A report from ESPN's Shams Charania on Monday indicated that the Miami Heat would be open to listening to trade offers for six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, and that Butler would have interest in three teams (Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks) should the team decided to ultimately deal him.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, speaking to reporters on Tuesday after the team's practice, pushed back on the notion that Butler is on the trade block, citing the team's recent success.
"It's been our best, most consistent stretch of the season," Spoelstra said, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "So anything else, any other narrative, I don't care. Nobody should, because most of this stuff has just been all like a bunch of gibberish."
Butler has missed five of 22 games this season due to an ankle injury and knee pain. He has been listed on the injury report for the past week, but over the course of the last three games—all Heat victories against playoff-caliber teams—Butler has been his usual, impactful two-way presence.
Butler left Tuesday's practice session without comment to the media, per Winderman.
Since arriving in Miami via a four-team trade in July of 2019, Butler has evolved into one of the best two-way wings in the league while developing a reputation as a big-time playoff performer. Butler has led the Heat to the NBA Finals twice and the Eastern Conference finals once in his six seasons with the club, earning All-Star honors two times in the span.
But the Houston, Tx. native is coming off a 2023-24 season that saw him miss 22 games, including the club's five-game defeat to the eventual league-champion Boston Celtics. Butler also seemed to irk team president Pat Riley with his claim that Miami would have defeated Boston had he been healthy, comments he made after that series.
But Butler's teammate Tyler Herro, no stranger to trade rumors himself, feels that things have been business as usual for the Heat.
"I got to check my phone still this morning," Herro said. "I don't know what was said. The vibes felt good in here today, so I don't know. I don't know what you're talking about."
Butler is playing out the 2024-25 season on a $48.8 million salary and has a player option for the 2025-26 season, which if picked up by the Heat, would pay him $52.1 million for next season.
December 15 is the first day that players signed in the offseason can be dealt.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Erik Spoelstra Dumps Cold Water on Jimmy Butler Trade Rumors With Latest Comments.
