It is a sad way for Butler to end his stint in Miami after guiding the Heat to two NBA Finals and almost a third since arriving in 2019. Where will he end up next? That is unclear although the Phoenix Suns are the team to have been most consistently linked with him in recent weeks. The Golden State Warriors are believed to be in the mix as well.

While Fox would work as a fit for a Heat roster lacking a significant contribution at point guard since the declining play and then trade a year ago of Kyle Lowry, that math at the moment appears beyond the Heat’s means, unless Butler is part of such an equation.

As the desperation meter gets turned up on the Miami Heat to resolve their situation with Jimmy Butler, one of his former teams could look to put