Miami Heat Roasted for Jimmy Butler Trade Before Pistons Battle

Miami catches Heat for the Jimmy Butler trade.

Mar 10, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) catches a pass over Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) during the second quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images | John Hefti-Imagn Images

The Detroit Pistons are catching the Miami Heat at a time when Jimmy Butler’s former team is down and struggling. Although the Heat would have a reputation for seemingly coasting through the regular season, they were typically a threat whenever Butler was on the floor.

These days, Butler’s not there to pose a threat. Back in February, the Heat were left with no choice but to part ways with Butler. A standoff ended with Miami striking a major blockbuster deal to send Butler out West to join Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

Most NBA fans probably wouldn’t put the Butler deal over the Luka Doncic blockbuster trade as the worst the league has seen this year. However, the five-time NBA veteran Theo Pinson would. Recently, the former Mavericks wing roasted the Heat for trading away Butler.

“That is a worse trade than Dallas and the Lakers, by far. Dallas is getting cooked by injuries. The Heat are healthy!” Pinson said on ’To The Baha.’

“Regardless of what the [expletive] you thought he was doing off the court, that [expletive] brought a toughness. He brought a mentality. He had leadership. Bro, I swear to God, it did not matter what seed the Miami Heat were; if they got in the playoffs, any team that played them didn’t want to see him and had to buckle up.”

Dec 16, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) knocks the ball away from Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II (00) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Simply comparing records, the Warriors landed Butler and started thriving by winning 15 out of 17 games he played since making his Golden State debut on February 8. Since Butler left, the Heat have posted a 5-15 record. Heading into the matchup against the Pistons, the Heat have lost eight games in a row. That’s the second-longest active losing streak in the league, next to the Utah Jazz’s 10-game drought.

The Pistons will be searching for their 39th win on Wednesday night. With the Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers holding a similar record in front of them, Detroit could take advantage of playing struggling opponents to close out the week to help themselves improve their spot in the standings after holding the sixth seed for a while.

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