Stephen A. Smith Believes Jimmy Butler Could Have Solved Philadelphia 76ers Playoff Struggles

The Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers have shown opposite ends of success since the departure of now-Heat superstar Jimmy Butler.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith recently said via First Take that he believes Butler could have been the solution to Philadelphia’s postseason failures.

"If [Jimmy] had never departed from the Philadelphia 76ers and he was a teammate of Joel Embiid, the 76ers wouldn’t be on this drought where they can’t get to a conference finals," Smith said. "They would’ve gotten at the very least to a conference finals by this point if they had kept Jimmy Butler instead of losing him ultimately to the Miami Heat in free agency."

“If [Jimmy] had never departed from Philly & he was a teammate of Embiid, the 76ers wouldn’t be on this drought where they can’t get to a conf. finals. They would’ve gotten at least to a conf. finals by this point if they kept Jimmy instead of losing him to Miami” @stephenasmith pic.twitter.com/rMMmYeqkgC
— Dru (@dru_star) August 31, 2023

In Butler’s lone season with the 76ers, they were defeated in seven games by the eventual champion Toronto Raptors. Since that gut-wrenching loss, the 76ers have yet to reach the Eastern Conference finals.

They could face another disappointing season after star James Harden requested a trade earlier this summer. Rumors have also surfaced of the reigning MVP, Embiid, wanting out of Philadelphia.

Miami, meanwhile, acquired Butler in the summer of 2019 after Philadelphia instead chose to re-sign forward Tobias Harris. Butler has led the Heat to two Finals appearances in his four seasons.

The Heat are expected to land seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard this offseason, further progressing them towards their first ring in nearly a decade.

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Anthony Pasciolla is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He can be reached at anthonypasciolla36@gmail.com or follow him on Tik Tok @anthonysports_