Against their own wishes, the Miami Heat made the tough decision to trade away star Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors at his request. Butler demanded a trade out of Miami because the organization refused to offer him a max contract extension. The situation became very tense after Butler decided he didn’t want to play for the Heat anymore.
Ultimately, Butler landed in Golden State and received an extension, while the Heat landed a package that included Andrew Wiggins. Butler tore his ACL earlier this season and has been sidelined while the Warriors push toward the play-in and hope for a spot in the NBA postseason.
The situation in Miami for Butler got bad enough that he said in a press conference that he had lost his joy playing basketball for the Heat, and that he would probably not be able to regain it without a trade. That set off alarms both in the building and around the NBA. Sensing the situation, many Heat players stayed away from it and didn’t reach out to Butler.
That is, except for Jaime Jacquez Jr., who called Butler after the infamous press conference to attempt to sway him away from his trade demands. In a recent appearance on “The Zach Lowe Show,” Jacquez opened up about that phone call and his failed message to his former teammate.
“I think I did call him after one of those press conferences,” Jacquez said. “I was like, ‘Hey man, whatever problems you got, we’re here. Whatever problems you’ve got with your teammates, we’re here. We want you to feel like we’ve got your back’ type of thing.”
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Jacquez was in the middle of his second season in the NBA and with the Heat, while Butler was in his 14th season and had led the Heat to the NBA Finals twice. It’s not uncommon for Butler to have a messy departure from a franchise, as it has become the norm for him in his career. He had uncomfortable divorces with the Bulls, Timberwolves and 76ers before joining the Heat.
While Jacquez’s plea to Butler didn’t prevent his trade to Golden State, both franchises are in a similar state today. Dealing with injuries and a lack of depth, the Warriors and Heat are both currently 10th in their respective conferences as the NBA season winds down.