Jimmy Butler: 'This is the year, this is the one'

Anthony Chiang: Jimmy Butler: “I’m emo.” pic.twitter.com/DGq5TJmIpo -via Twitter @Anthony_Chiang / October 2, 2023

Joining forces with Antetokounmpo, McCollum said, could be a better fit for Lillard than playing with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in Miami. “No disrespect to Jimmy and Bam, and that organization, and that roster, but Giannis is different,” McCollum said. “That’s a different guy to play alongside in terms of his dominance. There’s not another guy in the league that dominates the way he does. He’s just the guy that’s really, really hard to guard.” -via Oregonian / October 1, 2023

The Blazers and Heat had multiple conversations in July, but the sides never engaged in substantive negotiations, sources briefed on those talks told The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Sam Amick. In an initial call, the Blazers asked the Heat for Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo. The Heat came to believe that the Blazers had little to no interest in engaging in a deal with them, and as much as Lillard and Goodwin wished that the Blazers would attempt to satisfy his wish, Portland refused. As the summer progressed, Lillard wanted the Blazers to simply try to find a deal with Miami, but those wishes, in his mind, also went unfulfilled. -via The Athletic / September 28, 2023