"Nodody wanted to be at work" - Heat insider makes startling claim about Jimmy Butler's departure cooling tensions within Miami organization

Jimmy Butler might be thriving with the Golden State Warriors now, but the drama surrounding his final two months with the Miami Heat continues to linger. The former All-Star forward was very public with his desire to leave the team, resulting in multiple suspensions and arguments with team ownership.

One Miami Heat insider said that Butler's exit was a relief for the team.

Heat Insider Dan Le Batard has been an NBA reporter and sports media personality for more than 30 years, specializing in covering the teams in Miami, including the Heat. He was one of many who reported on the drama between Butler and the team. Butler, a six-time All-Star, led the team to multiple Finals appearances, but his relationship turned sour with the team, resulting in his exit.

Le Batard pulled back the curtain on the inner workings of the Miami Heat in the days following the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Golden State in exchange for Andrew Wiggins at the deadline back in February.

On the Thursday episode of The Dan Le Batard show, Le Batard talked about how things have gotten better for the Miami Heat since moving Butler.

"...if you talk to enough Heat people, you will know that they felt like they were dealing with something... an unstable ingredient," Le Batard said about how the team interacted with Butler. "Nobody wanted to be at work around this person(Butler) who was an unstable element."

Jimmy Butler is a player known for being volatile and a bit too intense at times, a trait that has served him well as a leader throughout his career. Unfortunately for him, the majority of teams he has been on have come to the conclusion that he is more trouble than he's worth, fueling his trades from Chicago, Minnesota and Miami.

How do the Miami Heat move on from Jimmy Butler?

The Heat have struggled with or without Jimmy Butler this season, and find themselves in the middle of the race for one of the Eastern Conference play-in tournament spots. However, despite having All-Star caliber talent in Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, the Heat aren't being taken seriously as contenders for this year's title. Going forward, the team has two options, detailed below.

Shut down Herro and Adebayo and play for the draft

With 20 games left in their season, the Miami Heat aren't playing for a whole lot aside from a spot in the play-in tournament. Shutting down Tyler Herro and Adebayo for the season due to "phantom injuries" would help the team position themselves so they have a chance to jump up in the NBA draft lottery for a shot at Duke's Cooper Flagg later this spring.

Value postseason experience with this year's team

Despite having made two trips to the NBA Finals in recent memory, the Miami Heat don't have a lot of playoff experience outside of Adebayo, Duncan Robinson and veteran Kevin Love. Continuing to compete for a playoff spot could help this edition of the Miami Heat's roster come together and give them something to go off of as they try to improve over the offseason.