Heat’s Waiters answers trolls with new physique

LeBron James has missed the Los Angeles Lakers last eight games as he deals with a right foot tendon injury. The Lakers have gone 5-3 during that stretch with James out of the lineup.

Now, with Los Angeles just a game under .500 and in the middle of the race for the Play-In Tournament, James may start ramping up towards a return this season. James’ foot is reportedly feeling “much better”. The Lakers are preparing for James to need a significant chunk of the remainder of the regular season to ramp up.

Los Angeles has 13 games left in the regular season. The Lakers are currently in 10th place in the Western Conference, one game ahead of both the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz.

Now that the Jimmy Butler situation reached the inevitable trade request from Butler, the Miami Heat have decisions to make. One thing Miami has made certain: They won’t take back salary they can’t move in a deal for Butler.

For years, NBA teams have operated as though you can’t let a player leave without getting anything in return. Last summer, the LA Clippers used the savings from letting Paul George walk to rebuild their depth. LA dropped under the luxury tax for the first time in a few years. They used that flexibility to add several players to round out their roster.

The Heat could take a similar path by letting Butler leave in free agency. There’s also the matter of few teams projecting to have available cap space this summer. The only team that projects to have max space is the Brooklyn Nets, who are rebuilding. Despite having been linked together, would Butler sign with a rebuilding Nets team? If not, then the Heat would have to be agreeable to a sign-and-trade scenario.

One rival GM put it best while explaining Miami still has control.

“The Heat make mistakes and sometimes have issues with players just like everyone else,” the GM said. “But they do not get pushed around.”