series for the for Miami partly because he was traded for one and then because of the injury. If they overpay him and now he in and like like it it’s probably fine right away. Okay, it’s probably fine. But in year 2, 3, four of that extension, what if he becomes this albatross on the books? How does that impact his legacy? Because that can kind of go the other way. Oh, no doubt. I mean, people will resent him. They’ll they’ll want they’ll talk about wanting him waves, you know. Um, and that’s kind of erases the whole how much we appreciate you and how much you’re a big part of E culture and everything. I was like, “Yeah, God, but why do we pay him that much money?” Which is what we warned people all along that you had to have a set amount that you felt comfortable paying Jimmy, which was still probably more than he’ll live up to in terms of value. And I know some fans just say, you know what, just write give him an open check and let him fill in the amount. It’s like, you can’t do that because then you’re you’re on the hook for why didn’t you build a successful team. Look, Pat Riley played hard ball with Dwayne Wade. He played hard ball with Alonsza Morning. And both those players came back and realized, you know what, I get it. I I I wasn’t the player that I was early in my career. Should Pratt have paid Wade more earlier in his career? Absolutely. He paid Alonzo as much as he possibly could. And when Alonzo said, “You know what? I know I’ve only got one kidney, but hey, can you pay me x amount of dollars?” And Pat was like, “I love you. You’re like a son to me. you’re one of my favorite players, but go get that green somewhere else because we’re not going to get it from here. So, they knew, right? And it’s in today’s and what’s different now versus with Dwayne, Wade, and Zo is in today’s second apron world, it’s just really hard to pay these guys and build a team around them. So, it just would have ended up being a situation in a couple years where it was 36-year-old Jimmy Butler making close to more than $50 million a year and being forced to trade somebody that was like Tyler Herro or Bam. And maybe some Heat fans are like, “Go ahead, trade them. Okay, fine. You’re not replacing them with like salaried players, right? It would have just been Jimmy Butler and like a bunch of Haywood Highmiths. Like, it just wouldn’t have worked. So, like there’s just no way to to build out the team that way. Um, for the record, for the record, the the players, the fans, excuse me, complaining about why they would acquire a similarly older player in KD. His game is going to age much better than Jimmy Butler’s. Love Jimmy Butler. Durant’s better. Like, stop. Stop. Stop. I know if Jimmy Butler is your favorite player, I get it. I understand the emotional connection. I won’t dismiss that. But Kevin Durant is a better player. Like, what? It’s different. Finally, that’s that’s just the case. But even like if you’re concerned about the age factor, it’s like he’s still going to be able to put up jumpers at seven feet tall over everybody. Um Jimmy can’t bull his way to the rim anymore the way he wants to. One other sliding doors moment that wasn’t on my list, but you kind of reminded me of it. What if Kelly Ubé doesn’t land on his knee? Does that make a difference? Because then there’s no opportunity to tell the guy with the cell phone, “The Celtics are lucky I wasn’t there. The Knicks are lucky I wasn’t there.” Because he would have been there. um presumably healthy. I still think the Heat lose to the Celtics, right? They’re still playing the Celtics in the first round or the Knicks. I think they lose to either one. They definitely lose to the Celtics. Um so, I don’t think it ultimately matters. I think you don’t have that explosive Pat Riley comment in his end of season press conference, but I still don’t think that the Heat are going to be willing to shell out a bunch of money like we were talking about for an aging Jimmy Butler at that point, even without the injury. But I’m curious what you think if you think it would make a difference. I I don’t I don’t think so. Like I don’t know. I don’t even know how much that comment by Pat really set things down the path that they went. Like it’s overstated. You’re right. I I think so. Like I mean it it felt inflammatory at the time. We were both there. We heard Pat make that comment. We were like, “Well, yeah, I get it.” And everybody was gonna be talking about it. We recorded right from the arena right away because that was a bold take. But we get it. That’s just Pat is. We had been talking about the potential contract dispute between the Heat and Jimmy Butler for months before the Pat Riley comment because it was there. And maybe the Pat Riley comment inflamed it, made it more of a national storyline a little bit, made a lot more people start paying attention to it. But locally, people knew that the the extension date is the extension date. We the contract is the contract. It’s all out there. It’s all public knowledge. Like, we know what it is. We know and we know where the heat stood on that. I I love how Tobin still gets hate for it. Like, he’s the one who I know. Jimmy out of town just because he asked a question. Yeah, it’s great. He deserves it, by the way. Um, my other sliding doors moment was what if the Heat get Lillard in 2023? Oh, that’s the obvious one. I would even say once it was clear that they weren’t getting Dame, what if they were to pivot to James Harden at the beginning of that season when the Dame thing fell through? You stuck on that. I still think I was right. Um, and I’m not a Harden guy, but I still think I was right. Um, but this that to me when everything really came to a head and the beginning of the end of the Jimmy Ball era was the summer of 2023. Ironically enough, right after they made that amazing run to the finals, it was all downhill from there. That was the beginning of the end was that summer. They don’t make the Damen Miller deal. They don’t do anything else significant to the roster. Gabe’s gone. Max is gone. Jimmy shows up. Emo Jimmy. This is how I’m feeling right now. He tells the media that day. And it’s just it’s and that and that whole season sucked and then he gets hurt when Kelly Ubé lands on him in the playin and that golden carrot that that he was that that carrot that was always out there. Hey, just just get me in the playoffs and then I can morph into Jimmy Butler in playoff Jimmy goes away. One fell swoop gone and the entire season is for nothing and then obviously everything that happens last year happens to me. I don’t think that stuff happens if they get Damen Lillard or if they make the move for James Harden or if they just get a significant co-star who can help Jimmy Butler out and make this team better in the regular season because it turns out the regular season does matter. Yeah, that that is a huge point there. I I we talked about it uh following the trade like the emotional hangover from that like you have to welcome Tyler back even though he’s he was out the door basically. Yep. uh in and the trade for Lillard Netu there there is a sting from that and and it has to permeate throughout. So the last two seasons have kind of been heavyhearted for this team and I don’t know that this now locker room had a bad vibe. It did and and now with the loss of Tyler, does it get better? Does it get worse? Like I don’t even know. I think it’ll be worse. I don’t think it’ll be worse. I just it just could be as bad as it has been over the last couple years because yeah, you’re missing Tyler here or that’s a big part of what you’re you were looking to build on moving forward. I think the the prog I’m curious to see how it plays out like will people be happier you know knowing oh Tyler’s hurt but he’s coming back. It’s not like Tyler I don’t think the Tyler injury is going to impact the locker room all that much. I do think it sort of dampens the the outlook obviously but that’s fair. I think the locker room is gonna be in a good place because I think now you know who the leaders are. Tyler is going to be around the team. He’s a leader. Bam is obviously the leader. And I just think it’s good to have that kind of pecking order and just know who’s in charge and who’s not and and that not and none of these players have one foot out the door and and you’re not wondering does this guy care more about his contract and more about the team? I’m not blaming a player for caring about his contract, but it is something that impacts a locker room and that’s just we’re just stating facts here and that’s all there is uh to it for that. So, um yeah, I think the locker room will be in a better place if only because the trade drama and all that stuff is is passed and it honestly I don’t think it can get any worse. It has it is only going up from where it was towards the end of last season. Um really quick, Jersey worthy, yes. Jones Vadier Zo test. Yes. Versus pin this player against the player who came before him and ask if we got it right. Uh we put him over Chris Bosch. You and I both had him over Chris Bosch. So I think we agree that this was the right call. Uh yeah, but it’s it’s a tough one. Like I mean Bosch is six time allstar during his tenure here with Miami. Like more decorated player, but uh two championships. Fair. Two championships. But didn’t carry the team as singularly in those big moments either. Like Bosch’s impact was huge. But more strangely enough, it felt like more of a contributor during the regular season versus during the playoff runs. Like he had his big moment. What was the big Chris Bosch moment? Right. That’s what we don’t really have with him. With Jimmy, we have so many. Yeah, the bubble run cemented it. like you you did a great job of of painting that picture of the the bent over the stansion and doing everything you possibly could, but even just the look like he was grizzled, his beard grew out, his hair different, you know, he looked like all of us in in co where it’s like, yeah, why shave? Yeah, he looked the way we all felt and that’s a good and uh but but his effort was so supreme, so singular, too. I mean, again, you’re starting Kelly Olen and Myers Leonard and uh you know, you’re trying your best to force your way and then they still manage to win two games. Uh why’ I say, sorry, yeah. Oh, yeah. No, you’re right. You’re right. Um but the moment and if if if we want to kind of push back against like all that matters is championships, this is the way to push back on it, right? Where hey, these moments mattered. this guy was the number one guy. Chris Bosch was the number three guy for the most part during his tenure. Um, this stuff matters. And so I think Jimmy and just what he represented during that time and the fact that he pulled Miami out of this wiggun era and all this stuff was was a big deal. He was a superstar, right? He was the guy who was in commercials. Chris Bosch was in commercials. That stuff matters. That stuff matters. Um, really quick, the jersey worthy thing that we skimmed over, what’s the Jimmy Butler jersey you think of? [Music] Wow. Um, I guess it’s black. I think Butler in black. I go black. Although he was bent over the stansion in white. Yes, he was. But I still picture of him in the black jersey when he was like playoff full playoff Jimmy black jersey against the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s like that was scary. That was a scary sight if you were an opponent. Yeah, Jimmy Baller checks in at number three. We only have two more left in our 25 to 25 series. Let us know what you think in the comments. Thank you for making Lockdown Heat your first listen every day.

The Miami Heat add a much-needed big man after signing Precious Achiuwa. Will he redeem himself in his second stint with the Heat?

Wes Goldberg and David Ramil discuss Achiuwa’s potential impact and why Heat fans should adjust their expectations, as well as what the signing means for further Heat roster moves. Then they revisit Jimmy Butler’s tenure and his Heat legacy in their 25 Of 25 series.

0:00 Intro
1:30 Heat sign Precious Achiuwa
17:31 Jimmy Butler’s Heat legacy and departure
30:37 Sliding Doors moment

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