In an unusual move, the Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley has made a public statement saying Miami isn’t trading Jimmy Butler (Twitter link).
“We usually don’t comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches. Therefore, we will make it clear – We are not trading Jimmy Butler,” Riley said.
Riley’s statement comes on the heels of ESPN’s Shams Charania reporting on Wednesday that Butler preferred a trade out of Miami, though he has not formally requested to be dealt, which was confirmed by multiple local reporters.
Neither Butler nor the Heat have denied that the star forward is unhappy with his contract situation, however, and Riley did not address that in his statement. That may be a moot point, since there’s no indication Butler has caused any friction behind the scenes, and he still has at least this season left on his contract, with a $52.4MM player option for 2025/26. But Butler did force his way out of Minnesota six years ago.
Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald followed up on Charania’s report by adding additional details, including that Butler would play out the season with Miami if that’s what the team decides, but would be fine with a change of scenery as well. Time will tell if Butler changes his mind on that stance.
Responding to the rumors prior to Riley’s announcement, head coach Erik Spoelstra made it clear the Heat want to keep Butler around.
“We want Jimmy here. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Spoelstra said as part of a larger quote. “And it’s just unfortunate that you have to control or deal with a lot of the noise on the outside.”
Reporting in the wake of Miami’s elimination from the 2024 playoffs indicated that Butler would be seeking a maximum-salary extension during the offseason. Asked about that possibility during his end-of-season press conference in the spring, Riley expressed reluctance to make that sort of financial investment in a player “unless you have someone who is going to be available every night,” a reference to Butler’s injury issues in recent seasons.
Butler subsequently decided to put off extension discussions and remain with the Heat to open the season rather than pushing for an offseason trade. However, he has been unhappy about not being extended, according to The Miami Herald, which reported that Butler’s relationship with the Heat has become “somewhat strained.”
Marc Stein and others have reported that the Heat believe they’d be in a good position with Butler next summer, since the rebuilding Nets are the only team projected to have maximum-salary cap room. Jackson reiterated that point yesterday and again this morning, suggesting that Miami would be perfectly fine with — and even prefers — to part with Butler in a possible sign-and-trade in the offseason, even if it doesn’t return much value (Twitter links). That would only be possible if Butler declines his player option, which he still intends to do, according to Jackson.
Butler led the Heat to the NBA Finals in two of his first five seasons in Miami, and was a missed three-pointer away from making a third trip. The Heat lost on each occasion (to the Lakers and Nuggets, respectively).
A five-time All-NBA and five-time All-Defensive team member, Butler has been a highly effective two-way star for Miami when healthy. However, he will be 36 before the start of next season, and he has dealt with injuries throughout his 14-year career, only twice exceeding 70 games played in a regular season.
Of course, it’s always possible that the Heat could be trying to put a public rest to the recent drama while still listening to offers for Butler ahead of the February 6 trade deadline. We’ll see what happens over the next six weeks.
Jiiiiiihhh-MEEEEEEEE!!!!
Come here… come here, you
Pat Riley in a week or two – “We initially weren’t going to trade Jimmy Butler but we felt that making this trade was best for both Jimmy and the Heat organization going forward.”
Idk why they wouldn’t want to trade him at 35yrs old. Must be his current market value, Riley doesn’t like what he sees.
Most teams can’t absorb Butlers contract without sending money out so why would Miami take on players they don’t like on bad contracts when they would open up space letting Butler walk
Exactly what team has $40 million in contracts that they are willing to send who has value?
Riley wants a star who can play every night
Beal and George are superstars but missing 30 nights a season
Scary, miss too many nights
There will be more of a distraction when Jimmy demands to be traded after his softball request was denied.
Butler wants out
Heat want him in but not pay him
Imo
Something is really wrong, man
As it should be, that’s his right to choose where to play and live!
The only part of that article worth paying attention to?
More to come…
Looking forward to the upcoming Jimmy interview again
He’s off the market til teams cave and offer more.
He makes too much money, no one can afford to take him on without destroying their contending team. Glad he is off the board though, Cam Johnson makes more sense for GSW.
Agreed. I’ve yet to see a single proposed Butler deal that would make sense—or even be possible—for both sides. Anything can happen with desperate, creative, and/or stupid teams, but it’s hard to see right now.
As for Cam, gonna be interesting to see where he ends up and for how much. A lot of suitors will want him.
Riley what have when been offered for Butler? Bad contracts and late 1st round picks. OK pass…
Just trade the guy man
They don’t want Bradley Beal bc he’s washed up and due to be a top 5 highest paid player in the nba the next two years! A big far nothing burger is better then taking beal! Factually speaking I
To who? What team could even send out enough in contracts that would be interested in him?
The heat don’t want to do a Bradley Beal for butler ( and josh Richardson to match salary)
If only the rest of the spineless front office/ownership groups would take a play out of this Pat Riley play book. STOP LETTING THE PLAYERS RUN THE LEAGUE!!!
It is not good for business.
It’s just a play to gain back some leverage. Riley’s been playing this game longer than most of you have been alive. If they can get a decent package back they’ll trade him as it’s better than him walking. No team wants a disgruntled superstar, especially one that can be as disruptive as Jimmy Butler.
Rumours and disavenences come and go in long time player and team relationships, especially with star players. Jimmy wants another bigger overall value contract, and the Heat still aren’t sure. I think it’s good from Riley to announce this, it would be good to both Jimmy and Miami weather the storm, and extend. Player option at 52.4 M is very good for Jimmy; he should settle for what is offered from the Heat (kind of a Harden contract with Clippers but with one more year, or two and settle for a little less annual value) and keep playing and contending with the Heat.
This basically means “we are trading Jimmy, just couldnt find a deal yet”
I have a feeling we’re going to see the return of General Soreness soon…
Did I misread it or did it really say Butler chose not to discuss an extension, but was also later upset that he didn’t get one?
“China caused covid! Covid isn’t real!”
Welp… I guess this means Jimmy is definitely getting traded