Report: Jimmy Butler had plans to meet with Clippers and Lakers in 2019

While Jimmy Butler is currently taking the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals, he almost had a chance to take his talents to Los Angeles.

According to a report from Sam Amick, Jimmy Butler had plans to meet with the Clippers and Lakers before signing with the Miami Heat. What ultimately ended up happening was Butler falling in love with the Heat culture before even taking meetings with the Clippers and Lakers.

"During the July 2019 free agency period in which he fell in love with the Heat culture during that storied Miami meeting and decided so quickly that he was all in with Pat Riley & Co., a source with knowledge of his situation said the next two meetings on his travel schedule were with the Clippers and the Lakers in Los Angeles," Amick said. "A source with knowledge of James’ thinking said Butler had the respect of the Lakers people who mattered most — James among them — but the Lakers chose to prioritize Kawhi Leonard above all else before he signed with the Clippers and were thus delayed in their process."

Butler was on Kawhi Leonard's list of players he wanted to play with. While the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals without Jimmy Butler, it would be very interesting to see where the Clippers would go with him. Even though the Clippers still acquired Paul George, he didn't perform anywhere near how he needed to in the playoffs, and isn't the vocal leader that the Clippers needed. Butler could have been that opposite tandem that Kawhi Leonard needs.

Regardless of what anyone says, Jimmy Butler made the correct choice. He's built something special in Miami and took a team that nobody had any expectations of, to the NBA Finals.