5-time All-Star Finalizing Deal to Return to Miami Heat
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With the speculation surrounding the future of Jimmy Butler finally settling down and the 34-year-old looking set to continue playing his basketball in South Beach, there is a sense of calm around the Miami Heat.
The focus will now hopefully turn towards the Heat strengthening their roster. They certainly need to do that if they want to contend moving forward after a first-round playoff exit at the hands of eventual champions, Boston Celtics, last season.
The Heat do not have a ton of flexibility but even then, the arrival of some fresh faces is expected over the summer.
On the other hand, it will also be important to keep many of the old faces around in order to maintain some stability and continuity in the team.
It is worth remembering that while the Heat had a forgettable playoff run last season, they were missing Butler and Terry Rozier for the entirety of the series against the Celtics.
Kevin Love declined his $4 million player option with the Heat recently, leading to speculation about a potential exit, but the former NBA Champion will remain in Miami.
According to Shams Charania, Love is finalizing a two-year, $8 million-plus deal to return to the Heat.
Love spent the last two seasons with the Heat and while he is no longer a starter, the veteran remains a solid contributor off the bench.
Love averaged 8.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 16.8 minutes per game over 55 games for the Heat last season.
Love is the type of player the Heat would be smart to keep around. It is not just his output off the bench that is important to this team but his experience as well.