Home » Flight Girl Column 4/25: Expect The Unexpected

Flight Girl Column 4/25: Expect The Unexpected

by Aurelia Rieke
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You don’t sell a Ferrari that’s just getting broken in for a used BMW?!

Expect the Unexpected

We say it often, just in passing – expect the unexpected. But when you really think about those words, there’s so much depth behind them.

Every time I start writing these lines, I take a moment to reflect on all the details of the last game I covered and try to look behind the scenes. What did I maybe overlook at first place? What did I actually see? What message do I want to share with you here?

Expect the unexpected – I think that’s the key. I don’t expect much, but I’m ready when the unexpected happens.

It’s Wednesday, January 29. I flew to Miami hoping to see Jimmy play, to get a sense of the situation surrounding the trade rumors. He was supposed to return just in time for the game against the Cavs after his second suspension.

Then, just a day before my flight, the news dropped: Jimmy Butler suspended indefinitely. When you look at all the reels Kevin Love posted about it, the whole situation seems almost funny – but is it really funny? Who is actually suffering from this? What’s the real story behind it all, that it even got to this point?

It quickly brings back memories of his time in Philly, Minnesota, and Chicago. So, is this just Jimmy Butler’s usual behavior when he doesn’t get what he wants? Somehow, I find it hard to believe that this is simply about Jimmy being dissatisfied and stubbornly pushing his own agenda.

At the start of the postgame press conference, before Erik Spoelstra even entered the room, the press spokesman made it clear: No questions about Jimmy. The tension was noticeable – you don’t wanna say a wrong thing.
Talking to my media colleagues afterward, I quickly realized that most of them are just fed up with the situation. Some even say they’d rather see Miami just ride out the season, let Jimmy stay home, and forget about the money.

Which I think shouldn’t be the way to go – especially for Tyler Herro, who’s playing his best season so far. With the right trade, Miami could still have a real shot at the playoffs.

Personally, I’d love to see Jimmy in Minnesota. Julius Randle doesn’t fit there, and Jimmy might just be the missing piece the Wolves need to make a deep playoff run. That would make me happy because I love watching Anthony Edwards hoop. Speaking of Ant, how cool was the news last week that he had a chat with Michael Jordan?

As sad as it is that the LeBron, KD, and Steph Curry era is slowly coming to an end, I’m beyond excited for Wemby, Ant, Shai and Luka. The older they get, the more they’ll take over the league – and they still have so much untapped potential.

At this point, I have to unexpectedly add an edit that literally ripped me out of my sleep last night.

Until 3:20 am, I was working on this column to drop it for you as soon as possible. Due to the current situation, we had to push the upload back by a day. If I had stayed up just two more hours, I would have caught the news live. Instead, I was woken up by my phone, which just wouldn’t stop vibrating.

Luka Dončić is being traded to L.A. for AD!!!!! WHAT!!!!!! WHY????

Seriously—because of a win-now move !!!!
Luka isn’t always in the best shape?! And he is getting too expensive?!!! That can’t possibly be the reason you trade away a generational talent! I have soooo many questions.

Why, especially for such a small return? Why were negotiations only held with the Lakers—and probably (though not yet confirmed) with the Bucks? If that’s true, the Bucks played it exactly right—you don’t trade away a Giannis either.

The entire franchise was built around Luka. And yes, the max contract is tough, but that’s just the natural growth of the league.

Shoutout to Rüdiger Diesel, who sent me the perfect comparison on Insta, which I fine-tuned a little:

You don’t sell a Ferrari that’s just getting broken in for a used BMW?! Love it! It’s just facts!

My opinion: Yeah, maybe for this season—but only for this season—you made a win-now move that makes you look a little better (but now you’re also lacking playmaking). But everything that comes after? You completely screwed it up, Dallas! Luka is not Zion Williamson. That’s that—now back to the text.

Back to Miami. As a media member, you can enter the Heat’s arena 3.5 hours before tip-off, which gave me the chance to see the Miami Vice Court in all its beauty – completely empty.

It hadn’t been brought up in almost five years. I love the Miami Heat Vice collection. I was so tempted to buy a Tyler Herro Heat Vice jersey, but $120 plus tax, I had to pass for now.

Side fact: I was there for Tyler’s first regular-season game on October 23, 2019, when he dropped 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals. Ever since then, I’ve been wanting to get his jersey, lol.

During the warm-up shooting, I was still hopeful that Miami might turn all the negative energy surrounding Jimmy into a source of strength – Heat Culture at its best. But that didn’t happen. You could see early on that there was a lack of playmaking. On top of that, Bam isn’t playing at last year’s level and often underperforms. With Jimmy out and Bam not dominant enough, Tyler simply can’t carry the team alone.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. isn’t quite where he was last season either. At that point, all you can do is hope Terry Rozier puts up 20+ points – otherwise, it’s hard to get the W. And that’s what we saw in the fourth quarter.

A quick side note on Terry:
He’s currently under federal investigation for potential involvement in illegal gambling activities. The probe focuses on a game from March 23, 2023 – Hornets vs. Pelicans. In that game, he left after just nine minutes due to a foot injury and scored only five points. Suspicious betting patterns linked to his performance in that game raised concerns that some bettors had insider information about his early exit. Let’s hope none of it is true – Miami can’t afford to lose another player.
Not an easy situation for the Heat to navigate right now.

Later, at the postgame press conference, I asked Spo and Bam about Max Strus, who played three seasons in Miami before being traded to the Cavs in July 2023. Afterward, I got the chance to speak with Max himself – I’ll share that interview with you all soon.

At the end of the night, I left Kaseya Center with more questions than answers.
I would love to sit down with Jimmy, with some coffee, just to talk about everyday things and try to understand how he thinks. The trade deadline is just days away (February 8), so we’ll soon know what’s next for Miami.

And then, it’s only a few more days until All-Star Weekend.
I cannot wait. I was honored to be selected to vote for the All-Star Starting Five, which forced me to dive into All-Star discussions much earlier than usual. I can tell you, it was not an easy decision. What should weigh more? Team success or individual performance? Longevity or peak form? How much should injuries factor in?

In the end, my picks were:
West: Jokic, LeBron, Wemby, Luka, and Shai East: Giannis, Tatum, Towns, Brunson, and Dame

But nothing is set in stone for me – except for Nikola Jokic. That man is truly special. I also love seeing how well he’s playing with Russell Westbrook now. Who would have expected that at the start of the season?

Anyway – all that’s left is for me to say thank you. Thank you for reading and supporting me – for making things like voting for the All-Star Game even possible.

I’ll be in San Francisco all week, covering everything from All-Star Weekend. So stay tuned – there’s a lot coming your way.

Until then, Your Flight Girl.

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