As Butler returns, two unasked questions that could have saved Heat, Dolphins lots of angst
We’ve all walked away from conversations in our life - with a friend, a boss, a customer service rep - and kicked ourselves for not remembering to ask an important question.
I’ve certainly done that several times in 40 years at the Miami Herald.
For the Dolphins and Heat, not asking two simple questions has proven extremely damaging, and the impact is still being felt as Jimmy Butler makes his return to Kaseya Center for Tuesday’s game against the Heat.
In the Dolphins’ case, all of the fallout of the Brian Flores fiasco - the lawsuit against the team and the owner, the docking of two draft picks - could have been avoided if owner Stephen Ross has simply said this during Flores’ job interview before he was hired after the 2018 season:
“Winning will not a priority this season, Brian. Our No. 1 objective is being in position to draft the top quarterback in the draft. I’m not asking you or any coach we hire to throw games, obviously. But playing younger players, over better veterans, and getting a high pick will be the strategy and priority this year. Are you comfortable with that approach in 2019 and only 2019?”
If that had simply been asked, the Dolphins would have known Flores wasn’t the man for the job. And that would have avoided the embarrassing lawsuit against Ross and the NFL investigation into Flores’ allegations that Ross offered him money to lose games, a claim that spawned the league’s discovery of Dolphins’ tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton and ultimately cost the Dolphins a first-round pick in 2023 and a third-round pick in 2024.
If the Dolphins hadn’t been docked that first-rounder in 2023, they could have drafted receivers Jordan Addison (133 catches, 20 TDs in two years) or Zay Flowers (151, 9 in two seasons) or two of the game’s best young tight ends - Dalton Kincaid or Sam LaPorta - or 2023 All Rookie center Steve Avila.
If they hadn’t been docked the third rounder last year, they could have drafted productive Pittsburgh rookie linebacker Payton Wilson (78 tackles) or UM safety Kam Kinchens (four interceptions for the Rams).
All of this is the byproduct of not asking a question that should have been weaved into the first 15 minutes of any head coaching candidate interview.
In the Heat’s case, a comment from Butler this week reinforced the notion that simply asking a direct question of Butler in June might have avoided the mess he created this season.
Butler suggested that Heat president Pat Riley did not approach him last offseason after Riley made the comment that Butler should not have trolled the Celtics after missing the playoff series and after Riley’s May revelation that the Heat would delay a decision on giving him the contract extension he initially coveted.
But even if Riley had approached him, there would have been no reconciliation last summer, Butler said this week.
“I think I knew in what direction I was going,” he said of his feelings after last season. “Nobody ever asked me, though.”
Therein lies the biggest head-scratcher of how the Butler drama played out.
Knowing that Butler forced his way out of Chicago and Minnesota, with a particularly messy ending with the Timberwolves, all of this might have been avoided if Riley had simply called Butler in May or June – or met him at Butler’s San Diego home – and said:
“Are you happy with us despite my comment about keeping your mouth shut and not giving you an extension? Do you want to be here? Are you going to be happy and motivated and professional this season after forcing your way out of Minnesota?
“Will you behave differently here than you did in Minnesota? Or are you unhappy and prefer to be traded? If you prefer to be traded, we will work quietly on a deal. But we want to do right by you and you need to tell me exactly how you feel.”
In the Heat’s defense, a team source insists that Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, assured the Heat that Butler would be professional all season and wouldn’t cause the wreck that he ultimately created. Butler suggested as much at media day.
And to be clear: Butler deserves far more of the blame for his fiasco, because of his deplorable behavior in his final months with the Heat.
And even if Riley had asked Butler directly in June, it’s not certain he would have received an honest answer.
But what if Riley had made it a priority to meet Butler in June and ask him this directly? If Butler had revealed he was unhappy, the Heat could have discreetly dealt him this offseason without it necessarily torpedoing this season.
The Knicks and Warriors both had interest in Butler last summer but the Heat wasn’t inclined to entertain offers, believing a healthy Butler, plus last January’s addition of Terry Rozier and a healthy Tyler Herro, would make this team a serious contender.
Considering the Nets last June extracted five first round picks from the Knicks for Mikal Bridges, who has never been an All Star, what could the Heat have snagged from the Knicks (two firsts plus Julius Randle?) if they had known last May that Butler wanted out?
Would the Warriors have offered two first-rounders instead of merely needing to give the Heat one first-rounder before the trade deadline, with the Heat holding far less leverage than Miami would have had last June?
Because of Butler’s mercurial behavior and history of torching relationships, Riley should have found Butler in May or June, pressed him for a straight answer, and traded him quietly if Butler had leveled with him.
Both the Dolphins and Heat are still suffering from simply not asking the questions directly to the principles, Flores and Butler. It’s a tough lesson to learn for Ross and Riley, two men whose long list of career accomplishments speak for themselves.
This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 3:00 PM.
