Just as when the Miami Heat have found their footing this season, a trade rumor is threatening to take away the good vibes of their three-game winning streak, which included a 122-113 win over the NBA’s top team, Cleveland Cavaliers.
On Tuesday, December 10, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that the Heat are open to trading away six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler.
“The Heat are open to listening to offers for Butler and making a deal if the proposal is right, league sources told ESPN, and Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, has indicated in league circles that Butler is open to destinations such as two of the Texas teams (Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks) and the Golden State Warriors. Butler is a native of Houston, Texas,” Charania wrote.
Butler has a $52.4 million player option for next season, which he is not inclined to pick up, Charania added, thus, he would become an unrestricted free agent.
No Contract Extension Leads to Trade Speculation
The Heat did not offer Butler an extension this past summer after the team president Pat Riley admonished him for his lack of availability and for talking trash to their rivals after getting booted out from last season’s playoffs.
“If I was playing, Boston would be at home. New York damn sure would be [expletive] at home,” Butler said on May 4.
Two days later, on May 6, Heat president Pat Riley admonished Butler during his end-of-season press conference.
“For him to say that, I thought, is that Jimmy trolling or is that Jimmy [being] serious?” Riley told reporters. “If you’re not on the court, playing against Boston, or you’re not on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut in your criticism of those teams.”
Riley said at the time the Heat were not going to extend Butler, 35, this offseason.
“We don’t have to do that for a year,” Riley said. “And so, we have not discussed that internally right now, but we have to look at that, making that kind of commitment.”
Riley repeatedly talked about players’ availability during his 43-minute presser, including blasting the NBA’s 65-game eligibility rule, which he believes sent the players and their agents a message that “it’s OK to miss 17 games” in the regular season.
Butler has never played more than 64 games in the regular season since moving to Miami in 2019.
‘No Shenanigans’
In response to Riley’s sharp comments, Butler went into the team’s media day with a serious outlook, a stark contrast to the previous seasons when he showed up with dreadlocks in 2022 and a rock star emo look in 2023.
“No shenanigans,” Butler told reporters.
“I always want to hoop, always want to compete with my guys,” Butler added. “I hear [Riley].
Butler has held his end of the bargain, playing 17 of the Heat’s first 22 games. He missed five games due to ankle and knee injuries.
This season, Butler is averaging 19 points, his lowest scoring average since the Heat acquired him in 2019. But he’s shooting a career-best 55.7% from the field in his fewest attempts since 2013-14 (11.3). On top of that, he’s also averaging 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
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Heat ‘Open’ to Trading $52 Million All-Star Amid ‘No Shenanigans’