The Philadelphia 76ers will have a lot of money to spend in the upcoming offseason. They will either be big players in free agency or in the trade market as they look to make upgrades on the roster.
The Sixers have a star duo: Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Now is the time for President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey to make the moves he needs to make to help the roster. The Sixers are continuing to chase the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference who are in the finals for the second time in three years.
One idea is to bring back Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat. The Sixers had Butler in the 2018-19 season and then he left to join the Heat that offseason. He has led Miami to finals appearances in 2020 and 2023 and to the Eastern Conference finals three times.
While the Sixers would like to bring him back, Butler said in an interview with GQ that he would like to bring a title home like Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh have done in the past:
“I feel at home, man. I really care about the city, I really care about the people in this city. Miami has embraced me. They’ve wanted me to bring them something they haven’t done since LeBron, D-Wade and C-Bosh. And I want to do that. So as soon as I get this knee back right, I’m right back on they ass and everybody know it.”
Butler wants a contract extension, and the Sixers are willing to give it to him if they can bring him back, but he prefers to have it with the Heat.
Jimmy Butler wants a max extension this offseason, preferably from the Heat. But whether it's from the Heat or another team, he wants a max extension.
Or Butler can become a free agent by declining his player option next offseason and look for a max contract then. https://t.co/RIX8nXrvmt
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) May 28, 2024
Philadelphia can offer a great deal to Butler. It would just take a lot to get him. Miami is trying to chase a title of its own so it wouldn’t just accept draft picks from the Sixers in a Butler deal. The Heat would certainly need a third team to get involved and it remains to be seen if that can happen.
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