2. This Miami Heat team won’t last forever
What the Heat are building in South Beach right now is something that sounds great as a title contender for a year or two, but won’t be anything sustainable over the long haul. The big trade deadline acquisition the Heat had this year, small forward/shooting guard Andre Iguodala, is already 36 years old.
The Heat currently rank among the five oldest teams in the NBA in terms of average age of the players on the 15-man roster. Their average player age on the 15-man roster at the moment is around 27.5. Each of their seven highest paid players are also all at least 27 years old. Recently signed former Portland Trail Blazers big man Meyers Leonard is the only one who is younger than 29 among their seven highest paid players.
Moreover, Butler isn’t getting any younger either. If the Chicago Bulls eventually offer him a landing spot two or three years down the road where he can find a path to title contention better than he can with Pat Riley, head coach Erik Spoelstra, and the Heat, then it makes a lot of sense for him to go back to the Windy City.
Especially if the Heat are able to get Butler a title in the next two or three years, he might want to rest on his laurels and go back to a spot he’s comfortable in. Butler spent nearly all of his NBA career in the Eastern Conference, and returning back to the Windy City if this franchise is rejuvenated a few years down the line could be a good fit.