Jimmy Butler Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat’s Jimmy Butler Sign-And-Trade Deal To Include Clippers, Blazers

July 1st, 2019 at 7:58pm CST by Luke Adams

7:58pm: The 2023 first-round pick being sent from the Heat to Clippers will be lottery-protected through 2025, then unprotected in 2026, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

5:00pm: The Clippers will receive a protected 2023 first-round pick from the Heat in the deal, according to ESPN’s full report.

4:17pm: The sign-and-trade deal that will send Jimmy Butler to the Heat and Josh Richardson to the Sixers has been agreed upon, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski explains (via Twitter), the trade between the Trail Blazers and Heat that will send Hassan Whiteside to Portland is becoming part of the transaction, with Maurice Harkless being re-routed to the Clippers to make it a four-team deal.

The Clippers will also receive a future first-round pick from Miami, according to Wojnarowski. Since the Heat have already traded their 2021 first-round selection to the Clippers and can’t give away consecutive future first-rounders, the next one that is trade-eligible would be the 2023 selection, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

As part of the four-team swap, the Sixers will send the draft rights to 2017 second-rounder Mathias Lessort to the Clippers, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

As of now then, this is what the deal would look like:

To Heat: Jimmy Butler (via sign-and-trade, getting a four-year, $141MM contract) and Meyers Leonard.
To Sixers: Josh Richardson
To Clippers: Maurice Harkless, a future Heat first-round pick, and the draft rights to Mathias Lessort.
To Trail Blazers: Hassan Whiteside

After acquiring Harkless, the Clippers will still have a maximum-salary slot available in the event that Kawhi Leonard decides to join them, tweets Marks. It would be a tight fit though, notes ESPN’s Zach Lowe, who tweets that the club might have to renounce a couple of small cap holds. Obviously, if Leonard decides to go elsewhere, that wouldn’t be necessary.

As for the Heat, they had let Goran Dragic‘s camp know that they’d likely to need to move the point guard in order to complete the Butler acquisition, but that shouldn’t be necessary after all, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Still, as Marks points out (via Twitter), Miami will have to make an additional move to make sure it gets below the hard cap $138.9MM that applies to teams that acquire a player via sign-and-trade. Waiving and stretching Ryan Anderson‘s contract looks like the most logical path for the Heat.

We have more details in other stories on the Butler/Richardson aspect of this deal, as well as the Blazers’ Whiteside acquisition.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sixers, Heat Search For New Team To Join Jimmy Butler Sign-And-Trade

July 1st, 2019 at 12:53am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Heat are still working on options to complete the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade with the Sixers, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The two sides will search for a third team to take on additional salary from Miami, as Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

The Mavericks appeared to be the team willing to take on salary in order to help both teams complete the trade. It was reported that Goran Dragic would be sent to Dallas as part of a three-team deal, but the Mavs then felt that Dragic’s salary would eat into their cap space and hinder their other plans.

Kelly Olynyk and Derrick Jones were believed to be taking Dragic’s place in the trade, but then it was revealed that the Heat did not want to part with Jones in the deal. The Olynyk/Jones combo wouldn’t have been quite enough from a salary-matching perspective anyway.

The Heat will look for a trade partner for Dragic out of respect for the veteran. The team and his representatives are working to find a deal by July 6. per Shelburne. However, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link) hears from Dragic’s camp that there is no joint effort yet to find him a suitor.

Dragic will make approximately $19.2MM next season. After a day of contract agreements, The Mavericks, Clippers, and Lakers are the only teams with the clear ability to absorb Dragic’s deal without sending salary back, though other teams could potentially create the necessary space.

It’s possible the Mavericks will change its stance again on Dragic once they have a clearer picture of who they can sign with their cap space, though that’s simply my speculation.

Assuming the two sides find a third team to make the sign-and-trade work, Josh Richardson will go to Philadelphia and Butler will begin the Miami chapter of his career on a four-year max deal.

Potential Mavs, Heat Trade Hits Snag

June 30th, 2019 at 11:59pm CST by ChrisCrouse

11:59pm: Tim Cato of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that the deal is off from the Mavs’ perspective. It’s up to the Heat to salvage the deal, possibly with another team, Cato adds.

As detailed below, Miami’s acquisition of Butler is dependent on the team being able to send salary to a third team, so it’s hard to imagine the Heat not figuring it out with some team, but they’re losing leverage and don’t have a ton of assets left to sweeten the deal.

10:21pm: There’s a “glitch” in the agreement between the Mavericks and Heat, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, who tweets that Miami is reluctant to part with Jones and Dallas is telling people that the deal is off.

The Mavericks maintain that they thought they were getting Olynyk and Jones in the deal, but the Heat don’t want to give up Jones and say they must part with Dragic to make the math work, tweets Stein. As noted below, the Heat would have to send out at least one more player to an Olynyk/Jones package to make the trade work financially.

There’s an expectation that the deal is far enough down the road that things will get ironed out, says Weiss. The Heat’s acquisition of Butler hinges on sending out other salaries, so Miami will be very motivated to get it done. However, as Nahmad points out (via Twitter), it will be tricky for the Heat to stay under the tax apron without moving bigger salaries.

10:01pm: The Mavericks and Heat have changed the framework on their part of the sign-and-trade deal that will send Butler to Miami, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links). Rather than acquiring Dragic, Dallas will land Kelly Olynyk and Derrick Jones, Stein reports.

According to Stein, the Mavs are “huge fans” of Dragic, but didn’t want to surrender flexibility to make additional moves by acquiring his contract.

“In analyzing it, his salary was too high based on other things they’re trying to do,” Dragic’s agent Bill Duffy tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Due to the change, the Heat aren’t quite sending out enough salary to make the deal work, so another outgoing piece will be required, tweets cap expert Albert Nahmad.

8:42pm: Goran Dragic will become part of the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade deal with the Heat sending the point guard to the Mavericks, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel tweets. No major compensation will head from Dallas to Miami, as Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets. The Mavs will technically have to send something out and it will likely be cash or a heavily-protected first-round pick.

Miami is sending Josh Richardson to the Sixers in exchange for Butler, who will ink a four-year max deal with a starting salary of approximately $32.7MM. The Heat needed to send out additional salary as part of the agreement to make up for the gap between Richardson’s salary ($10.1MM) and Butler’s new starting salary.

The move to send Dragic to the Mavs had been speculated throughout the day with salary cap guru Albert Nahmad (Twitter link) among those reading the tea leaves. Dragic will join Rookie-of-the-Year award winner Luka Doncic in Dallas’ backcourt.

Heat Finalizing Sign-And-Trade For Jimmy Butler

June 30th, 2019 at 8:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat are finalizing a deal to acquire free agent swingman Jimmy Butler via a sign-and-trade deal with the Sixers, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Philadelphia is receiving Josh Richardson as part of the agreement, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Butler will sign a four-year, maximum-salary contract with the Heat, reports Charania (via Twitter). The new deal will pay him just shy of $141MM.

Meanwhile, the 76ers will receive no additional salary back from Miami in the sign-and-trade agreement, tweets Derek Bodner of The Athletic. Philadelphia will use its remaining cap room to sign Al Horford to a lucrative four-year deal.

While Richardson is apparently the only player going to Philadelphia, the Heat will need to trade away more players to make the deal work from their end. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), acquiring a player via sign-and-trade will trigger a hard cap at the tax apron ($138.9MM) for Miami, and team salary would be way over that hard cap after swapping Richardson for Butler.

[UPDATE: Mavs to acquire Goran Dragic as part of Butler sign-and-trade]

Once the dust settles and the details are sorted out, the Heat will be adding the sort of impact player to their lineup that they’ve long sought. In fact, as Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer points out (via Twitter), Miami made a player for Butler last fall using Richardson as bait before the Timberwolves decided to send him to Philadelphia instead.

In 65 total games for the Wolves and Sixers last season, Butler averaged 18.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.9 SPG with a .462/.347/.855 shooting line. While his numbers dipped a little in Philadelphia, Butler averaged at least 20 points per game in each of the previous four seasons before 2018/19, making the All-Star Game in all four of those years.

With Butler headed to Miami, it will be worth watching the Clippers and Rockets to see what their next moves are. Houston had long projected confidence that it could land Butler via a sign-and-trade of its own, while the Clips had reportedly hoped to pair Butler and Kawhi Leonard in Los Angeles.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Notes: Harris, Leonard, Portis

June 30th, 2019 at 5:10pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Tobias Harris is meeting with the Sixers to begin free agency, The Athletic’s David Aldridge tweets. Harris is seeking a full, five-year max deal.

Jimmy Butler is in Miami to begin his free agency tour and is expected to tell the Heat that he wants to sign with them. The Sixers will likely get a chance to speak with Butler before he signs elsewhere, as Miami doesn’t have the cap space necessary to offer Butler a max contract.

Here’s more from the start of free agency:

Magic Johnson said he has spoken to Kawhi Leonard and Dennis Robertson (Leonard’s uncle) after Leonard’s camp contacted him, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times relays (Twitter link). No meeting between the parties has been set up yet.
Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker are both operating as if they will not be back with the Wizards, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports reports on Twitter. Both players were brought to Washington in the mid-season deal that sent Otto Porter Jr. to Chicago.
Julius Randle is on the Knicks‘ radar, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). New York missed out on Kevin Durant, watching him sign with the Nets.
The Knicks are meeting with Reggie Bullock tonight, Aldridge tweets. Bullock is ready to commit to a “strong offer,” Aldridge adds. The Lakers would like to keep him, though New York will be among the teams which will have a chance to steal him away from Los Angeles.

Free Agent Rumors: Middleton, Butler, Kanter, Temple

June 30th, 2019 at 3:27pm CST by clarkcrum

According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, the quietness surrounding the free agency destination of Bucks’ All-Star forward Khris Middleton is because interested front offices are universally presuming that Middleton is going back to Milwaukee on a “monster” five-year deal.

Middleton, 27, is eligible to sign a five-year, $189.904MM maximum-salary contract with the Bucks, while rival suitors can only (relatively speaking, of course) offer up to $140.791MM over four years.

Echoing Stein’s sentiment from rival front offices, Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box reports that Middleton is expected to re-sign with Milwaukee, adding that Brook Lopez and George Hill are also considered good bets to return.

Per Marc J. Spears of ESPN, unrestricted free agent center Enes Kanter is expected to have a phone call with the Blazers and Celtics when free agency tips off tonight at 5:00pm CST.
Spears is also reporting that UFA guard Garrett Temple is getting interest from the Nets, Nuggets, Jazz, and Rockets.
During their meeting this evening, Jimmy Butler is expected to tell the Heat that he wishes to play in Miami, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. It’s unclear whether Butler actually wants to play for the Heat of if he’s simply using this as a negotiating tactic to entice the 76ers to offer him a 5-year maximum-salary contract.
Per Harrison D. Sanford of The Green Room with Danny Green, free agent guard Danny Green is expecting to hear from the Raptors, Lakers, Sixers, Bulls, Mavericks, Rockets, and Knicks.

Jimmy Butler To Meet With Heat, Rockets

June 29th, 2019 at 5:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jimmy Butler will meet with the Heat and Rockets as he ponders his free agent options, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Butler will sit down with Miami officials Sunday in South Florida, then will hear Houston’s presentation early next week in Los Angeles, Woj adds. He states that the Sixers haven’t ruled out sign-and-trade deals, which Butler would need to join either team.

Philadelphia still has the advantage of being able to offer Butler a five-year, $190MM deal if it decides to try to keep him, while other teams are limited to four years and about $141MM. However, the Sixers have other concerns with Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick both on the free agent market and Ben Simmons eligible for an extension this summer.

The Rockets have been the most visible organization trying to land Butler, leaking their intentions to pursue a sign-and-trade and reportedly lining up a contingent deal involving Clint Capela. Both Houston and Miami made strong efforts to acquire Butler in November when he demanded a trade out of Minnesota.

Charania’s Latest: Nets, D-Lo, Durant, Livingston, More

June 29th, 2019 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

Kyrie Irving remains “fully focused” on a potential deal with the Nets, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who says Brooklyn’s goal is to sign the trio of Irving, Kevin Durant, and DeAndre Jordan. If they can get Irving but Durant heads elsewhere, the Nets could shift their focus to players like Tobias Harris or Julius Randle, Charania writes.

As for D’Angelo Russell, league sources tell Charania that the expectation is the Nets will either renounce D-Lo’s rights or try to complete a sign-and-trade deal that sends him elsewhere. A sign-and-trade would be complicated, since Brooklyn may prefer to use its cap room on free agents rather than trade pieces in return for Russell.

Here’s more from Charania:

Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers is tentatively scheduled to travel to New York this weekend to meet with Kevin Durant and his inner circle, league sources tell Charania. Durant is also expected to talk to the Knicks, Nets, and Clippers, though no formal meetings have been set, says Charania, who adds that there’s a belief that KD has considered the possibility of teaming up with Kawhi Leonard.
Shaun Livingston, who originally had a guarantee date of June 30 on his contract, has agreed to push that date back to July 10, reports Charania. Livingston has a partial guarantee of $2MM on his $7.7MM salary, and the Warriors now have more time to decide whether to retain him at that price.
With Kemba Walker appearing likely to sign elsewhere, the Hornets are focusing on other point guards like Terry Rozier, sources tell Charania. It’s not clear if Charlotte believes the mid-level would be enough to land Rozier, or if the team would attempt a sign-and-trade.
The Sixers remain “fully focused” on trying to re-sign Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, according to Charania, who notes that rival teams interested in Butler believe the fifth year Philadelphia can offer will be a major factor for the swingman and agent Bernie Lee. If the 76ers don’t offer that fifth year, it’s possible the market for Butler will open up.
The Knicks have targeted free agent center Robin Lopez as a potential backup for Mitchell Robinson, league sources tell Charania.
The Celtics intend to pursue a big man using their $4.8MM room exception, with Enes Kanter and Kevon Looney among their targets, per Charania.

Lowe’s Latest: Walker, Brogdon, Mavs, Rubio, Butler

June 28th, 2019 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics might be the frontrunner for Kemba Walker‘s services but devoting most of their cap space to the All-Star point guard would leave them without any proven frontcourt players and limited ways to acquire them, ESPN’s Zach Lowe writes in an in-depth look at free agency. The addition of Walker would force coach Brad Stevens to use either Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum or Gordon Hayward at power forward, Lowe notes. Walker also ran more pick-and-rolls with the Hornets than Kyrie Irving did with the Celtics, yet Irving was sometimes accused of being a ball hog, Lowe adds.

Here are some other interesting tidbits from Lowe’s column:

Bucks restricted free agent Malcolm Brogdon will lose a suitor if the Celtics ink Walker. The Suns, Bulls, Mavericks and Pacers could potentially extend Brogdon an offer sheet but some teams are concerned about his foot issues.
The Mavericks are not looking to sign any high-level free agents.
The Pacers are looking to make a run at point guard Ricky Rubio. They are also likely to let power forward Thaddeus Young walk and go with a frontcourt of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner. Indiana rejected trade offers for Turner at the draft.
The Heat could get involved in the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes via a sign-and-trade.
The Nets have no interest in doing a sign-and-trade with the Timberwolves involving restricted free agent D’Angelo Russell if it means taking back Jeff Teague or Andrew Wiggins.

Rockets Believe They Have Taker For Capela; Trade Would Hinge On Acquiring Butler

June 28th, 2019 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets believe they have a trade partner lined up for a potential deal involving Clint Capela, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter).

However, as Stein explains, the Rockets don’t intend to move forward with a Capela trade unless they’re sure they can acquire Jimmy Butler in a sign-and-trade deal with the Sixers. Butler has been identified over the last couple weeks as Houston’s top offseason target.

As we detailed last night in our preview of the Rockets’ offseason, the obstacles in the way of the Rockets acquiring Butler in a sign-and-trade are numerous, but not technically insurmountable. As part of a sign-and-trade for Butler, Houston would likely need to move both Capela and Eric Gordon.

It’s possible that Gordon would appeal to Philadelphia, especially if the 76ers are unsure about their odds of re-signing J.J. Redick. But Capela would almost certainly have to be re-routed to a third team, both to satisfy base year compensation rules and because he’s not a fit for the Sixers. So if there’s a suitor out there for Capela, as Stein suggests, that team would likely be brought into a three-way trade involving Houston and Philadelphia.

Until we have a better sense of what Butler wants, this whole arrangement looks tenuous, but it’s worth noting that the Rockets are said to be very confident in their ability to acquire the standout wing. If they weren’t confident, it’s unlikely that they’d let these talks involving Capela become so public — if they can’t acquire Butler and want to bring back Capela, it would put the big man would be in a tough spot, since he’d be aware that his team was ready to trade him if another player had wanted to come to Houston.