Jimmy Butler seems to have reiterated his desire to be traded from the Miami Heat before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Butler would prefer to find a new team before the stretch run rather than play out the remainder of the season with Miami.
The Heat superstar’s hands are a bit tied as, though he can be a free agent in the off-season and leave with little to no return for Miami, the only team expected to have the cap space to outright sign him is a Brooklyn Nets team in the midst of a rebuild. Any team pursuing a sign and trade would require the Heat to be amenable.
Six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler prefers a trade out of Miami ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline, league sources told ESPN.
Story: https://t.co/vltEwoIiEA
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 25, 2024
Butler’s situation
The five-time All-NBA player is earning $49M this season and has a player option worth $52M for next season. Teams around the league have been informed that Butler intends to decline the option and become a free agent in July.
Butler has enjoyed the media circus that has evolved since it was first rumored that he might want out, even changing his hair color to match the teams that were linked to him.
His agent, Bernard Lee, had harsh criticism for Charania’s report and having his name attached to it, but it all appears to be a battle to control the narrative and maintain leverage.
Preferred list of teams remains same
Four teams remain on Butler’s preferred list of destinations: Phoenix, Dallas, Golden State, and Houston.
The path to a trade with the Suns appears virtually impossible, with Phoenix being a second apron team and only able to do a 1-for-1 swap that would send Bradley Beal the other way. Beal has a no-trade clause and would likely be considered an underwhelming return from Miami’s perspective.
Dallas is in no rush to make a big trade fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals and winners of 14 games in the last 17. Klay Thompson was acquired in the summer and appears to be steadily acclimating. From a salary perspective, Thompson’s salary would have to be included along with a few other of Dallas’s notable role players. The only way to avoid that is to trade one of Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving that seems a beyond unlikely scenario.
That makes Houston and Golden State the two most plausible scenarios among the teams Butler wants. The Warriors can center a package around Jonathan Kuminga and are also in desperate need to get Steph Curry more help. The Rockets, meanwhile, will feel no pressure to make a deal with a young nucleus in place and can’t trade Jalen Green until the summer. Unless the Heat are willing to take on Fred VanVleet’s contract, a deal with Houston seems improbable.
How will the Heat play this out?
Pat Riley is as tough a customer as it gets and he will not be caught up in the bells and whistles of this. He knows the Heat have the upper hand in this scenario because of Butler’s limited options in the off-season.
Butler’s had the most successful stretch of his career with the Heat, going to two NBA Finals.
Miami is currently sixth in the East with a 14-13 record, and Butler may feel the team is not at the level needed to compete at the very highest level. Unless he takes the Minnesota route where he became a complete malcontent to force his way out, it’s hard to see Miami giving in to his demands without a worthy return.
