Jimmy Butler won. Miami Heat must grant him his wish and trade him.

MIAMI – Jimmy Butler has made it clear he doesn’t want to be here, and now the Miami Heat have no choice but to grant him his wish.

Technically, they do have a choice. They could do as team president Pat Riley vowed to do and not trade him. But inaction would lead to awkwardness and diminished returns on the court. Inaction is unfair to Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and the Heat players in the thick of their prime who want to make the most of this season. Inaction would risk stagnancy again next season.

Or, they could trade him. Find the best offer, send him on his way, and begin the next chapter to be written by a pair of All-Star caliber players and a burgeoning youth movement.

Of all the lousy options on the table, that’s the best one.

The Heat tried to get their way. To play out this season and deal with Butler’s future in the summer. Butler wanted it his way, to know at 35 if he would be taken care of by the franchise he guided to two Finals appearances. 

The result was a game of poker between team and player, where each would play a hand, push more chips into the middle of the table and call each other’s bluff. Butler in his media session on Thursday night called Riley’s bluff. Oh, you aren’t going to trade me? Watch how awkward I can make this for everyone.

Thursday night’s blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers might be the first of many if the Heat don’t alleviate the tension. Over his last two games since returning from a five-game absence in which the Heat went 4-1, Butler has combined for 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. He has mostly flitted to the corner and watched the game unfold from the best view in the arena. He has also logged zero minutes in two straight fourth quarters.

“We went with the group that was giving us the most,” coach Erik Spoelstra said after Wednesday night’s win against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Asked about his performance after Thursday night’s loss, Butler said he was focused on his new job.

“I felt like I did my job,” Butler said. “Or, at least, what my job is now.”

The Heat have asked Butler to take on a more facilitating role as Adebayo seeks to find his place in the offense and Herro blossoms into a potential first-time All-Star. 

“That’s not what I'm used to being,” Butler said. “Whether I scored nine points or 29 points, I will compete. It may look like that because my usage is down, and I don't shoot the ball a lot. But we won't sit here and say that I don't play hard.”

This isn’t new. The Heat are at their best when Butler is operating the controls of the offense, a role Butler typically embraces. Are we supposed to start pretending that Butler was a high-volume scorer in the regular season?

Whether Butler was or wasn’t playing hard, the impression that he’s coasting doesn’t help his trade value. He did go so far as to admit he’s not enjoying playing for the Heat. When asked what he wants to happen to fix his situation, Butler replied: “I want to see me get my joy back from playing basketball.”

Can you get your joy back here on the court?

“Probably not.”

Later on Thursday night, ESPN reported that Butler has indicated to the Heat he wants the team to trade him and “is open to playing anywhere other than Miami.”

And that, folks, is your trade request.

Heat players and coaches have known Butler preferred a trade, and the on-court awkwardness is tangible. The offense had no flow as they questioned Butler’s engagement possession by possession. The defense lacked attention to detail.

It’s hard to envision a scenario where that’s not happening on a nightly basis. The Heat can beat the lowly Pelicans and likely the Utah Jazz on Saturday without Butler, but they can’t beat the Pacers or other teams they are jostling with for playoff positioning.

The Butler era must come to an end, and it needs to happen before the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Allowing this situation to play into the summer could hurt the Heat’s precious culture. It also risks Butler picking up his $52.4 million player option and making things more difficult next season. 

They can’t allow either to happen. Whether you thought the Heat could surprise the world and go on another miracle Finals run with Butler this season doesn’t matter anymore. They certainly can’t with this joyless version of Butler. 

Trade him.

The Heat reportedly scanned the market for Butler trades and were unimpressed. Then Riley told the world he wouldn’t trade him this season. If the Heat reengage in trade talks, they might wish those former offers were still on the table. Other teams will be inclined to lower their offer. They could have traded Butler over the summer when his value was highest. They likely could have traded him for nickels on the dime over the last month. They didn’t. And his value continues to plummet.

Trade him.

Or it will only get worse. Butler has a knack for getting his way. Respect that, get whatever you can and begin the next phase. 

But that could mean the Heat coming to grips with the fact that they won’t get a star, blue-chip prospect or great draft pick back. At this point, guaranteed salary cap relief could be the best they can hope for. Again, Butler is not guaranteed relief. That $52.4 million is a lot for a 35-year-old, going on 36 years old, to say no to.

If the Heat clear Butler’s salary from their books in the summer, they could create legitimate cap flexibility and ways to improve the team. They won’t have enough money to sign a max-level player, but they could add a couple of helpful role players and get their books in order before chasing the next star.

Trading Butler isn’t as easy as it sounds. It’s unclear which teams want and have the means to trade for him. But if Butler is willing to play for any of the other 29 teams, the Heat should call all 29 teams.

Trade him.