While not perhaps not the classic case of paying to make a problem go away, that ultimately proved to be part of the reality for the Miami Heat with Jimmy Butler at last week’s NBA trading

Now, the Heat and its young core moves forward in the wake of last week’s Butler trade. After taking on the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, the Heat closes its pre-All-Star break schedule on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center (8:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun).

Butler bullying his way to the line slows the game down and can take an opponent out of its rhythm. It allows the Warriors to play with a set defense more often, a key as they navigate that end of the floor without Andrew Wiggins — who was their best point-of-attack defender.