The Miami Heat officially traded Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors just before the NBA Trade Deadline in 2025, but according to Ethan Skolnick, Pat Riley attempted to trade him two years before that. It's a claim that should be respected (because of the source), but one that still is pretty unbelievable for many Heat fans.
To think that the Heat would've been open to trading Jimmy after their run to the NBA Finals in 2023 is pretty hard to believe. Because I can't imagine Riley and this front office would've punted after being that close to a championship.
However, I could've also pointed to how bad things were - or were getting - behind the scenes between Jimmy and the Heat. Either way, this revelation, assuming it is true, is pretty shocking.
Did the Heat really try to trade Jimmy Butler in 2023?
In Skolnick's words, the Heat did explore Jimmy's trade value way before they ultimately traded him to the Warriors last year:
"“You know Pat shopped him after they got to the Finals. You know that, right? He was done with it. They shopped him. They couldn’t find anything. This was after the 2022–23 season. How would the fans have reacted after he dragged them to the Finals?”"Ethan Skolnick
Perhaps the biggest surprise from this unearthing is the fact that Riley couldn't find a deal for Jimmy. That, more than anything, makes you wonder just how much the Heat were actually willing to trade Jimmy at the time.
In theory, Jimmy, at the height of his powers after that surprising 2023 run to the NBA Finals, should've had plenty of suitors. And if the Heat did genuinely want to trade him, they could've had their options.
For one reason or another, Riley (and the Heat's front office) couldn't find the right deal.
At the very least, this is certainly one of those interesting "what if" games that many Heat fans can play in their heads. After all, one of the biggest criticisms of the Heat trading Jimmy last season was why didn't they trade him sooner.
Well, it appears they did try to.
But what's in the past is in the past. It doesn't help much anymore. Both the Heat and Jimmy have moved on since then.
It does add one more intriguing layer to the Jimmy era in Miami, one that will go down as a pretty successful few years for the Heat.