The Jimmy Butler trade saga continues after an up and down previous 48 hours of new updates. Firstly, Christmas began with the Miami Heat trending, despite having the holiday off from a game.
Shams Charania’s reporting was escalated to another level, as the top insider stated that Butler now prefers to be traded out of Miami.
Six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler prefers a trade out of Miami ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline, league sources told ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 25, 2024
Story: https://t.co/vltEwoIiEA
However, the jaw dropping headline failed to provide further context, with pieces of his ESPN article on the story essentially giving no real update.
In the piece, he repeats his December 10 report that the Heat are open to taking offers on the franchise star, and that he would “prefer a win-now contender in any deal.” In regard to the apparent trade ‘out of Miami’ preference, Charania wrote that “Butler has not formally requested a trade, sources said, but is believed to be ready for his exit.” Neither Butler or anyone in his camp commented on this report.
According to Charania, Butler reportedly hasn’t been happy with the Heat front office’s inability to acquire help and improve the team’s roster over the years. Stars that preferred a trade to Miami but didn’t end up landing here include the likes of Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Kyrie Irving and DeMar DeRozan.
His push for this narrative attempted to be justified in the story by the Heat leaning into a “rising core” centered around Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. Of course, Butler is still under contract for his $49 million earned with Miami this season. He has a $52 million player option for 2025-26, and both sides have not come to any extension agreement yet. The Heat are aiming to handle his contract situation in the summer in hopes of working towards a resolution.
The bigger update though, has now come the following day from the franchise president Pat Riley, who states "we are not trading Jimmy Butler."
The Heat organization released an official statement from Riley, which slammed the door on any speculation surrounding their intention of moving Butler prior to the trade deadline.
Statement from Pat Riley
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 26, 2024
"We usually don't comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches. Therefore, we will make it clear - We are not trading Jimmy Butler."
Over the course of the entire near-30 year partnership between Riley and Miami, he has never done such a thing like this before. Players have come and gone over the decades, but it is very rare to see the president get involved with outside noise and trade rumors. Ultimately, Butler is one of the greatest players in franchise history and has mutual respect between the higher figures like Riley, coach Erik Spoelstra and Micky Arison.
Spoelstra had a chance to speak to the media on the matter at Thursday morning’s shoot around. “We want Jimmy here. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Spoelstra told reporters. “And it’s just unfortunate that you have to control or deal with a lot of the noise on the outside.”
The Riley statement has now essentially shifted the pressure to Butler. He now knows where the Heat stand on this situation and got the franchise to stick up for him publicly. It’s up to him to either decide to buy in on this season in South Beach and put his best foot forward for another potential playoff run, or become disgruntled and force his way out.
The Butler rumors will likely remain fluid until the February 6 deadline passes. But the ‘Godfather’ Riley has put his best foot forward to shut down any further narratives from the Heat’s end.