Heat trade rumors: 1 Destination on Jimmy Butler's list more likely than others

If the Miami Heat do decide to trade Jimmy Butler, he is already prepared with his list of preferred destinations.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Heat are “open to listening to offers for Butler.” At the same time, Butler and his agent, Bernie Lee, have indicated that Butler is open to being moved to the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors.

"The Heat are open to listening to offers for Butler and making a deal if the proposal is right, league sources told ESPN, and Butler's agent, Bernie Lee, has indicated in league circles that Butler is open to destinations such as two of the Texas teams (Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks) and the Golden State Warriors. Butler is a native of Houston, Texas. Above all, though, he is believed to prefer a win-now title contender in any trade. Teams have also been informed that Butler intends to opt out of his deal in the offseason and become a free agent, sources said. The Heat have hovered around the play-in tournament over the last two seasons, and with Butler's contractual status, they have been open-minded to trade inquiries."

ESPN's Shams Charania

Butler can opt out of the final year of his contract, which is worth $52.4 million next season. According to Charania, Butler plans to enter free agency this summer and sign a longer-term contract.

At 35, Butler’s counting stats are down but he remains efficient, averaging 19 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game on a career-best 55.7% shooting on his fewest attempts in more than a decade (11.3). While Butler does not consistently post overwhelming box score numbers in the regular season, there’s no question that he’s still a high-level, two-way player with a history of ratcheting up his production in the playoffs.

It could be difficult for the Heat to trade Jimmy Butler to the Warriors or Mavericks.

For contending teams like the Warriors and Mavericks, the prospects of trading for Butler are tantalizing. However, pulling off such a deal would be complicated because of where both teams sit against the salary cap. After executing sign-and-trades over the summer, the Warriors (for Buddy Hield) and Mavericks (Klay Thompson) are hard-capped at the first apron (about $178.1 million). The Warriors are about $1.5 million away from the first apron and the Mavericks have $4.2 million in room.

Meanwhile, the Heat are above the first apron, which comes with several roster-building limitations including the inability to acquire more salary than they send out in a deal. Butler is under contract for $48.7 million this season.

This means any trade involving the Heat and Warriors or Mavericks would have to thread a needle: The Heat send out more money, but not so much that it sends Golden State or Dallas over the first apron threshold. 

For the sake of the experiment, here’s how potential trades that send Butler to the Warriors and Mavericks could look. 

Warriors acquire Butler

Miami gets: Andrew Wiggins, De’Anthony Melton, Jonathan Kuminga, Gui Santos

Golden State gets: Butler

Mavericks acquire Butler

Miami gets: Klay Thompson/P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, Maxi Kleber, Quentin Grimes, Jaden Hardy

The Warriors can also include first-round picks in 2025 and 2027, while the Mavericks can only include a first-round pick in 2025.

If the Heat were to trade Butler, they’d be looking to acquire draft picks and valuable young players that can help jumpstart a rebuild around Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, or be used in a future deal to land another superstar. Miami would also want to reduce its future payroll and increase roster flexibility.

If the Warriors are willing to include Kuminga and both first-round picks, the Heat would be getting a 22-year-old forward with All-Star potential, picks, and a helpful rotation piece in Wiggins.

The Mavericks deal isn't as strong. At 34, Thompson is shooting a career-low 36.6% from 3-point range and wouldn’t fit a revamped timeline in Miami. While adding a forward like Washington would be a better fit, it’s unclear if Dallas would be willing to part with him given his importance to last season’s Finals run. Gafford, Kleber and Grimes are helpful depth pieces, but none are a bluechip prospect or elite piece the Heat would be seeking in a deal. The Mavericks’ 2025 first will likely fall outside the top 20.

Butler to his hometown?

Meanwhile, the Rockets have no such limitations and are $10.7 million under the luxury tax. Houston owns several tradeable contracts and future draft picks, which makes building a potential deal framework much easier between the Heat and Rockets.

The Rockets could send Dillon Brooks, Steven Adams’ expiring $12.6 million salary and young forward Jabari Smith Jr. and picks to Miami for Butler, but that’s just one option.

The Heat could ask for a different prospect like Reed Shappard, Amen Thompson or Tari Eason, but the Rockets value each of them very highly. Alperen Sengun is considered a pillar of their team, and Jalen Green cannot be traded this season after signing an extension. If the Heat asked, the Rockets could easily add another prospect like Cam Whitmore to a deal.

The Rockets also control their first-round picks from 2028-2031 and have firsts from other teams in 2027 (from Phoenix) and 2029 (the two most favorable between their own, Dallas and Phoenix).

A deal with Houston would provide everything the Heat are looking for: A young prospect who fits next to Adebayo, draft capital and significant cap savings.

The Warriors could get close, but only if they are willing to include their best assets. A deal with the Mavericks appears unlikely.

All of this said, the Heat have won three straight games for the first time this season and, at 12-10, are in fifth place in the East. Now might be a strange time to pull the plug on the season with something as drastic as a Butler trade.

Shortly after the report, Butler tweeted a video of himself at his “BIGFACE” coffee shop in Miami without a caption.