Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is accusing the Milwaukee Bucks of tampering after the latter team reportedly swung a huge deal to land Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard on Wednesday.
“Yo NBA man, y’all need to look into the Bucks for tampering. You all do,” Butler said in a video posted on an Instagram story on his account. “I’m just going to put that out there. Y’all didn’t hear it from me, but I heard it from somebody.”
The disgruntled Lillard was reportedly most interested in joining the Heat, but ended up going to another Eastern Conference contender in a three-team deal with the Bucks, Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports the Blazers get Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, a 2029 first-round Bucks pick and Bucks draft swaps in 2028 and ’30, while the Suns land Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson and Grayson Allen in the deal.
The Heat and Toronto Raptors were the two teams most often seen in rumours this week, but neither was involved in the reported deal.
The Heat upset the top-seeded Bucks in the first round of the playoffs this year and advanced all the way to the NBA Final.
