I would be shocked if we see Jimmy Butler actually leave the Heat, but it wouldn’t be as surprising as Bill Belichick signing on with the University of North Carolina. We’ll discuss both of these topics, as well as some Champions League, MLB free agency, and all your big news from yesterday. It’s kinda what we do…

We keep the feedback form active, so don’t be afraid to let us know what you think!

Today’s Trivia🧠

(answer at the bottom of the Stump!)

On This Day…

⚾️ On this day in 2016, Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo claims the Ballon d’Or for the fourth time.

Ronaldo had a record margin of victory of 429 points over Lionel Messi. Messi has won the award 8 times and Ronaldo 5 times. The award honors the best soccer player in the world in a given year and is voted on by 100 international journalists.

Today’s Stump Story…

🏈 The Jimmy Butler Trade Conundrum

Jimmy Butler has been in Miami for a while, but it seems like the two may finally be going their separate ways…

The two have been together since the 2019-2020 season and have been to two NBA Finals but came up short each time. Trade talks have heated up in recent days as the Heat are open to dealing with Butler if the trade proposal is right.

The four teams that have been circled and approved by Butler and his agent are the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, and the Phoenix Suns. Butler is believed to prefer a win-now contender.

Here’s where the conundrum part comes in: Butler is 35 years old and has $49 million dollars on his contract this year, $52 million for the 2025-26 season. That’s a lot of money for a player his age who hasn’t really won anything.

Butler has always been the best player on his team, especially in Miami. Sure, they have Bam, who’s great, but Bam is a complement star. He’s not the guy who’ll win you a ring, but he’s a great piece. I’d argue Butler is the same, a compliment star. He’s an amazing player, who plays with the most heart on the court at all times, but he alone can’t win you a ring.

He’s a playoff performer, leading the Heat to three Conference Finals in his time. He could be a difference-maker for a playoff team that needs to get over the hump. He brings unreal experience, even better intensity and hunger, and serious basketball skills. He could take any of the teams listed at the beginning of the article to the finals.

I think the perfect fit would be the Mavericks. The Mavs lack a player with a real killer instinct, and Butler certainly has that. He could bring them back to the Finals and help them beat a super team like the Celtics. I’m not sure if Butler will even leave the Heat, but no matter where he goes, they’ll be getting a junkyard dog who wants to win, now.

Quick Hitters

🏆️ NBA Cup Quarterfinals: The Atlanta Hawks go to Madison Square Garden and take care of business versus the Knicks. DeAndre Hunter led the team in scoring with 24 points off the bench while Jalen Johnson added 21 points and 15 rebounds. The second quarterfinal of the evening was between the Rockets and the Warriors. Houston has lost 15 straight to the Warriors…BUT THAT ENDED LAST NIGHT! After a wild foul call with just seconds left, the Rockets were able to take a 1-point lead with 3.6 seconds remaining! Alperen Sengun had a game-high 26 points to lead the Rockets to victory! They will face off against the Thunder on Saturday!

🏈 The Bill Belichick - UNC deal is final. The Tar Heels shelled out major money to get him, too. The two agreed on a 3 year/$30 million, and it may arguably be one of the most stunning and compelling stories in college football history. Belichick has never coached in college, but his father Steve coached for the Tar Heels in the 1950s.

⚾️ The Boston Red Sox have a pulse! The past few years, the Red Sox have nickel and dimed their way through the offseason, but no longer. The Red Sox made a splash deal for White Sox star pitcher Garret Crochet. In return, the White Sox received four prospects, including Kyle Teel, the #4 prospect in the Red Sox organization. Crochet was a strikeout machine last year, totaling 209 while only walking 33. Crochet is the ace at the top of the rotation the Red Sox have desperately needed.

⚽️ Champions League Wednesday: 3 big matchups across the UCL yesterday, the first was between Arsenal and AS Monaco. It was Saka, who scored two goals, and Arsenal who took a big lead and managed to win 3-0. A battle of two titans between Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona, as Baca’s young star Ferran Torres was able to net the game tying and winning goal in the last fifteen minutes of the match, 3-2 Barca. Italian super squad Juventus was able to hammer the door closed late against struggling Manchester City. It was the American, Weston McKennie, who scored a 75th minute goal to put the nail in the Man City coffin, 2-0.

Other News:

• ⛰️ Rich Rod to return as head coach down country roads

• 🍃 Hurts and AJ Brown clear the air

• ✅ Browns owner backs Coach and GM

• 🤑 Bills add 2 NBA Hall of Famers to ownership group

Top Performers:

• 🏀 Karl Anthony Towns (NYK): 19 points, 19 rebounds

• 🏀 Jalen Johnson (ATL): 21 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists

• 🏀 Alperen Sengun (HOU): 26 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists

• ⚽️ Antoine Griezmann (ATM): 2 goals in win over Bratislava

Stump Favorites

🎲 Trae Young rolling the dice on the Knicks logo is cold

🐐 Zlatan loves him some Christian “Captain America” Pulisic

🏀 Epic Steve Kerr quote about the Rockets court

🔥 Natural hat trick for Drake Batherson

💯 Full Scoreboards: MLB, Soccer, PGA, NFL, WNBA, NCAAF, NHL

Today’s Slate

*All times are ET*

🏈 NFL: Battle of Cali: Rams vs 49ers (8:15 PM on Prime)

🏀 NBA: Pistons vs Celtics (7:30 PM), Raptors vs Heat (7:30 PM), Kings vs Pelicans (8:00 PM), full schedule

🏀 CBB (M): (3) Iowa State vs Iowa (7:30 PM on FS1), full schedule

🏀 CBB (W): (2) UConn vs (8) Notre Dame (7:00 PM on ESPN), full schedule

🏒 NHL: Ducks vs Leafs (7:00 PM), Kings vs Devils (7:00 PM), Capitals vs Blue Jackets (7:00 PM), Golden Knights vs Jets (8:00 PM), Panthers vs Canucks (10:00 PM), Bruins vs Kraken (10:00 PM), full schedule

Trivia Answer:

A. Detroit Lions. In the 2008 season, the Detroit Lions went 0-16, the first time ever for an NFL franchise. The Cleveland Browns will go on to do it for the second time just a few years later in 2017.

Can’t thank you enough for sticking to the end of this thing we call The Daily Stump. If you know anybody who might want this bit of daily sports news in their life, send them this link! It would go a long way! Appreciate the hell out of you all!

Trees get chopped. Stumps hold strong!