Miami Heat: Should Jimmy Butler be an early trade target?

Jimmy Butler is reportedly unhappy in Minnesota. Can the Miami Heat find a trade for him?

Amidst the revelry of Miami Heat fans celebrating Dwyane Wade‘s return for “one last dance,” the team and its fan base has another bit of information to process.

Team president Pat Riley announced that Dion Waiters is still recovering from his ankle surgery and is unlikely to play anytime before November. With training camp less than a week away and Miami’s roster maxed out at 20 players, Waiters absence is just another drag on Miami’s attempts at generating forward momentum.

For the Heat, a team that spent much of 2017-18 fighting off ailments, the revelation of Waiters still ailing ankle represents a continued struggle to combat injuries. Though Wade is on his way out, the three seasons remaining on Waiters’ contract were something of a safety net, as he shares the go-ahead mentality that is fitting of the rightful successor to inherit Wade County.

But to start the season, Miami will once again be without Waiters and his 14 points per game; a seemingly gargantuan contribution for a team that fumbled away more than a fair share of third quarters last year.

Counterbalancing the angst surrounding the Waiters announcement however, is that speculation around making a trade for Jimmy Butler is looking more and more like a possibility.

Butler has expressed disdain over his situation with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the better part of the last six months. Today, he even went as far as requesting a trade, per NBA.com reports.

And while Timberwolves coach and president Tom Thibodeau is still attempting to rebuild the band from his Chicago Bulls days, it has only proved to be an ill-timed and misdirected attempt at creating a club worthy of Butler’s talents.

As a Marquette alum and former Wade teammate, Butler is a prime candidate to don Miami’s colors.

If the Heat were to make a play at Butler, it’d serve multiple purposes. Not only would he get to re-link with his former Bulls confidant, Wade, but Butler would also get a starring role on a defensive-minded team that is looking for its face.

Is Butler the answer?

As much as trading for Butler would be a step in the right direction, finding an adequate trade package to entice Thibodeau to wreak havoc on his already struggling Western Conference team, is easier said than done.

In one-for-one deals, Tyler Johnson and Goran Dragic are within Butler’s pay grade. However, neither have the defensive build that Minnesota so desperately needs to undercut the rest of the West.

A bigger deal involving Hassan Whiteside might be a potential solution, creating a lengthy front court with Karl-Anthony Towns, but Whiteside’s inclination towards calamitous outbursts would encourage the Timberwolves to but the brakes on any offers.

And, as an added caveat, Butler, who is likely to opt out of his contract’s final year given his current outlook, would be near-impossible for the Heat to snag in 2019’s free agency period. The team is already slated to be $11 million over next season’s salary cap.

Luckily, the Heat may still have an out, assuming it doesn’t mind hoping for a positive outcome.

Though the Brooklyn Nets are steadily trudging along the path to rebuilding, making a play for D’Angelo Russell could serve as an immediate patch. Russell, who is set to earn $7 million in 2018-19, is a flashy combo guard who can shade toward being a true point man with the right encouragement.

Miami will be in desperate need of multifaceted playmakers as Dragic continues to age and James Johnson looks to rediscover his basketball nirvana.

But at just 22-years-old, Russell both fits Miami’s age timeline – bolstered by Justise Winslow (22), Bam Adebayo (21) and Josh Richardson (25) – as well as its need for an established offensive presence. Where Russell falters defensively, the Heat can provide backup as one of the league’s most malleable rosters.

Acquiring Russell from the Nets may require relinquishing one of Miami’s core trio, but he comes equipped with the same swag-laden mentality that pushed Waiters to the top of the Heat’s list of offensive contributors.

Ideally, Miami should go after Butler this season with all its might. The team already has an incredible broker in Wade.

Still, Russell could prove a useful option, as the Heat try and claw through the Eastern Conference.