There are plenty of obstacles standing in the way of a Jimmy Butler deal being finalized before the February 6 trade deadline.
Butler is 35 years old. He has aggressively pushed for trades multiple times over the course of his NBA career. He hasn't played more than 65 games in a season since 2016/17. He's earning $48.8MM this season and will be seeking another significant payday this summer.
On top of that, his team, Miami, is prohibited from taking back more salary than it sends out in any deal, which will complicate the Heat's ability to work something out with certain potential trade partners.
Still, when he's healthy and committed, Butler is an All-NBA caliber talent. And given how messy the situation in Miami has gotten, it's hard right now to envision a scenario in which he returns to the Heat and finishes out the season.
A trade seems to be the most likely outcome, so we're going to dig in today on what a Butler trade might look like, running through all 29 other NBA teams to determine whether or not they could be a fit.
Let's dive in...
There is none for the other team…
Miami are boned and Philly are lucky they don’t have to deal with him right now…
NBA gms simply love screwing their teams up for a decade or so by going after guys like this.
Yeah, general managers “love screwing their teams up for a decade or so” to assure their own job security, increases in pay, and overall credibility as executives. Yup.
Some NBA GMs are lazy and think 1 star will make them a championship team while setting back the future for the next 3 to 5 years.
I don’t know if it’s necessarily this, but there’s always a GM that’s close to being fired and feel like they have to make a big move to save their job, so they do something stupid in desperation.
That is true. That falls on the owner for OKing a bad trade.
That is Butlers only hope…
I think Jimmy is going to Houston. They definitely need a primary score and he’d be it on the Rockets
Also, he was born in Houston. I’m not sure who would be sent back to the heat but, they definitely have enough to match the salary for Butler.
That means Houston giving up on Jalen Green and that Miami has interest in him.
Luke, I just want to point out what a fantastic job you’ve done with these articles.
I originally purchased the front office package for the MLB trade rumors benefits, but your subscriber-exclusive pieces have been a valuable bonus. You make the headache-inducing NBA cap rules sound intuitive through your explanations.
Keep up the good work
I concur!
Much appreciated, thanks!
At this point it’s probably best for a trade to happen. Just don’t see many options out there.