The Miami Heat have been unequivocally clear that they don’t plan to trade star forward Jimmy Butler, while Butler has been equally vocal in expressing that he wants out.
Butler recently changed his preferred trade parameters, saying publicly that he is willing to go anywhere as long as it means he’s on a new roster by the NBA’s February 6 trade deadline. And while it is unlikely that Heat president Pat Riley will go back on his public declaration that Butler is staying put in Miami until the end of this season, it is possible the organization could be moved by the right type of offer.
The fact remains that Butler can opt out of his contract this summer and walk for nothing. There is still the problem of a franchise having enough salary cap space to sign the six-time All-Star to whatever deal he will be seeking. However, Butler’s change of tune on where he’s interested in playing (from a few teams to the entire league outside of the Heat) opens up the Brooklyn Nets as a more than viable possibility in free agency.
Miami must now take that threat seriously, which opens the door to the type of trade proposal that Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report pitched on Friday, January 3. In Bailey’s hypothetical, the Heat would engage in a three-way deal with the Golden State Warriors (one of Butler’s preferred destinations) and the Nets, bringing back multiple starters and rotation players as well as two future first-round draft picks.
Stephen Curry Incentivizes Warriors to Surrender Massive Haul for Jimmy Butler
Getty Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
The bones of the deal would see Miami acquire a 2025 first-rounder and a 2027 first-rounder from the Warriors alongside three-point sniper Buddy Hield and hyper-athletic forward Jonathan Kuminga. Accompanying them to Miami would be 3-and-D wing Cameron Johnson and role player Ziaire Williams of the Nets.
Miami would sacrifice Butler, Pelle Larsson and a top-10 protected first-round selection in the 2030 draft.
The Warriors would surrender a good amount of assets in Bailey’s scenario, but that franchise is desperate to build a winner around Stephen Curry for the twilight years of his Hall of Fame career and adding a second star like Butler is crucial to that goal.
Jimmy Butler Trade Good First Step Toward Heat Rebuilding Contender
GettyBam Adebayo (left) and Tyler Herro (right) of the Miami Heat.
As for the Heat, they get two starters plus Hield out of the deal, not to mention two first-round picks in the next three drafts — all of which are legitimate building blocks around a two-man corps of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.
“Heat fans will balk at the team giving up a first, but buzz around the league suggests Brooklyn wants multiple picks for Cameron Johnson,” Bailey wrote. “Not only is Miami getting multiple potentially helpful veterans and netting one first-round pick, but it also gets the best young prospect in this deal. Jonathan Kuminga’s inconsistency as a shooter and defender has been a common source of frustration for Warriors fans, but he’s a dynamic athlete and finisher with plenty of untapped upside.”
Miami’s work won’t end with this kind of a deal. However, it would get Butler out of the organization and bring back a lot of quality building blocks/trade chips for the franchise down the line.
The Heat will need a true No. 1 star to pair with Adebayo and Herro if they want to get back to contender status, but finding that player now in exchange for Butler is next to impossible. However, flipping Butler to a needy Warriors franchise with the help of a facilitator like the Nets for this kind of haul is a good first step toward getting Miami where Riley ultimately wants the franchise to go.
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Heat Land Monster Haul for Jimmy Butler in 3-Team Trade Pitch