Miami Heat

Anthony Edwards tried to downplay the back-and-forth between Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler on Friday, calling it a "grown-ass" conversation.

"Man, they're grown men, dawg. They were just talking, having a regular conversation if you ask me. If y'all come to see us compete, it's no competition if we're not talking s--t to each other, know what I'm saying?" Edwards told reporters. "Y'all can take that with a grain of salt. Like I said, they're grown-ass men. They're having a conversation. A regular conversation."

Television cameras picked up the trash-talk session between the former teammates, with Butler telling Towns he is "soft as baby s--t." Towns responded by telling Butler to "call Rachel Nichols."

Butler gave Nichols a sit-down interview in 2018 while trying to force his way out of Minnesota. His scorched-earth trade request was punctuated by an infamous practice in which Butler denigrated teammates, the coaching staff and the front office.

It appears there's bad blood between Towns and Butler nearly three years later.

Erik Spoelstra believes Jimmy Butler would be included in the MVP discussion under normal circumstances.

"I think if we had a complete year... Jimmy Butler would have to be in that conversation for MVP," the Miami Heat coach told reporters while pointing to the inconsistencies of the team's rotation during the start of the campaign.

Miami had a short offseason after reaching the NBA Finals in the Walt Disney World Resort bubble, and every team is playing just 72 games this season instead of the typical 82 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Butler is not widely considered an MVP candidate, especially when stacked up against contenders such as Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Chris Paul.

However, he has still been impressive and is averaging 21.5 points, 7.2 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game behind 49.3 percent shooting from the field this season. While he is shooting just 20.4 percent from deep, he is someone who can impact the game a number of ways on both ends of the floor.

The five-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA selection and four-time All-Defensive selection carried the Heat to the NBA Finals last season, but the team has struggled with consistency in 2020-21.

Miami is 35-30, which is good enough for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. It is just one game ahead of the seventh-seeded Boston Celtics, which is particularly important because of the play-in tournament in place this season.

The Nos. 7-10 seeds in each conference will face in a play-in tournament to determine the final two seeds in the traditional playoff bracket.

While Butler may not be the MVP this season, he can still help the Heat avoid such a fate as they look to make a run to a second straight NBA Finals.

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry are direct rivals in the Eastern Conference, but they put that aside away from the court.

During an appearance on The Artist and The Athlete with Lindsay Czarniak, Butler revealed Lowry is the godfather of his daughter.

"He's one of my absolute best friends. He's the godfather of my daughter," Butler said at the 30-minute mark. "As competitive as it is, we're always laughing, we're always joking around."

The five-time All-Star added he didn't want to go much further, lest he run afoul of the NBA's tampering rules.

Ahead of the 2021 trade deadline, The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor reported Lowry had Miami as his preferred destination due to his friendship with Butler if the Raptors moved him. While the 35-year-old remained in Toronto, he's a free agent this summer, which frees him up to sign with the Heat.

It looks like Butler would certainly be on board with the idea.

Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo is "expected to come back this season" despite his current injury, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said Sunday on NBA Countdown (h/t HoopsHype). 

Wojnarowski noted the guard "tweaked the area around his previous quad injury."

Oladipo suffered a torn quad in 2019, which limited him to just 55 games over his last two seasons combined. He has already missed four games after suffering an injury in the fourth quarter of the Heat's 110-104 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on April 8. 

The two-time All-Star was a midseason acquisition by the Heat at the trade deadline on March 25. He spent time with the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets earlier this season. He struggled in 29 games with those two teams, averaging 20.8 points on 41.1 percent shooting and 4.7 assists per contest.

Miami added Oladipo hoping he would be able to boost an offense that ranks 26th in points per game and 24th in rating, per NBA.com. The 28-year-old is off to a slow start in his new home with 12 points per game on 37.2 percent shooting.

The Heat's ceiling will be determined by their ability to score points and keep pace with the top teams in the Eastern Conference. They don't have a dominant shooter, but Oladipo has that ability at his best.

Until Oladipo can return at full strength, look for head coach Erik Spoelstra to rely on Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn to run the offense.

Jimmy Butler made his feelings clear Friday regarding the Miami Heat's inconsistent play this season.

On the heels of a 119-111 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, Butler told reporters: "I can't tell you which way we're going to go. I don't know what team is going to show up on any given night."

Butler also called the Heat "soft" and added:

"It's not frustrating because we do it so often. It's almost like it's expected, in a bad way to put it. We just think we're such a good team, and then reality hits us, we're humbled. And I'm glad, because that's what this game does for you. Home, away, no matter what opponent you're playing against, you just stroll into the game thinking you're nice, you're good. This is what happens."

The Heat have lost three games in a row, and with a 28-28 record, they are seventh in the Eastern Conference, which was unexpected given that they reached the NBA Finals last season.

Last season, both Butler and center Bam Adebayo were All-Stars and helped make Miami one of the surprise teams of the season, getting to the Finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Heat entered 2020-21 expected to be among the teams vying for an Eastern Conference title along with the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics.

Miami has not proved worthy of that distinction, though, and finds itself in a less-than-ideal position. The Heat occupy a playoff spot, but if the regular season were to end today, they would have to compete in the play-in round.

From a statistical perspective, Butler is enjoying arguably the best season of his career with 21.4 points, 7.2 assists, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.

Adebayo is also putting up big numbers with 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.1 blocks per contest, but Butler called for the talented center to play tougher basketball: "I want Bam to attack the rim because nobody can stay in front of him. Nobody can stay in front of him. Go. You're going to get fouled or you're going to dunk on somebody. That's cool. I love him shooting mid-range jump shots too, but he lets people off the hook. Play bully ball. I like bully ball."

The loss to Minnesota was especially disappointing for Butler and the Heat since the Timberwolves entered the game with the worst record in the NBA.

They now own the second-worst record at 15-42, but they are undoubtedly a team the Heat should defeat with relative ease.

Miami still has a supremely talented roster capable of going on a deep run should everything come together, but based on Friday's performance, the Heat are nowhere near where they need to be to repeat as Eastern Conference champions.

Miami Heat governor Micky Arison expressed his disappointment Friday that Dwyane Wade has joined the ownership group for the Utah Jazz rather than the Heat.

After the Jazz announced Wade had purchased a stake in the organization, Arison tweeted that he wished the 13-time All-Star had joined the Heat's ownership group:

Prior to his final NBA season in 2018-19, Wade expressed a desire to take on an ownership role.

"I definitely want to be a part of ownership in the NBA," Wade told Joel Weber of Bloomberg in 2018. "I’m not going to try to buy a team. I don’t have that kind of bread, but I definitely want to be a part of a great ownership group. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is all about players being involved in an ownership capacity."

The Heat seemed like a natural landing spot. Wade is the best player in franchise history, won three NBA titles in Miami and played 15 seasons with the organization. The Heat retired his No. 3 jersey in 2020. 

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the percentage of Wade's stake in the Jazz is unclear, but NBA bylaws require at least a 1 percent ownership share. 

Wade told Wojnarowski "there are going to be a lot of things that I'll want to be involved in" with the Jazz.

Ryan Smith has been Utah's majority owner and team governor since purchasing the franchise from the Miller family in October.

Things haven't gone well for Victor Oladipo since joining the Miami Heat in a deadline trade and it could lead to diminished value as a free agent this offseason.

"It is increasingly unlikely that Victor will get anything near a maximum deal this summer, in terms or annual dollars or even years, from the Heat or elsewhere," Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel said (h/t Jonathan Sherman of Heat Nation). "Thursday’s injury rekindled plenty of questions that never were far removed from the conversation."

Oladipo recently suffered a knee injury and he didn't travel with the team for its current road trip while the injury is evaluated. In four games with Miami, the guard is averaging 12.0 points per game while shooting 37.2 percent from the field.

It's a continuation of an up-and-down season for Oladipo, who was traded twice after beginning the year with the Indiana Pacers. He landed with the Houston Rockets as part of the deal that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets in January but was shipped out about two months later.

Across three teams in 2020-21, the 28-year-old is averaging 19.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists.

Oladipo is a two-time All-Star and at his best influenced the game on both ends of the court as a go-to scorer and tough perimeter defender. A quad injury has since derailed his career and created question marks over the past two seasons before free agency.

Miami's trade for Oladipo gave the team his Bird rights, providing the opportunity to offer an extra year to re-sign him in the offseason. The expiring contract also gives the organization flexibility to land another top free agent instead, which Winderman said "was always Part B of the Victor Oladipo equation."

Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo will miss at least the next four games due to the knee injury he suffered on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The Heat announced Friday that Oladipo wasn't accompanying the team on its four-game road trip as he undergoes further evaluation. 

Oladipo grabbed his knee after a dunk and had to be taken out of Miami's 110-104 win over the Lakers in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting, four rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes. 

Since joining Miami at the trade deadline, Oladipo has averaged 12.0 points and 3.5 assists through four games. 

The Heat (27-25) are in a battle with the Charlotte Hornets (26-24) and Atlanta Hawks (27-25) for the fourth through sixth seeds in the Eastern Conference with 20 games remaining. Currently, the Hornets hold fourth with a .520 winning percentage, while the Hawks are in fifth by way of a better conference winning percentage. Staying in the stop six spots is crucial to avoid having a play-in for the playoffs.

Miami will play the Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves on its four-game Western Conference road trip. The reigning Eastern Conference champions will return home on April 18 to take on the Brooklyn Nets. 

Through stints with three teams—having started the year with the Indiana Pacers before heading to Houston in the deal that sent James Harden to Brooklyn—the 28-year-old is averaging 19.8 points on 40.5 percent shooting with 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. 

Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn should see more time alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in Miami. 

Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo was ruled out of the remainder of Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers after suffering a knee injury, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Oladipo suffered the apparent injury during a dunk in the fourth quarter:

The guard had 18 points, four rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes before exiting with under six minutes left of an eventual 110-104 win.

Traded to Miami at the deadline, the Heat are Oladipo's third team of the 2020-21 season. He began the season with the Pacers before being traded to Houston as part of the James Harden deal before being rerouted again by the Rockets.

In his first three games with his new team, Oladipo averaged 10.0 points and 4.0 assists, although he broke out with 16 points Tuesday against the Memphis Grizzlies. He's struggled to make the same impact since suffering a quad injury during the 2017-18 season but has flashed two-way brilliance at times.

Kendrick Nunn will likely see an increase in playing time with him out of the lineup. 

After coming off the bench as a rookie last year, Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro envisioned a different role for his sophomore season in the NBA.

While he started the first 14 games of the year, Herro has been playing in a bench role for the Heat since the start of February, something he told reporters he has grown accustomed to at this point of the year. 

“Definitely thought I would be starting,” he said, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “But I think as the season goes on, things change and I’m OK with coming off the bench right now and just continuing to do that."

The 21-year-old, the No. 13 pick by the Heat in 2019, is averaging 15.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists through 31.7 minutes per game, all improvements from his Eastern Conference Championship campaign, though his three-point percentage has dipped from 38.9 to 33.0 percent.

While he's certainly producing at the level worthy of a starting spot, there's simply no room for the Kentucky product on the floor. 

Miami already boasted Jimmy Butler and Duncan Robinson. Since they acquired Victor Oladipo at the trade deadline, Herro will likely only crack the lineup in case of an injury. 

For the Heat as a whole, it's a good problem to have. Goran Dragic, who is averaging 13.3 points per game, is also on the bench next to Herro. 

“We got a lot of guys who can score, a lot of guys who can play," he said. "So once I get in, just try to keep the flow going and try to keep the rhythm of the team going.”

Herro will bring his next-man-up mentality into Thursday's tilt with the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers (7:30 p.m. ET).