A Miami fan broke some major news to Heat players from behind the bench during their game against the Philadelphia 76ers — an interaction that was all caught on video.
Superfan Shant Solmaz says as soon as he got word of embattled star Jimmy Butler's departure to the Golden State Warriors as part of a multi-team mega deal, he shared the news with the players sitting right in front of him during Wednesday's away game.
"When the crowd was silent, I yelled to the bench, 'We won the trade boys, we won the trade,'" Solmaz told NBC6. "And Tyler [Hero] looked back at me. He said, 'What'd you say?' And then I said, 'Jimmy went to the Warriors,' and then Kevin Love turned back around and he was like, 'Wait, what? For who?' And then all of them started to like, be invested into it."
The Heat and Warriors agreed on a deal to send Butler to the Bay Area, a person with knowledge of the talks said Wednesday. Golden State is making it happen by moving Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson, Lindy Waters and first-round draft compensation out in the deal, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has not gotten league approval.
Wiggins and Anderson are headed to Miami; it’s unclear if Anderson will be staying with the Heat. Schroder is getting moved to Utah — where the Warriors, coincidentally, were Wednesday night — and Josh Richardson is heading from Miami to Detroit along with Waters. Also on the move: P.J. Tucker, who was just traded to Utah and now is set to return to Miami, where he played in 2021-22.
Solmaz describes his chat with the players as "the best day of my life."
"I didn't even think [the video] was going to blow up. The tickets were expensive, so, that made it worth it," he laughs.
As for his reaction to the trade, Solmaz says he's sad Butler's leaving "because of what he did for the city, but how he went about it, I'm actually glad that he's gone now."
