Jimmy Butler's Agent: Heat Star Is Happy in Miami Despite Not Landing Damian Lillard
The Miami Heat's quest to land Damian Lillard did not succeed as the Milwaukee Bucks acquired the superstar guard from the Portland Trail Blazers.
That led to questions about Heat superstar Jimmy Butler's happiness in Miami, but his agent, Bernard Lee, put any concerns to rest while noting that his client has had "more than enough" help on his supporting cast.
Lillard's trade request went public on July 1, and word soon emerged that he desired a deal to the Heat. However, Blazers general manager Joe Cronin told reporters he would do what was best for the franchise, even if it took "months."
It did take months, and Cronin did end up taking the best offer, which was not courtesy of Miami.
The Heat would have benefitted from adding Lillard, a seven-time All-NBA player who just averaged 32.2 points per game.
He would have taken a heavy scoring and usage burden off Butler and filled a starting guard gap left when Gabe Vincent departed in free agency for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason.
That will not happen, but the reigning Eastern Conference champion Heat still have a talented roster.
Two-time All-Star big man Bam Adebayo is aboard, and Tyler Herro (20.1 PPG) will return from a broken right hand. Caleb Martin, who broke out in last year's playoffs, will play a prominent role as well.
We'll see what the Heat do for an encore soon enough when the team opens the season on Oct. 25 against the Detroit Pistons.
