Around the League: 2024-25 Season

[BadMofoPimp]

Eh... Intentionally or unintentionally Riley did this on purpose. Butler is 35. Look at history of Heat and their declining stars.
Wade- traded
Shaq -traded
Mourning- gone as free agent
Tim Hardaway -traded

Butler being told by Riley to STFU is him doing what he always did. Pointing to exit doors.

So Riley expects a godfather offer for a declining, max-hunting, injured Butler?

Riley offered Wade some $10M contract , Wade got upset so Riley offered him 2 years $40M knowing Wade is too much of a diva to not get offended.
Isn't that similar thing he did to Butler? Played his ego to get rid of him.

I don't think he expects some massive return, he just bets on desperation of some teams. Failing giants will sell a lot just to save next season and half and Butler can fix lot of teams.

If he goes to GSW- Heat gets Kuminga and Podziemski or Moody.
If he goes to Houston- Heat gets Jabari as former 2 # pick + Cam Whitmore + picks.
If he goes to Nuggets- Heat gets Porter or Murray ( probably Porter)
If he goes to OKC- they get boat of picks.

It's pretty much win win for Heat and Riley

And if Riley plays hardball and doesn't trade him to let him walk in the off season, the Heat have up to $50 mil off the cap to use elsewhere.

[BadMofoPimp]

Thank y'all for explaining what's going on with Jimmy Buckets bc I had no clue why he was so mad at the Heat when not too long ago he was all "Heat Culture". As a Magic fan i don't know who I dislike more the NYers or the bandwagon Mia fans?

Butler demanded a new deal paying max value when he is not the same player he used to be. Riley didn't fold.

[Skybox]

Thank y'all for explaining what's going on with Jimmy Buckets bc I had no clue why he was so mad at the Heat when not too long ago he was all "Heat Culture". As a Magic fan i don't know who I dislike more the NYers or the bandwagon Mia fans?

Butler demanded a new deal paying max value when he is not the same player he used to be. Riley didn't fold.

Riley's not scared of any player...he's doing the math...is there a ring left in him - with the present lineup or with improvements that are reasonable to believe are possible? If the answer is no, then stand your ground and maybe even force the player to look disgruntled and ask for an out.

Ingram, Randle, Zion, Kuminga, Giddey and Butler...none of these guys are worth what they think they are and (GOOD) GM's are finally surveying the landscape before they fold up and overpay and are married to these bad deals. Second Apron is also giving GM's a good excuse to be bold and not just get slammed by casual fans for being "greedy" or "cheapskates that don't care about winning".

[pepe1991]

Thank y'all for explaining what's going on with Jimmy Buckets bc I had no clue why he was so mad at the Heat when not too long ago he was all "Heat Culture". As a Magic fan i don't know who I dislike more the NYers or the bandwagon Mia fans?

Butler demanded a new deal paying max value when he is not the same player he used to be. Riley didn't fold.

Riley's not scared of any player...he's doing the math...is there a ring left in him - with the present lineup or with improvements that are reasonable to believe are possible? If the answer is no, then stand your ground and maybe even force the player to look disgruntled and ask for an out.

Ingram, Randle, Zion, Kuminga, Giddey and Butler...none of these guys are worth what they think they are and (GOOD) GM's are finally surveying the landscape before they fold up and overpay and are married to these bad deals. Second Apron is also giving GM's a good excuse to be bold and not just get slammed by casual fans for being "greedy" or "cheapskates that don't care about winning".

This is where majority of franchises get stuck. They don't have persona like Riley to say no. They fold and sign C level star players on crazy contracts and can't recover after it.

[MasterGMer]

Miami Heat went to the Finals 2 times in the last 4 years and they are proud of their Heat Culture. Idk what the team has gone to? Gotta be mad if you are a Miami fan and GM, right?

[thelead]

Miami Heat went to the Finals 2 times in the last 4 years and they are proud of their Heat Culture. Idk what the team has gone to? Gotta be mad if you are a Miami fan and GM, right?

They let talent walk for some reason (Strus, Martins, etc). Not sure what they're trying to build and I'm guessing that is at the core of Jimmy's frustrations.

[MasterGMer]

Miami Heat went to the Finals 2 times in the last 4 years and they are proud of their Heat Culture. Idk what the team has gone to? Gotta be mad if you are a Miami fan and GM, right?

They let talent walk for some reason (Strus, Martins, etc). Not sure what they're trying to build and I'm guessing that is at the core of Jimmy's frustrations.

Yes, it is his frustration with Pat Riley.

[MasterGMer]

Read on Twitter

[thelead]

Read on Twitter

definitely not a great look for Miami as an organization if they're trying to attract talent.

[Knightro]

CJ McCollum with a 50 piece in the year 2025.

What a world.

[RookieStar]

Read on Twitter

Wooooooo. Yeah Rileys isnt messing around

[Skybox]

CJ McCollum with a 50 piece in the year 2025.

What a world.

He will be capable of that, on any given night, for as long as he plays…Love to see him for come here for pennies, leading the second unit and still the best guy on the court on occasion

[pepe1991]

West is so damn good. Now Lakers are killing it. Dallas is amazing team that went to conference finals, Grizzlies are very nice team, on given night Spurs can beat anybody, Nuggets have best player in the world. Than you add OKC, Houston.

[drsd]

West is so damn good. Now Lakers are killing it. Dallas is amazing team that went to conference finals, Grizzlies are very nice team, on given night Spurs can beat anybody, Nuggets have best player in the world. Than you add OKC, Houston.

Do you think the Detroit Pistons will still fight for a play-in berth or trade out their vest for lotto tickets?

[Knightro]

West is so damn good. Now Lakers are killing it. Dallas is amazing team that went to conference finals, Grizzlies are very nice team, on given night Spurs can beat anybody, Nuggets have best player in the world. Than you add OKC, Houston.

Do you think the Detroit Pistons will still fight for a play-in berth or trade out their vest for lotto tickets?

Detroit is playing better than they have the last few years, but their improvement is almost entirely based around the fact they replaced the bad young guys in their rotation with capable veterans.

Tobias Harris 32 MPG
Malik Beasley 28 MPG
Tim Hardaway Jr 28 MPG

That’s 88 minutes a game that are being filled by competent veterans that last year were filled by youngish guys who aren’t NBA caliber like Wiseman and Hayes and Knox.

[pepe1991]

West is so damn good. Now Lakers are killing it. Dallas is amazing team that went to conference finals, Grizzlies are very nice team, on given night Spurs can beat anybody, Nuggets have best player in the world. Than you add OKC, Houston.

Do you think the Detroit Pistons will still fight for a play-in berth or trade out their vest for lotto tickets?

Detroit is playing better than they have the last few years, but their improvement is almost entirely based around the fact they replaced the bad young guys in their rotation with capable veterans.

Tobias Harris 32 MPG
Malik Beasley 28 MPG
Tim Hardaway Jr 28 MPG

That’s 88 minutes a game that are being filled by competent veterans that last year were filled by youngish guys who aren’t NBA caliber like Wiseman and Hayes and Knox.

Pistons are bag of nothingness.
They are neither good defense nor good offense, majority of competitive edge of a roster is held by veterans, they drafted so much players without any purpose in modern era including 3 lottery picks that i really don't know how can play together.
Ausar has fundamentally broken jumpshot from any range and is 6'7 center.
Duren, without any shooting range, just brute force that would look much better if it's 2004, not 2025.
Holland. I won't say too much negative about him, he is 19, but man. Just googled him ,reddit treats him like he is new Lebron. Next level delusion there. Guy is few years away from being few yeras away. In most cases that means that he will be in Poland/Turkey 5 years from now.

They won't tank this year because they gave pick to Knicks ( top 13 protected in 25, top 11 in 2026, top 9 in 2027).
There is no way how they can climb over play in, and in play in they are least talented team projected to end there.


They are so damn awful at drafting that nobody can save them.
Drafted Ausar, had Coulibaly, Livley, Dick, Black, Wallace, George, Hawkins as alternatives.
Drafted Hayes, had Avdija, Haliburton, Vassell as alternatives
Drafted Doumbouya - virtually not drafting would be better than him.
Drafted Kennar with Adebayo, Mitchell, Allen, Collins aveliable..

Ivey is only player they drafed in past 10 years where i didn't roll my eyes with " really?" comment. Okey, Chade, but i still don't think he is as good as he was hyped to be. Always looked like Luka Dončić from Temu/ Ali Express to me.

[eyriq]

Pistons are bag of nothingness.
They are neither good defense nor good offense, majority of competitive edge of a roster is held by veterans, they drafted so much players without any purpose in modern era including 3 lottery picks that i really don't know how can play together.
Ausar has fundamentally broken jumpshot from any range and is 6'7 center.
Duren, without any shooting range, just brute force that would look much better if it's 2004, not 2025.
Holland. I won't say too much negative about him, he is 19, but man. Just googled him ,reddit treats him like he is new Lebron. Next level delusion there. Guy is few years away from being few yeras away. In most cases that means that he will be in Poland/Turkey 5 years from now.

They won't tank this year because they gave pick to Knicks ( top 13 protected in 25, top 11 in 2026, top 9 in 2027).
There is no way how they can climb over play in, and in play in they are least talented team projected to end there.


They are so damn awful at drafting that nobody can save them.
Drafted Ausar, had Coulibaly, Livley, Dick, Black, Wallace, George, Hawkins as alternatives.
Drafted Hayes, had Avdija, Haliburton, Vassell as alternatives
Drafted Doumbouya - virtually not drafting would be better than him.
Drafted Kennar with Adebayo, Mitchell, Allen, Collins aveliable..

Ivey is only player they drafed in past 10 years where i didn't roll my eyes with " really?" comment. Okey, Chade, but i still don't think he is as good as he was hyped to be. Always looked like Luka Dončić from Temu/ Ali Express to me.

They aren't in the worst situation imaginable, its actually a bit of a blank slate with some decent flexibility. Cade is a top 10 point guard and still developing and their cap sheet is wide open. The tank at least delivered them a franchise point guard to build around. I think that they now need to convert their prospects into another star to put around Cade. I'd go all in on Zion if I was in their shoes. Either way, they need to be aggressive buyers.

[AdamTheGreek]

The Pistons were hoping for Bickerstaff to settle the franchise. He has. They’re average and should make the play-in as long as Cunningham stays healthy (since Ivey is out for the season).
That’s immense progress.

[eyriq]

The Pistons were hoping for Bickerstaff to settle the franchise. He has. They’re average and should make the play-in as long as Cunningham stays healthy (since Ivey is out for the season).
That’s immense progress.

Agreed. Bickerstaff is a proven player development coach and Cade is showing his chops as a franchise point guard. This is the kind of season you'd be hoping for as a Pistons fan. Get into the play-in for a taste of the postseason and see where the cards fall. They aren't anywhere close to being top-heavy enough to be contenders and need a lot to happen to get there but they are at least a step closer to being a playoff team. I quite like their situation.

[RookieStar]

Well... a lot of smoke that MEM is getting Jimmy?