NBA News: Heat Star Jimmy Butler Has Bold Prediction For 2023-24 NBA Season

Jimmy Butler is picking his Miami Heat to win the 2024 NBA championship. The six-time All-Star told reporters and fans in Hong Kong during his China tour that the Heat are going to come back stronger next season after losing to the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Finals.

“It was a great season as a whole but we came up short,” Butler said, via Mike Chan of SCMP. “We’ll go back to the drawing board and I am going to pick the Heat to win the championship in 2024.”

The Heat lost to the Nuggets in five games in the 2023 NBA Finals. Butler has guided Miami to two NBA Finals since joining the Heat in 2019, but the team has lost both times. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals in six games.

Damian Lillard has requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers and wants to get traded to the Heat. Not only is Bam Adebayo close friends with Lillard, but Butler also wants the Heat to acquire Dame, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.

A seven-time All-Star, Lillard averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists last season while shooting 46.3% from the field, 37.1% from beyond the arc and 91.4% from the free-throw line. The Heat believe they can win it all next season with Lillard in the fold next to Butler and Adebayo.

Lillard has career averages of 25.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists. He’s one of the greatest players in NBA history and could win a championship with the Heat next season if the Blazers trade him to South Beach.

Butler averaged 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists for the Heat last season. He’s one of the best two-way players in the NBA and will make the Hall of Fame one day.

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