Relationships are crucial in the NBA, be it with teammates, coaches or the front office.

In the case of Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, two of the above parties appear to play a role in his trade request. The obvious disconnect is between team president Pat Riley and the front office, but it appears the six-time All-Star doesn’t particularly like the Heat’s current roster.

NBA insider Marc Stein revealed in a recent article that the three teammates Butler was close with are no longer part of the organization.

“Perhaps the strongest argument Butler could make as a counterattack: Look to the left and
“Right and his closest teammates from the 2023 Cinderella team are all gone,” Stein wrote. “Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin – three starters from Miami’s lineup for the Game 1 finale.”
against Denver – everyone left the Heat in the last two summers.”

“Those were (Butler’s) guys,” said another NBA source familiar with the Heat’s thinking, according to Stein.

None of the three former Heat players were traded but were left in free agency. While the retirement was partly out of the Heat’s control, it’s surprising that greater efforts weren’t made to keep their franchise cornerstone’s closest friends off the field.

Stein went a step further, reporting that the 35-year-old saw Strus, now a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, as a brother.

“Butler is said to have seen Strus as a brother – someone who could match the All-Star’s sarcastic (some would call it aggressive) sense of humor. They developed a celebrated handshake routine that appeared frequently in Instagram posts and was punctuated by players turning each other around with shared tongue-in-cheek fervor,” Stein wrote. “Several people who knew this edition of the Heat well called Strus an important figure in keeping Butler stable in the larger team dynamic.”

Making matters worse is that the Heat have never been able to land another superstar alongside Butler, despite focusing most of their attention there in recent summers.

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Anthony Pasciolla is a writer for Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at [email protected] or follow him on X @AnthonyPasci.