If it’s true that the Miami Heat are open to listening to offers for Jimmy Butler, than plenty of teams will be meeting over the next days and weeks, preparing potential trade packages and giving Pat Riley a call.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Heat are open to exploring a Butler trade and his agent, Bernie Lee, has made it known that Butler would be willing to play for win-now teams like the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks.
That won’t stop other teams from calling the Heat and trying to swing a deal. Butler, at 35, can still help a lot of teams who might think of themselves as a piece away. Miami’s job in this scenario is to find the best offer.
On Monday, I explored what it would take for the three teams on Butler’s list to execute a deal. For some, it’s more complicated than for others. Here, I’ll hit the trade machine and build out some packages that the Heat would have to, at the very least, consider.
1. Butler to Houston
Miami gets: Jabari Smith Jr., Dillon Brooks, Steven Adams, Cam Whitmore
Houston gets: Jimmy Butler
I wrote about the finances of this deal in the previous column, but let’s dig into the basketball fit. First, the Heat might ask for another young player like Amen Thompson or Reed Sheppard, but the Rockets view both as pillars of their rebuild. Of all of Houston’s young players, Smith might be the most attainable.
He’s also an ideal fit next to Bam Adebayo. At 6-foot-11, 220 pounds, Smith would provide the ability to spread the floor (35% on 4.8 3-point attempts per game this season) and defend multiple positions next to Adebayo. Smith, at 21, would be a long-term answer at the position.
Dillon Brooks could backfill Butler in a similar way to when the Heat signed Luol Deng to replace LeBron James in 2014. While there’s clearly a drop in talent, it helps to replace such an important player with a reliable veteran. Brooks is playing well for the Rockets. He’s a mean defender who can guard multiple positions, hit open 3s and fits Miami’s gnarly attitude.
Adams is in the deal as an expiring contract who helps match salaries, but he’d also be helpful as a backup center behind Adebayo.
Getting Whitmore, who flashed as a rookie but has been out of Houston’s rotation this season, would be an intriguing buy-low proposition. There’s no denying Whitmore’s talent, and he could blossom in the Heat’s development program.
2. Back to Chicago, where it all started
Miami gets: Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, Julian Phillips
Chicago gets: Jimmy Butler, Duncan Robinson
The Bulls have been trying to get off LaVine’s contract since last season, and the Heat could offer them an escape hatch. If he does intend to opt out, Butler could be treated as an expiring contract. Swapping LaVine for Butler wouldn’t net any assets for Chicago, but it would clear up more than $137 million over the next three seasons as they kickstart their rebuild.
For the Heat, adding LaVine to Tyler Herro would give them a juiced up version of the Herro and Duncan Robinson backcourt that has worked so well over the last few weeks. LaVine is a lights-out shooter, averaging 22 points per game. He doesn’t have the postseason experience like Butler, but he’s 29 and could help the Heat revamp the roster around Adebayo and Herro.
Getting Vucevic back in the deal would give the Heat more size and the ability to move Adebayo to power forward. Erik Spoelstra could start Herro, LaVine, Haywood Highsmith, Adebayo and Vucevic, with Terry Rozier, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kevin Love, among others, off the bench. They could get to multiple lineups with size, shooting and defense.
3. Walking in Memphis
Miami gets: Desmond Bane, Brandon Clarke, Zach Edey
Memphis gets: Jimmy Butler, Kel’el Ware
If the Grizzlies are looking for a piece to take them over the top, having Jimmy Butler and his postseason bona fides would only help Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant compete with the top teams in the West.
Desmond Bane has long been considered part of the Memphis core, but he hasn’t played more than 58 games in a season since 2022 as he’s struggled with injuries and is shooting a career-low 32.3% from 3-point range. He’s not that bad. The shooting should come around. But it’s fair to wonder if the Grizzlies think of him differently. At 6-foot-5, Bane, with his defense and shooting potential, would be an ideal fit next to Herro in the backcourt.
Clarke can start next to Adebayo or play off the bench at either front-court spot. Swapping Zach Edey, the ninth pick in June’s draft, for Ware, the 15th, is a fun game of musical chairs. The Heat were high on Edey prior to the draft but settled on Ware when Edey was off the board. Despite the injuries, Edey’s rookie season is off to a stronger start than Ware’s. Swapping the two acts as a sweetener.