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[Saba Sports News] The trade sending Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors is barely finalized, but the Miami Heat are already erasing his presence.
On Thursday, the Heat formally announced the multi-team deal that shipped Butler to Golden State, with Andrew Wiggins headlining the return package.
Buried within the official release was a particularly ruthless move—Miami revealed that Wiggins will be wearing No. 22, the same jersey Butler donned throughout his five-year stint with the team.
Butler, who led the Heat to two NBA Finals appearances and earned multiple All-Star and All-NBA selections, had his number reassigned less than 24 hours after news of the trade broke.
Of course, Butler likely burned any chance of a jersey retirement with the way he handled his Heat exit. Miami is also notoriously selective when it comes to retiring numbers, having only done so six times for franchise legends like Dwyane Wade, Alonzo Mourning, and Udonis Haslem.
Still, one might have expected at least a brief grace period before handing out Butler’s number to his replacement. Not that Butler seems to care—he’s already picked a new number for his Warriors tenure.