The 76ers offered Jimmy Butler a max contract to return to Philadelphia. A max contract that would have paid him $190 million over five years.
Butler turned it down and took $141 million from the Heat. He reportedly wanted the opportunity to have a team built around him.
Via NBC Sports:
Butler’s trip to Miami was not a leverage play. A source close to the situation says Butler was indeed offered the five-year, $190 million full max from Philly, but Butler wanted to move on. And perhaps the Sixers put the offer on the table with the understanding that Butler wouldn’t take it.
Even if the Sixers deeply wanted Butler back, both sides can confidently say they’re in better places now. With a $141 million deal in hand, Butler will spend his early 30s in South Florida under Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley, two gym rats who seem to mirror Butler’s basketball DNA.
There’s the opportunity to have a team built around you and there’s the fact that one team plays in Miami. Butler is probably looking forward to that as well after playing in cold weather cuties his entire career.
For that we don’t blame him. Who needs to run it back in Philly when there’s warm weather on the table?
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