Sports
Jimmy Butler Sweepstakes: Which NBA Contender Has the Guts to Go All-In?
Jan 2, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) warms-up before the game against the Indiana Pacers at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images The Cavaliers, Celtics and Thunder almost surely won’t be active at next week’s trade deadline.
They can still be the three biggest reasons phones are buzzing with NBA trade chatter.
It wasn’t long ago NBA finalists were a foregone conclusion: the Cavs or Celtics in the East, the Thunder in the West.
But things have changed.
The Cavaliers got thumped big-time by the Pacers, who are an NBA-best 10-2 in January, and the Thunder. And perhaps more telling, they lost twice to the Rockets.
They are starting to resemble the Baltimore Ravens.
The Celtics also got rocked by the Thunder and likewise got blindsided by the Rockets. Narrow wins over the Pelicans and Clippers have been equally revealing.
They’ve become the Kansas City Chiefs… which obviously isn’t necessarily season-dooming.
And the Thunder lost twice to the Luka-less Mavericks, breathing life into the defending Western champs even while the Rockets are playing the best basketball of the three.
You have to wonder: Are they the NBA’s version of the not-ready-for-prime-time Detroit Lions?
In light of recent developments, I count at least half the league now asking itself: Would Jimmy Butler take us over the top? And if so, how could we get him?
First off, most of these teams are kidding themselves… or at least their unrealistic fans.
The Knicks, Bucks, Rockets and Mavericks don’t think they need any help.
The 76ers, Nuggets, Lakers and Suns should know by now: Three’s a crowd in superstar circles. They need depth, not star power.
The Magic, Grizzlies and Kings need to figure out what they have before deciding upon what they need; the Hawks and Warriors don’t belong in this conversation; and let’s be honest: Butler’s not going back to Minnesota.
That leaves three intriguing possibilities: the Pacers, Clippers and—dare we say it?—the Thunder.
The Heat are said to want expiring contracts and draft picks. That likely would mean getting a third and perhaps fourth team involved.
Let’s examine why these three contenders might be willing to try to make it happen.
PACERS
May 8, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle argues with an official in the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks during game two of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. credits: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports Indiana was probably two players away from getting anyone’s attention last season when it took its first big step, acquiring Pascal Siakam. He, like team leader Tyrese Haliburton, are great complementary pieces. And that’s why Butler fits in so well.
Also, note the formula the Knicks have scripted in their effort to dethrone the Celtics. Priority 1: You have to match up Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Attaching them to Siakam and Butler would accomplish that.
How are the Pacers matching Butler’s $49 million contract and satisfying the Heat’s conditions at the same time? Myles Turner’s $20 million in the final season of his deal gets you halfway there, and no doubt the Heat would be interested in a good, young player like Aaron Nesmith ($11 million). Having no available first-round picks until 2029 could be a problem. Hello, Danny?
CLIPPERS
May 1, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Clippers oach Tyronn Lue at a press conference during game five of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Can you imagine Butler and Kawhi Leonard on the same team? Two winners, great two-way players and – teams in the West are less worried about this – an advantage over Tatum-Brown.
Tyronn Lue knows how to handle multi-superstar rosters, which helps. And the Clippers have just enough complementary talent—including the vastly underrated Norman Powell—to make this work.
But can they make it happen? Packaging James Harden ($34 million) and P.J. Tucker ($12 million) is a perfect fit… if the Heat are willing to accept the fact that Harden has the option to play next season at $36 million. Like the Pacers, their first-round picks are tied up for a while, so it might mean selling off the ever-popular Derrick Jones Jr. for a couple from OKC’s stash could be required.
THUNDER
Jan 8, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault reacts during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images If you believe in the natural progression of sports champions, the up-and-coming Thunder will improve on last year’s trip to the Western semifinals by making the West finals this year. But you gotta believe they want WAY more than that, especially with the door wide open (are the Rockets really their chief threat?).
OKC doesn’t NEED to make a move as much as it has to be asking itself: Why not? What good are half the league’s first-round picks over the next six seasons if they can’t be conglomerated into a star-importing package?
The Thunder don’t have the type of expiring contract the Heat seek. But how many first-round picks would it take to pry, say, Ben Simmons ($40 million), from the Nets? Then the question becomes: Pat, how many first-rounders do you want? Five? Six? Eleven?
The Pacers have the greatest need. The Clippers have a dream. And the Thunder have the most attractive assets.
The next NBA champion could very well come from the destination on Butler’s one-way ticket out of Miami.
Sports
Tundra Esports advances to grand final of DreamLeague Season 28 playoffs
Tundra Esports swept Team Liquid in the upper-bracket final on Saturday to advance to the grand final of the DreamLeague Season 28 playoffs.
The grand final on Sunday will pit Tundra Esports against the winner of the lower-bracket final earlier in the day between Team Liquid and Aurora Gaming in the double-elimination format.
The $1 million Dota 2 event began with 16 teams competing in a round-robin stage split into two groups of eight teams. All series consisted of two games, and the top four teams from each group advanced to Group Stage 2, a single round robin featuring best-of-three matches that ran through Friday.
The playoffs feature best-of-three matches until the grand final, which will be best-of-five.
The championship team will receive $250,000 in prize money and a $40,000 club reward. The runner-up side will get $100,000 and a $30,000 club reward.
Aurora Gaming opened play on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Xtreme Gaming in the lower-bracket semifinal. Xtreme Gaming opened with a win in 40 minutes on red before Aurora Gaming rallied to wins in 47 and 29 minutes, both on red.
Russia’s Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko logged a 21-4-28 kill-death-assist ratio for Aurora Gaming, while teammate Artem “Lorenof” Melnyk of Ukraine post a 23-8-30 K-D-A over three games. Wang “Ame” Chunyu of China had a 23-9-13 K-D-A ratio for Xtreme Gaming, which finished fourth in the tournament.
Tundra Esports dispatched Team Liquid 2-0 in the upper-bracket final, winning in 46 minutes on red and 39 minutes on green.
Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko of Russia posted a 32-2-19 K-D-A ratio for Tundra Esports and teammate Neta “33” Shapira of Israel had a 24-5-30. Michael “MiCKe” Vu of Sweden posted a 13-10-6 ratio for Team Liquid.
Dream League Season 28 prize pool, with prize money and club reward
1. $250,000, $40,000
2. $125,000, $30,000
3. $80,000, $25,000
4. $60,000, $20,000 — Xtreme Gaming
5. $45,000, $15,000 — Team Falcons
6. $35,000, $15,000 — PARIVISION
7. $30,000, $12,500 — BetBoom Team
8. $25,000, $12,500 — MOUZ
9-10. $20,000, $10,000 — OG, Natus Vincere
11-12. $17,500, $10,000 — Team Yandex, Team Spirit
13-14. $15,000, $10,000 — paiN Gaming, GamerLegion
15-16. $10,000, $10,000 — Yakult Brothers, Execration
–Field Level Media
Sports
LYON, Cloud9 in LCS Lock-In grand final
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
LYON knocked out Sentinels to earn a meeting on Sunday with Cloud9 in the grand final of the League Championship Series 2026 Lock-In at Los Angeles.
LYON won 3-1 on Saturday in the lower-bracket final, taking the first map in 31 minutes as Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol of South Korea posted a 7-0-1 kill-death-assist ratio. LYON won again in 37 minutes as Niship “Dhokla” Doshi, an American/Indian player, had a 7-3-6 K-D-A and Berserker a 5-0-6.
Sentinels stayed alive with a victory in 34 minutes in the third game as Ham “HamBak” Yoo-jin of South Korea recorded a 5-0-8 K-D-A.
But LYON wrapped up the match by winning the fourth game in 39 minutes on red. Berserker contributed a 6-3-7 K-D-A.
Following the eight-team Swiss stage in the League of Legends event, six teams competed in the double-elimination playoffs, with all matches best-of-five. The overall winner qualifies for the First Stand Tournament, while the second- and third-place teams will head to the Americas Cup.
Both of the latter two events will be contested in Sao Paulo.
Cloud9, which finished atop the Swiss stage standings with a 3-0 record, has moved through the playoffs by beating FlyQuest 3-0 in the upper-bracket semifinal and Sentinels 3-0 in the upper-bracket final.
LYON, who finished fifth in the Swiss stage, eliminated FlyQuest with a 3-0 victory in the lower-bracket quarterfinals, then a 3-1 triumph over Team Liquid in the bracket’s semifinal before Saturday’s victory.
2026 League Championship Series Lock-In at Los Angeles prize pool
1. TBD, qualifies for First Stand Tournament
2. TBD, qualifies for America’s Cup
3. Sentinels, qualifies for America’s Cup
4. Team Liquid
5-6. FlyQuest, Disguised
7. Dignitas
8. Shopify Rebellion
–Field Level Media
Sports
OpTic Texas moves into first place in CDL Major 2 qualifying
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. OpTic Texas defeated Los Angeles Thieves in a battle of 4-0 teams to move to the top of the standings in qualifying for the Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major on Saturday.
In other second-day action of Week 3 competition, G2 Minnesota edged Riyadh Falcons, Toronto KOI beat Miami Heretics and Carolina Royal Ravens defeated Vancouver Surge.
The 12 Call of Duty League teams are playing a full qualifying round robin to determine seeding for the second major of the season, to be held March 27-29 in Marston Green, England, as part of the DreamHack Birmingham event.
The top six teams in qualifying head straight into the Stage 2 Major playoffs, while the teams in seventh through 10th place will compete in a play-in round.
The Stage 2 Major champion will receive $150,000 and 100 Call of Duty League points, while the runner-up will get $90,000 and 75 CDL points.
After Los Angeles Thieves claimed an opening 250-238 Den Hardpoint victory, OpTic Texas won the next three to claim a 3-1 victory. A 6-2 Exposure Search and Destroy triumph was followed by a 4-2 Den Overload win before the result was clinched with a 250-173 Colossus Hardpoint triumph.
In Saturday’s first match, G2 Minnesota won the final two games to come away with a 3-2 win. Riyadh opened with a 250-229 Scar Hardpoint victory and took a 2-1 lead with a 5-0 Scar Overload win. G2 leveled it at 1 with a 6-1 Raid Search and Destroy win, tied it at 2 with a convincing 250-134 Colossus Hardpoint victory and won the deciding Colossus Search and Destroy game 6-3.
Toronto finished a sweep of Miami with 250-182 Hardpoint, 6-4 Search and Destroy and 4-2 Overload victories, all on the Den map.
Carolina also swept Vancouver for its second victory in as many days after a 1-3 start. After opening with a 250-186 Blackheart Hardpoint win and following with a 6-2 Den Search and Destroy victory, the team closed out the win with an 8-2 Exposure Overload win.
The weekend schedule:
Sunday
–Toronto KOI vs. Paris Gentle Mates
–FaZe Vegas vs. Boston Breach
–Miami Heretics vs. Cloud9 New York
–Vancouver Surge vs. OpTic Texas
Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifiers standings (match record, map differential)
1. OpTic Texas, 5-0, +11
2. Los Angeles Thieves, 4-1, +8
3. Paris Gentle Mates, 3-1, +5
4. G2 Minnesota, 3-2, +1
5. Riyadh Falcons, 3-3, +2
6. Carolina Royal Ravens, 3-3, -1
7. FaZe Vegas, 2-3, 0
8. Toronto KOI, 2-3, -2
9. Miami Heretics, 1-3, -4
10.. Vancouver Surge, 1-3, -6
11. Cloud9 New York, 1-3, -7
12. Boston Breach, 1-4, -7
–Field Level Media
Xiaomis new hyper car concept has the strangest cockpit weve ever seen
Tundra Esports advances to grand final of DreamLeague Season 28 playoffs
