Jimmy Butler was scheduled to meet with the Lakers and the Clippers during the 2019 free agency, per Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Butler initially met with the Miami Heat and the next two scheduled meetings were with the Clippers and the Lakers.
“During the July 2019 free agency period in which he fell in love with the Heat culture during that storied Miami meeting and decided so quickly that he was all in with Pat Riley & Co., a source with knowledge of his situation said the next two meetings on his travel schedule were with the Clippers and the Lakers in Los Angeles.
A source with knowledge of James’ thinking said Butler had the respect of the Lakers people who mattered most — James among them — but the Lakers chose to prioritize Kawhi Leonard above all else before he signed with the Clippers and were thus delayed in their process,” Amick reports.
Following his meeting with the Heat, Butler decided to sign with Miami and never met with the two Los Angeles rivals.
Butler and the Heat are facing the Lakers in the 2020 NBA Finals
