Heat Must Trade Butler Or Risk Wasting Bam’s Prime Years

Getty Jimmy Butler

The Miami Heat have had the best of times in cheering on Jimmy Butler in each of the last five seasons. While nostalgia is fun, in the NBA, trying to re-live it will send you straight to the lottery. The Heat need to realize that if they don’t move Butler, they’re not setting themselves up for the next generation of Heat basketball.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald wrote, “Butler originally wanted an extension from the Heat this summer, but then changed his mind after Miami did not offer one. He now intends to play out this season and not sign an extension with any team and will become a free agent in the summer of 2025.”

That means for better or for worse, the team’s fate would belong to Bam Adebayo, who recently signed a 3-year, $165 million extension that kicks in at the start of the 2026-27 season. Adebayo is just entering his prime, as he’ll turn 27 on July 18.

Jimmy Butler Cannot Leave For Nothing

Rumors have been running rampant about a potential Butler trade, with a looming player option in 2025-26 threatening to leave the Heat with nothing in return for their star, should he choose to leave. The most obvious con here is that the Heat could legitimately find themselves in a situation where Butler walks away and they get nothing but cap room in return.

Getting nothing for a valuable asset is a fireable offense for a general manager, but especially in this case, as Adebayo has struggled without Butler on the court. This isn’t an indictment of Adebayo, who is a fantastic defensive player, but he can’t carry the team on the offensive end and neither can Tyler Herro.

During the 2023-24 regular season, there were eight 5-man lineups that played more than 50 minutes together, with only one featuring Adebayo without Butler having a positive point differential per 100 possessions (+0.8). No offense to Adebayo, but if that combined with the 2023-24 playoffs were a sneak peek at what an Adebayo-led no-more-Butler team would look like? They can’t compete that way.

Getting a Player That Complements Bam Is The Way

Make no mistake about it, when Butler is on his game, he makes a huge impact on both ends of the court. He’s only a year removed from making the All-NBA Second Team, while finishing in the top 12 of the MVP voting and Defensive Player of the Year voting, with a second-place finish in Clutch Player of the Year.

However, Butler will be 35 at the start of the 2024-25 season. He hasn’t played more than 65 games since 2016-17. Some of the telltale signs of aging are there, as Butler isn’t going to the basket as much (5% less attempts at the rim), isn’t creating his own shot as much (8% more attempts assisted) and isn’t rebounding at the same rate he has in the past (8.8%, worst since he’s been in Miami).

All of this is to say that while Butler has poured his heart and soul into the city and has given Heat fans so much to cheer for over the last five seasons, facilitating a trade and setting up for the future is by far the more favorable scenario versus letting him walk or extending him.

Although we don’t share the same optimism for Bam’s ability to lead the team, Miami New Times columnist Ryan Yousefi agrees with the Butler trade, saying, “The choice is clear, depressing as it may be for Heat fans: Either gamble on a Jimmy Butler on the wrong side of 35 or load up on assets and young players that give Bam the best chance at competing for a championship in years to come.”