Miami, FL

Jimmy Butler reportedly tells Miami Heat he wants a trade

Published

2 days ago

January 3, 2025

Jimmy Butler reportedly tells Miami Heat he wants a trade

“I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be.”

With that postgame comment Thursday, Miami’s Jimmy Butler all but confirmed a report that he has asked the Heat for a trade, a story broken by Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

Six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler has indicated to the Miami Heat he wants the team to trade him, league sources told ESPN. Butler does not plan to furnish the Heat with a list of favored destinations, sources told ESPN. He is open to playing anywhere other than Miami and believes he can make any team a contender — no matter where he is moved. He does plan to take part in all team activities and do whatever the Heat ask of him during this process, sources said.

Butler’s postgame comments echoed that sentiment.

“I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon,” Butler said. “I’m happy here off the court, but I want to be back to somewhat dominant, I want to hoop and I want to help this team win, and right now I’m not doing it.”

When asked if he can get his joy back on the court with the Heat, Butler responded: “Probably not.”

Butler trade rumors have been flying around the NBA since he didn’t get a contract extension with the Heat last summer (while Bam Adebayo did at three years, $165.8 million). The rumors reached the point that Heat President Pat Riley tried to squash them.

Statement from Pat Riley
“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.”
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 26, 2024
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That did not stop the speculation, although the vibe among league executives at the NBA’s G-League Showcase last month was that it might be summer before Butler was traded, just because a deal that would satisfy Miami is hard to construct. Because Miami is already over the first apron of the luxury tax, it is not allowed to take back $1 more in a trade than it sends out — and most of the teams interested in Butler are in the same situation. Any Butler trade likely involves the Detroit Pistons as a third team, the one team with cap space heading into the trade deadline, meaning they can take on a mid-level exception-sized contract to facilitate a trade.

It’s still not easy to make work. Phoenix is known to have an interest in Butler, but the only way to make that trade work is to send Bradley Beal to Miami. Beal has two years and $100.8 million left on his contract after this season. Do the Heat want to take on a player not as good as Butler right now making that kind of money? The Warriors are known to have interest as they search for a star to put next to Stephen Curry, but the only way to make a Miami/Golden State trade work is a four-or-five-for-one trade with the Warriors such as the Warriors sending out Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and Kyle Anderson (there likely would be draft picks in mix, also). How high are the Heat on Kuminga, and do they want to have to let go of players on their roster to make this deal work?

Butler’s people saying they are open to a trade to any team tries to open the door to other teams. However, whoever trades for Butler will have to re-sign him or extend him — Butler has a $52.4 million player option and could theoretically walk away from that money and be a free agent (the more likely scenario is he opts into that final year and gets a two-year extension off that, maybe at a lower number than he has been making).

Butler, 35, is still a force on the court most nights, averaging 18 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game this season. He is known as a two-way playoff performer who can help a lot of teams, but how many teams want to get into the Jimmy Butler business for multiple years?

We’re going to find out now that Butler and his camp have tried to crank up the pressure to get a trade done. However, Miami will not settle. Some team is going to have to step up with a quality offer to get a deal done, this is no fire sale.

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Miami, FL

Heat Add Promising Guard Duo In Proposed Blockbuster Involving Jimmy Butler

Published

3 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Heat Add Promising Guard Duo In Proposed Blockbuster Involving Jimmy Butler

With the Miami Heat exploring offers for veteran star Jimmy Butler league-wide, there’s no telling how many contenders will come forth with a trade package.

The Heat’s preference to acquire win-now pieces in exchange for the 35-year-old trims down the list of possible destinations a sizeable amount. One organization that could offer a mix of established talent and future assets is Miami’s in-state rival, the Orlando Magic.

If the Magic are to acquire the six-time All-Star, The Sporting News’ Stephen Noh predicted the blockbuster deal to look similar to the following:

Magic receive: Jimmy Butler

Heat receive: Jonathan Isaac, Cole Anthony, Anthony Black, up to four first-round picks

This move gives the Magic an unstoppable trio at shooting guard, small forward, and power forward with Butler, Paolo Banchero, and Franz Wagner. Not having to part with guard Jalen Suggs in this proposed trade is also a huge benefit, as he would act as the primary facilitator for this hypothetical Big Three.

Isaac gives the Heat an elite defender, but the issue is he simply struggles to stay healthy. The main appeal of the package is the promising guard duo of Anthony and Black. Despite neither flashing serious All-Star potential so far in their NBA careers, both are less than 25 years old.

Under coach Erik Spoelstra’s leadership and the Heat’s development program, the sky is the limit.

MORE HEAT NEWS

NBA Insider Reveals When Miami Heat Plan To Trade Jimmy Butler

NBA MVP ‘Pushed’ For His Team To Acquire Jimmy Butler Yet Heat Refused To Engage

Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or follow him on X @AnthonyPasci.

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Weaver Linked to NFL Head Coach Openings

Published

15 hours ago

January 4, 2025

Press Room

Weaver Linked to NFL Head Coach Openings

Anthony Weaver was a legitimate NFL head coach candidate last offseason and his work in his first year as Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator has only helped his cause.

Weaver, who interviewed for the openings with the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders last year, figures to get more interviews in this cycle, and a couple of potential landing spots already have been identified.

Even more specific, Weaver has been identified as a strong candidate for the head coaching job with the Chicago Bears, which was vacated when the team fired Matt Eberflus last in the season, according to NFL reporter Diana Russini of The Athletic.

In a story published Saturday, Russini wrote the folllowing about the Bears’ coaching search: “The Bears are gearing up for their head-coaching search, and a few big names are already on their radar: Vrabel, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Weaver, the Dolphins’ DC. GM Ryan Poles has been doing serious homework on these candidates, particularly Weaver.”

Additionally, Russini wrote that if the Jacksonville Jaguars end up firing head coach Doug Pederson, Weaver would be among the candidates who would be in consideration.

That Weaver would be a hot candidate is no surprise at all, given all the rave reviews he’s gotten at all of his stops, not to mention the Dolphins’ performance on defense this season.

Weaver is aware of his situation, but his focus was solely on trying to get the Dolphins into the playoffs when he conducted his weekly media session Thursday.

“It’s funny because I spoke to my agent last night and he’s like, ‘What are you doing to prepare for those ops?’ ” Weaver said Thursday. “I’m like absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing. Yeah, I’m so focused right now. I’m just controlling what we control, beating the Jets and praying that we get the help we need in order to continue this run. Because I think if we can get in, if we’re blessed with that opportunity, we can make some noise.”

With one game left in the 2024 regular season, we easily can make the determination that the hiring of Weaver to replace Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator was a massive hit for the Dolphins.

The team will go into the season finale against the New York Jets ranked third in the NFL in total defense and tied for eighth in points allowed — all this despite not having Bradley Chubb all season and having Jaelan Phillips for only a month.

The defense also produced the team MVP in lineman Zach Sieler.

If the Dolphins indeed are to make some noise in the first few weeks of January, it’s more than likely it will have to be the defense leading the way given Tua Tagovailoa’s uncertain status because of his hip injury and injuries on the offensive line.

If the Dolphins don’t make any kind of run, Weaver’s focus then would shift to his personal opportunities and the Weaver watch will go into full effect.

And if it turns out he’s one-and-done because he becomes a head coach elsewhere, Weaver can leave knowing he did a great job in his short stint in Miami.

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NBA Insider Reveals When Miami Heat Plan To Trade Jimmy Butler

Published

24 hours ago

January 4, 2025

Press Room

NBA Insider Reveals When Miami Heat Plan To Trade Jimmy Butler

The Miami Heat are in no way forced to part ways with veteran star Jimmy Butler at February’s trade deadline.

Still, it appears the route Miami’s front office is eager to take. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Saturday evening the Heat are looking to move the six-time All-Star forward “as soon as possible.”

“This is a clear-cut end to the Butler-Heat relationship,” Charania began on SportsCenter. “And as stunning as the seven-game suspension was around the league, more than anything, this was an avenue for the Heat to keep Jimmy Butler away from the team over these next couple of weeks. The situation around the Heat with Jimmy Butler there had become unmanageable.”

It seems the Heat partially suspended Butler in an attempt to mediate tension in the locker room. Without the 35-year-old present, the hope is the rest of the team can put their full focus on winning games.

“From my understanding, the goal right now is to move Butler as soon as possible,” Charania said. “And I’m told the Heat have spoken with teams as of Friday about Butler trades, and they will continue to engage with teams.”

Butler will finish serving his suspension when the Heat face the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 17. However, team president Pat Riley and company clearly hope a trade is completed by then.