Big 4 Team Trade

Free agency chaos presses onward with the final details to the interesting 4 team trade we've all been curious about.

Earlier before it became a four team trade the Portland Trailblazers were receiving a huge piece in Hassan Whiteside for role players Mo Harkless and Meyers Leonard who found themselves on the Miami Heat, well now that it's become a 4 team Trade the Clippers have attained Mo Harkless, and Meyers Leonard still remains a member of the Heat.

The 76ers ended up with Josh Richardson a solid young player who has some potential to be even better the more he grows now on the Sixers.

And then the Heat got the biggest piece of the equation in Jimmy Butler.

So essentially if there was any confusion

Jimmy Butler, Meyers Leonard to the Miami Heat

Hassan Whiteside to the Portland Trailblazers

Josh Richardson to the Philadelphia 76ers

Mo' Harkless to the Los Angeles Clippers

Now there's no secret who the big fish here are so that's what we're going to focus on mainly here out of the 4, although I think Josh Richardson can potentially make a big splash with the 76ers and Maurice Harkless can no doubt in my mind be a solid role player for the Clippers much like he was for the Trailblazers.

First and foremost the Miami Heat finally got Whiteside out of town which has been a priority for a while now. As talented as Whiteside is there's always been talk about a lack of motor and he found his minutes dwindling in the lineup he used to make up so much of. 

Whiteside came on the scene in Sacramento but made no lasting impressions and all but flamed out of the league. Looking destined to be a lifelong D-league caliber player, he then got picked up by the Heat after 2 years away from the NBA and put the world on notice! Where had this guy been?!?! He was pulling down every rebound, blocking every shot and dunking on everybody's head! It was if he went away for two years and got the secret stuff from Space Jam and came back with a vengeance! Once he got paid however there were those who then questioned his effort on the court and then of course the nagging injuries that have affected his play time in recent years have diminished his stock a bit but we've seen it go from low to then skyrocketing seemingly overnight before so why not again?

Maybe he can catch a break, stay reasonably healthy in a new locker room environment and come back with that motor when he felt like he had something to play for rather than this autopilot people accuse him of now. It'll definitely be interesting to see how he pans out with the deadly backcourt of Damian Lillard and Cj McCollum cause like him or not when Whiteside is "right" mentally and physically he can completely dominate a game.

And then there's Jimmy Butler to the Heat. It's going to be hard winning over a fan base that just lost their most beloved player in Franchise History but you know what Wade County doesn't have to become Butler county, not only cause it doesn't have the same ring to it but also because he's his own player and a good one at that. Even Wade's last fateful Season in Miami, which even still a good player, people just knew even with their blinders on that he wasn't the star he once was and this new guy even though he had a slight drop in scoring last year, looks the part of a star player through and through.

Now is that leader of the Franchise Star player? That remains to be seen cause that's exactly what Butler will be tasked with in Miami. For the very first time in his career he'll be the definitive best player on a team which is crazy to think about after all he's done with his game as a very raw offensive player coming into the league out of Marquette. Last year despite the scoring dip was a huge step for him in becoming "the guy" as they call it, cause despite him not being the best player in Philly he became the go to guy at the end of games when the Sixers were in a pinch and a lot of the time Butler came through with flying colors. This will be great for him now knowing going into Miami that this will always be his role. No your turn my turn at the end of games, it's give Jimmy Buckets the ball and get out of the way!

So now the question is will Butler rise to the occasion like he has seemed to do with every single challenge he has had since he's got in the NBA or will he stumble at the finish line showing off the fact that he is a number 2 instead of a number 1? Personally I'm betting on Number 1 cause the hard worker in this guy shows me he's a true alpha and I think we will see that play out next year. Will that mean the Heat will be a great team? Not necessarily but I think Butler will at least deliver the goods on his end and he'll have a great chance to claim that Superstar status he so desperately wants.

Hassan Whiteside averaged 12.3 PPG/11.3 RPG/0.8 APG last season

Jimmy Butler averaged 18.7 PPG/5.3 RPG/4.0 APG last season