Update: Jimmy Butler Deal to Heat Complete

After a late-night mishap in a possible three-team deal between the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat can now say that they have officially acquired Jimmy Butler. The deal was made as part of a four-team transaction that involved the 76ers, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Portland Trail Blazers.

As mentioned in my previous article, the Heat traded Hassan Whiteside to Portland for Meyers Leonard and Mo Harkless, but now, Harkless has been traded to the Clippers, along with a first round draft pick from Miami. Whiteside isn’t the only former Heat player being dealt, as Josh Richardson is officially acquired by the 76ers. While on the subject of the 76ers, Butler had turned down a max contract offer from Philadelphia, which was a five-year, $190 million dollar deal.

Prior to this trade deal, the Heat and the 76ers were working a deal with the Mavericks that would’v sent Goran Dragic to Dallas, but instead, it ended up being Kelly Olynyk (pronounced Ol-lin-nik) and Derrick Jones Jr. The deal fell through because of salary cap issues from both sides, which led to the Mavs pulling out of the deal altogether.

In the end, things worked out for those involved in the four team deal. Miami has their all-star player that will lead their young core, who signed to a four-year, $164 million dollar deal. Philadelphia has a scorer in Richardson, the Clippers have a reliable player and a draft pick, and the Blazers have a big that can hold them over until Jusuf Nurkic (pronounced Yoo-suf Nur-kich) returns from injury. The free agency market will continue to heat up as Miami looks to make more moves throughout the offseason.