Pat Riley

Members Of Heat Organization Fear Jimmy Butler Situation Could Get Uglier

January 17th, 2025 at 8:17am CST by Dana Gauruder

Members of the Heat organization, including players, coaches and staffers, have grown weary of Jimmy Butler‘s feud with the front office and it’s feared that the situation could get even worse, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reports.

With his team-imposed seven-game suspension over, Butler could return to action against the Nuggets on Friday. However, there’s a sense of dread in the organization that Butler could become even more of a distraction.

One unnamed source within the organization told Shelburne, “I don’t know how he can come back to this locker room,” while another informed her, “We don’t want him back.”

Butler reiterated his demand to be traded to president of basketball operations Pat Riley during the suspension while the team was away on a six-game road trip. Butler was furious at the length of the suspension and the potential $2.35MM in lost salary, according to Shelburne, who says the possibility of a reduction waned because Butler failed to show enough contrition.

Here’s more from Shelburne’s story:

Butler was stunned when Riley publicly criticized him after last season for missing playoff games. Butler also felt the organization had prioritized Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro over him, especially when Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra essentially anointed Adebayo as the team leader when Udonis Haslem retired.
Butler’s preferential treatment during his years with the Heat is detailed, including staying in his mansion in Boulder, Colorado during the 2023 Finals. He’s also been allowed to fly privately or stay at a different location than the team on road trips.
During the first half of a game against Oklahoma City on Dec. 20, Butler went to the locker room because of a sprained ankle, then left the arena because he told the team’s medical staff that he was feeling sick. He didn’t play the next three games and some team officials began to regard Butler as somewhat AWOL. During the last of those absences, Butler posted a video of himself playing soccer.

Jimmy Butler Meets With Pat Riley, Reiterates Trade Request

January 14th, 2025 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

1:27pm: Butler is expected to meet with Heat owner Micky Arison after his suspension ends this week, reports Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. According to Winderman, Arison isn’t in favor of allowing Butler to remain away from the team while continuing to collect pay checks toward his $48.8MM salary.

11:50am: Heat forward Jimmy Butler met in person with team president Pat Riley last week and reiterated his request to be traded, league sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN.

According to Charania, Butler told Riley during that meeting that he has no intention of signing a new contract with the Heat during the 2025 offseason and that he would only pick up his $52.4MM player option for 2025/26 in order to facilitate a trade.

Butler reiterating his desire to be traded and making it clear he doesn’t plan to sign a new deal with the Heat doesn’t materially change the circumstances of his standoff with the Heat — we already knew that the 35-year-old wanted out and that his days with the team are likely numbered.

Still, it’s perhaps a signal that the Heat’s plan to reintegrate Butler upon the conclusion of his team-imposed seven-game suspension later this week won’t go as smoothly as the club hopes. Butler’s has already missed six games while serving his suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, so Wednesday’s contest against the Lakers will be the seventh and final game of that ban.

Heat officials intend to meet later this week to discuss the best route forward with Butler, league sources tell Charania.

Several recent reports have indicated that Miami has talked to multiple teams about potential Butler trades but has yet to gain any real momentum in any of those discussions and is in no rush to take a deal that isn’t in the club’s best interests. The Heat are said to be seeking players who can help them win this season, as well as short-term contracts that will allow the front office to generate cap flexibility going forward.

The Suns are widely viewed as the team with the most interest in Butler, who strongly reciprocates their interest. But Phoenix isn’t well positioned to make a strong offer, given its position relative to the second tax apron and its lack of appealing trade chips. Due to their second-apron restrictions, the Suns would almost certainly need to send out Bradley Beal in any deal for Butler — Beal has a no-trade clause and would need to approve any move, while Miami isn’t interested in taking on his multiyear maximum-salary contract.

Multiple NBA insiders have speculated that the Heat may not find a deal they like by the February 6 trade deadline, delaying resolution on the Butler situation until the offseason. At that time, more teams would have the flexibility to acquire him via sign-and-trade or opt-in-and-trade.

Even letting Butler walk for nothing could be an appealing option for Miami if the alternative sees the club take back unwanted multiyear contracts in a trade. The Clippers took that approach with Paul George this past offseason and it’s working out well for them so far.

Unlike George, Butler doesn’t have an obvious suitor with cap room waiting for him in free agency, so he’ll have to be careful about overplaying his hand. The Nets are currently the only team projected to have maximum-salary cap room during the offseason, and they reportedly have no intention of pursuing the Heat star.

Butler’s dissatisfaction in Miami stems in large part from the Heat’s unwillingness to give him the maximum-salary extension offer he wanted during the offseason. Reporting on Christmas Day indicated that he preferred a trade; a little over a week later, word broke that he had informed the Heat of his desire to be moved.

According to Charania, one issue that factored into Butler’s January 2 trade request was an implication from team officials that the six-time All-Star didn’t play his hardest in a Jan. 1 win over New Orleans.

Butler scored nine points in 25 minutes in that game and followed up that performance with nine points in 27 minutes the next night against Indiana. He took just 11 total shots across those two outings and appeared passive and disengaged, frequently standing in the corner on offense. His usage rate in those two games was 12.6% — it had been 21.6% prior to Jan. 1.

Latest On Jimmy Butler

January 11th, 2025 at 9:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

As Jimmy Butler serves out his seven-game suspension, the Heat don’t appear any closer to finding someone to take him off their hands, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy. Numerous executives and other league sources who talked to Bulpett expressed skepticism that Miami will be presented with a deal to its liking before the February 6 trade deadline.

It’s partially due to Butler’s age and desire for a contract extension this summer, but it’s also because of his history of disrupting teams whenever he’s unhappy.

“It’s more difficult than people think,” said one team’s head of basketball operations. “First of all, Jimmy’s 35 and doesn’t have much value. And then the team that would like him the most is probably Phoenix, because they’re so bad and they have the worst contract in (Bradley) Beal. Other than that, I don’t know of any teams that would want to take on Jimmy Butler, other than teams that just want to dump contracts — and Miami won’t go for that. I just don’t know how it’s going to work.

“But all this stuff with Jimmy — all the stuff in Miami and Minnesota and Chicago and Philly — all of it is because he wants to get paid. That’s where he’s at right now. He wants to be paid for what he’s done for Miami.”

Butler, who’s in his sixth year with the Heat, has only appeared in 22 of the team’s first 36 games. Coming into this season, he had vowed to be more available after being challenged by team president Pat Riley when Miami was eliminated from the playoffs last spring. Butler has played 58, 52, 57, 64 and 60 games the past five seasons, and his frequent absences have made the organization reluctant to offer the extension he wants.

Butler is scoring 17.6 PPG so far this season — his lowest mark in more than a decade — although his shooting splits remain strong at .552/.375/.788. At age 35, there’s plenty of doubt around the league about whether he can still play at a level to justify an expensive new contract. Butler has stated that he plans to turn down his $52.4MM player option for next season and test free agency, but that may not be his best financial move if he’s still in Miami past the deadline.

“You’d have to say Jimmy’s been good for Miami overall, but he’s also been very difficult,” a league source told Bulpett. “I think it’s just reached an end. It’s like he’s in charge; he doesn’t play all the time, and he’s had injuries that always seem to come up. He’s not as good as it was. He got a lot of mileage out of being a leader, a go-to guy, a big game player, but he wasn’t there night in and night out.”

Rival executives were skeptical about Riley’s commitment to Butler when he announced in late December that the Heat were taking him off the market, Bulpett adds. The feeling was that Riley was responding to what he viewed as inadequate trade offers.

“I really believe (the Heat) had discussions (with other teams) about Jimmy before Pat said, ‘We’re not trading Jimmy Butler.’ At the very least, they went through every single team and what was realistic — like, there’s only a handful of teams that are trying to win right now and that Jimmy would want to go to,” one executive said. “And Miami looked at everything and basically said they weren’t doing any of that crap. So Pat says they’re not trading him, and Jimmy says what he says. So maybe now Jimmy will be open to more teams that he’d be willing to go to.”

Butler has been working out at Kaseya Center with assistant coach Octavio De La Grana and two other staff members while the Heat are on a road trip, but coach Erik Spoelstra declined to comment on those proceedings before tonight’s game at Portland, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

“Of course I’ve talked to him. I’m very close to coach,” Spoelstra told reporters. “That’s between me and coach O, with all due respect.”

Trade talks regarding Butler are ongoing, but the Heat still haven’t received an offer they consider acceptable, a source tells Jackson, who adds that they remain willing to bring him back for a January 17 home game if he’s not traded by then.

Jackson also hears that Miami wouldn’t be opposed to keeping Butler on the roster for the rest of the season and dealing with the situation this summer.

Jimmy Butler Notes: Bucks, Trade Timeline, Riley, More

January 10th, 2025 at 8:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Multiple reports this week indicated that the Grizzlies and Bucks are among the teams that have been advised not to pursue a trade for Heat forward Jimmy Butler, and while Sam Amick of The Athletic has “for sure” heard that Memphis received that message, he’s less certain about what’s going on with Milwaukee.

“The Milwaukee thing, I’m admittedly a little confused by,” Amick said during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run it Back (Twitter video link). “… I was told from somebody who 100% would and should know that Jimmy’s camp had not spoken about Milwaukee and also hadn’t been asked about Milwaukee.

While the Bucks were named on Monday as one of the clubs considering the possibility of making a play for Butler, Amick is skeptical that they plan to seriously explore that idea, whether or not they’ve been warned off by the forward’s camp.

“There is chatter about the Bucks and the idea of them kicking it around. Regardless of exactly what was said, I would move off that possibility,” Amick continued. “I don’t sense a lot of eagerness from the Bucks’ side to go down that road.”

Since the Bucks are currently operating about $6.5MM above the second tax apron, they’d have to reduce their team salary by more than that amount before – or as part of – any trade for Butler in order to legally aggregate multiple player contracts for matching purposes.

Here are a few more items related to the NBA’s most prominent trade candidate:

Within a detailed breakdown of where things stand with Butler, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports cites league sources who believe there’s a real chance the 35-year-old could remain in Miami all season and not be traded until the summer, at which time it would be easier for the Heat to construct a deal that works for both them and their trade partner(s).
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald takes a closer look at what the Heat’s options in the 2025 offseason would be if they were to sign-and-trade Butler or allow him to walk as a free agent.
Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel checks in on the latest developments related to the Butler drama, including Heat president Pat Riley talking to Dan Le Batard about critics who say he’s “washed” and Butler seemingly taking a passive-aggressive jab at Riley and the Heat in a social media video.
In his most recent mailbag (subscription required), Winderman considers whether it’s fair to the rest of the players on the roster for the Heat to put them in the middle of more drama by bringing Butler back at the end of his suspension instead of taking the best offer on the table at that point.
A recent feature from Ben Golliver of The Washington Post includes some exclusive quotes from Butler. Those quotes are about a month old, predating the developments of the past few weeks, but one comment from Butler perhaps provides some insight into why he was upset that the Heat were unwilling to offer him a maximum-salary contract extension over the summer. “I still think I’m in my prime if I’m being brutally honest,” Butler told Golliver.

Heat Rumors: Butler, Suns, Suspension, 2026, Love

January 9th, 2025 at 4:38pm CST by Rory Maher

Star forward Jimmy Butler has tried to apply pressure on the Heat to trade him sooner rather than later, but team sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic that Miami won’t be rushed into making a deal it doesn’t like.

According to Amick, Heat officials told players after Butler received a seven-game suspension that the “most likely next step” would be Butler rejoining the team after its lengthy road trip. The Heat viewed Butler’s behavior as “increasingly problematic,” hence the suspension, and wanted to give the two sides a break and deal with it when the club returns home next week.

Butler’s tactics have somewhat overshadowed how impactful he can be when he’s fully engaged on the court, Amick writes, and may have given potential suitors pause. While things can change quickly in the NBA, Butler’s situation may not be resolved until closer to the deadline — assuming he’s traded at all.

A “best-case scenario” for the Heat would be a team becoming desperate to turn its season around and rethinking its stance on Butler, with Amick pointing to the Warriors as one example. Miami won handily at Golden State on Tuesday sans Butler.

As Amick details, it’s clear to people around the league that Butler’s preferred landing spot is Phoenix, and the Suns have reportedly been the most aggressive team in pursuit of the 35-year-old. But Bradley Beal‘s maximum-salary contract and no-trade clause continue to hold up a possible deal.

Here are a few more rumors and notes from Miami:

The Heat continue to actively discuss Butler trades, but they haven’t received any enticing offers yet, and unless that changes in the next week, the plan is for Butler to rejoin the team for next Friday’s contest vs. Denver, league sources tell Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Butler continues to work out with team staffers in Miami.
In an interview with Dan Le Batard that was filmed weeks ago, prior to all of the Butler drama, Heat president Pat Riley said that while his approach differs from modern players, he still respects them (Twitter video link). However, he drew a distinction when it comes to honoring a contract and being a detriment to a team. “So as players, they have to render unto the Heat really what is theirs too,” Riley said as part of a larger quote (hat tip to Jackson and Chiang). “And while they go out there and they do these other things, you can’t shortcut it with us. So, I’ve actually explained this to players is that while you’re under contract to us, you do owe us something. Your Collective Bargaining Agreement contract says that, so don’t ever take that lightly. We have a very cooperative group of people. But yes, I feel like I owe and I have to render unto Micky [Arison] as my boss. I don’t do it in any other way other than with respect and I feel the same way about the players.”
The Heat could position themselves to have maximum-salary cap room in the 2026 offseason, depending on what happens with Butler. While maximizing cap flexibility is a priority, the team is also open to adding a player on a multiyear contract in a Butler deal as long as that player is a “genuine difference-maker,” a source tells Jackson.
Veteran forward/center Kevin Love will miss Thursday’s game in Utah due to personal reasons, the Heat announced. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out.

Heat Notes: Butler, Adebayo, Rozier, Riley, Porter Jr.

January 4th, 2025 at 5:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jimmy Butler‘s standoff with the Heat is the NBA’s hottest story and has overshadowed everything else going on with the team, but Butler’s teammates will have to take the court without him beginning on Saturday vs. Utah as he begins serving his seven-game suspension. As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald relays, Bam Adebayo spoke to reporters at today’s shootaround about the awkward spot he and his teammates find themselves in.

“It’s disappointing when you see the organization and a player going head to head like that,” Adebayo said. “But the rest of us got to figure out how to win games. So for me as captain, it’s worrying about the other guys and getting them locked in and ready to go to try to compete and win a game.”

Butler has been one of the Heat’s leaders since joining the team in 2019, but his days in Miami appear numbered. He won’t play in the next seven games and may have suited up for Miami for the last time. That means the rest of the roster has to prepare to move forward without him while leaning on its other veterans for stability.

“Obviously, we still have a great opportunity, a good basketball team. So we don’t want to get caught up in all the news that’s been going around,” Terry Rozier said. “But we have a great locker room. We got guys like (Kevin Love), a vet who’s always keeping guys on their toes and making guys laugh. We got a lot of great guys in there. So we move on and we’ll find out what’s best.

“It’s tough because that’s one of your locker room guys, that’s one of your teammates,” Rozier added. “So it sucks to see that he won’t be around. But our main focus is to try to win games and control what we can control. Obviously, that’s out of our control with the guys in the locker room. But we got a lot of love for him and we wish him the best. We’re just trying to win games now.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

Team president Pat Riley may want to reconsider his trademark candor in the wake of the Butler situation, suggests Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. After the Heat were eliminated from the playoffs, Riley reacted to Butler’s claim that they could have beaten the Celtics and Knicks if he hadn’t been injured by saying it’s best to “keep your mouth shut” if you’re not able to play. Riley has become known for direct statements during his long NBA career, but Winderman says that trait may have become counterproductive in player relations.
The Heat have given Butler special treatment for years, but now they’re calling his behavior “conduct detrimental” after he became unhappy about not receiving an extension, Winderman adds in a subscriber-only story.
Excessive pride from Butler and Riley has led to the current situation, but a change is also necessary because the current Heat roster isn’t good enough to compete for a title, argues Greg Cote of The Miami Herald.
Although Butler suggested during his comments to the media on Thursday that his role and his lack of “joy” playing basketball were the reasons for his dissatisfaction, it all comes down to money, contends Chris Mannix of SI.com. According to Shams Charania of ESPN (YouTube link), Butler – who was upset about not being offered a maximum-salary extension by the Heat during the offseason – wouldn’t want to sign that extension if it were offered now. That’s a moot point, since Miami certainly doesn’t intend to put it on the table at this point, but it’s a reflection of how much the relationship has deteriorated.
Exploring possible trade scenarios involving Butler, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald states (via Twitter) that Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., who would need to be included in any deal with Denver, was flagged by the Heat “long ago” for medical reasons. Porter, who had back problems earlier in his career, has been healthier in recent years, and Jackson notes that his talent would be “enticing,” though Miami’s appetite for taking on multiyear salary is unclear.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Trade Rumors: Butler, C. Johnson, Nets, Grizzlies, Pelicans

January 3rd, 2025 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The rest of the NBA is watching the standoff between the Heat and Jimmy Butler with “their popcorn out,” according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Insider link), who notes that team president Pat Riley doesn’t make a habit of deferring to his star players, operating with a “bluntness and strength” that’s somewhat atypical of team executives in this era.

“You cannot intimidate Pat Riley,” one prominent player agent said to ESPN.

As Windhorst details, Riley let longtime franchise star Dwyane Wade walk over a contract dispute in free agency in 2016 and reportedly shut down LeBron James when the star forward hinted he wanted head coach Erik Spoelstra replaced back in 2010. If the longtime Heat president approaches the Butler situation with a similar mindset, he’s not likely to grant the 35-year-old’s trade request if he doesn’t like what Miami is getting in return.

“The Heat make mistakes and sometimes have issues with players just like everyone else,” one general manager told Windhorst. “But they do not get pushed around.”

As Tim Bontemps of ESPN points out within the same story, under the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, it’s not necessarily the worst outcome to have a maximum-salary free agent walk away for nothing. The Clippers took that route with Paul George this past offseason, opting for additional cap flexibility rather than taking back contracts that they didn’t want and would’ve had trouble moving. If the trade offers for Butler are underwhelming, the Heat may decide that’s the best path for them too.

Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:

While Cameron Johnson is among the most coveted trade targets in the NBA, talks involving the Nets forward are expected to be more complex than the ones for Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith, according to Windhorst, so they’ll take more time. There will be more suitors in play for Johnson, and Brooklyn has made it clear the price will be higher than it was for its other veterans. As Windhorst writes, the Nets have expressed a belief that Johnson could be a long-term keeper, since he’d fit well alongside just about any impact player they’re able to land in the coming years. Still, at least one rival executive believes that stance may just be a negotiating tactic. “That’s all good to say, but they’ll trade him if they get what they want,” the exec said. “They like him as a player and a person and all that, but they built his contract specifically to be able to trade him by next summer.”
The bidding war between Memphis and the Lakers for Finney-Smith resulted in “hard feelings emanating” from the Grizzlies and the Nets for the way their talks played out, according to Windhorst. That doesn’t mean the two sides can’t come together for another deal – Memphis is reportedly among Johnson’s possible suitors – but it’s something worth keeping in mind ahead of February 6.
Bontemps asked several people around the NBA how many players earning more than Johnson’s $22.5MM will be traded at this season’s deadline. “Not many,” one said. Another replied, “Maybe two?” The thinking is that CBA-related restrictions will complicate moves involving players with significant cap hits.
William Guillory of The Athletic takes a closer look at the Pelicans‘ trade options, identifying Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy, and Yves Missi as the only players on the roster who are essentially untouchable this season. Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Jordan Hawkins, and Jose Alvarado aren’t technically in that group, but are also unlikely trade candidates, in Guillory’s view.

Pat Riley Announces Heat Aren’t Trading Jimmy Butler

December 26th, 2024 at 12:51pm CST by Rory Maher

In an unusual move, 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 remain with the Heat without an extension 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 — parting 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.

Jimmy Butler Prefers Trade Out Of Miami

December 25th, 2024 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Heat forward Jimmy Butler would prefer to be traded ahead of the February 6 deadline rather than sticking with Miami for the full season, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

Charania clarifies that Butler has not formally asked the Heat to trade him, but he’s “believed to be ready for his exit” from the franchise.

Butler has been the subject of trade rumors in recent weeks, with Charania first reporting on December 10 that the Heat were open to listening to offers on the six-time All-Star.

Charania stated at the time that the Mavericks, Rockets, and Warriors were a few of the teams that would appeal to Butler in the event of a trade, then added the Suns to that list the following day. Phoenix and Golden State are believed to be his top choices from among that group, Charania said today on NBA Countdown (Twitter video link).

Multiple teams have been in touch with the Heat within the past couple weeks to express interest in Butler, but Miami isn’t showing urgency in those discussions, sources tell ESPN.

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, president of basketball operations Pat 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 remain with the Heat without an extension rather than pushing for an offseason trade. However, he has been unhappy about not being extended, according to Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

Following the publication of today’s ESPN report, reporters in Miami – including Chiang and Jackson – have cited sources who confirm Butler hasn’t demanded a trade. According to The Herald, 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.

The 35-year-old is earning $48.8MM this season and holds a $52.4MM player option for the 2025/26 season. Multiple reports have indicated he intends to turn down that option to become a free agent, whether or not he’s traded this season. Butler doesn’t have to make a decision on that option until late June though, so it’s possible he’ll use that stance for leverage purposes and opt in or sign an extension later in the season if he ends up in a situation he likes.

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. Chiang and Jackson reiterated that point today, writing that Miami is “not at all concerned” about losing the former Marquette standout for nothing in free agency. Still, Charania says both the Heat and Butler seem willing to move on from one another.

Butler’s relationship with the Heat has become “somewhat strained,” per Chiang and Jackson, who hear from a source that the 14-year veteran was disappointed the team didn’t publicly deny Charania’s Dec. 10 report that Miami was open to moving him. Butler was also the only Heat player not to attend a Christmas party at Riley’s house, though he has missed the party in the past, so that’s not necessarily meaningful, according to Chiang and Jackson (Twitter link).

The Herald duo hears from a source that Butler was “caught off guard” when Riley scolded him at his spring press conference for Butler’s claim that the Celtics and Knicks would “be at home” if he had been able to play in the postseason.

“If you’re not on the court playing against Boston or on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut on the criticism of those teams,” Riley said at the time.

While the relationship between player and team isn’t as strong as it once was, Butler hasn’t been disruptive at all this season like he was in 2018 when he requested a trade out of Minnesota, according to The Herald.

Butler is averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in 31.4 minutes per game across 20 outings so far this season, with a .552/.357/.782 shooting line. His season-long averages have been hurt to some extent by the fact that he was only able to play seven minutes in a pair of games that he left due to injuries.

Butler’s $48.8MM salary will complicate some teams’ ability to acquire him via trade. The Mavericks and Suns fall into that group and appear not to have enough assets to entice Miami, per Chiang and Jackson. The Rockets, meanwhile, have told people they’re not interested in pursuing Butler, a source tells The Herald.

Pacific Notes: DeRozan, Monk, Sabonis, Bamba, Riley, Looney

November 18th, 2024 at 9:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings provided some positive medical updates on three key players, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee writes.

DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk and Domantas Sabonis didn’t play on Monday but are close to returning. All three have been cleared for individual on-court workouts. They could return for Sacramento’s game against the Clippers on Friday.

DeRozan has been sidelined for three games due to lower back tightness. Sabonis missed his second straight contest for the same reason, while Monk missed his fifth consecutive game on Monday after suffering a moderate right ankle sprain on Nov. 10.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Mohamed Bamba had nine points and eight rebounds in his season debut for the Clippers on Sunday in 15 minutes of action. He had been sidelined by a left knee injury. “My knees, the doctor would say, are in the 90th percentile of healthy looking knees,” he told Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). “But I kept getting this pocket of fluid in my knee. And it was frustrating because we couldn’t figure out why it was coming. Now we have it settled and a plan in place to kind of mitigate that.” Bamba is currently on a minutes restriction but believes he can play in back-to-backs.
The Lakers have commissioned a statue of Pat Riley to join Lakers legends on Star Plaza outside Crypto.com Arena, according to a Lakers press release. Riley will join Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West with statues in the plaza. Riley coached the Showtime Lakers in the 1980s to four championships and also played for the Lakers in the 1970s.
Kevon Looney missed the Warriors’ game against the Clippers on Monday due to an illness, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Looney, who is headed to free agency next summer, is coming off the bench this season.

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