Ranking all Miami Heat players into 5 trade value tiers

What to do with Jimmy Buckets?: Jimmy Butler

The Heat are in a sticky situation when evaluating Jimmy Butler's value. He's in the last year of his three-year, $146.4 million deal before he has a player option and he could opt out in search of one more big payday before he rides into the sunset.

More context: Butler is approaching 35 years old and hasn't played over 65 games in two seasons. His effort in the regular season has been questioned over that time. Is the aging superstar worth north of $60 million annually?

If the Heat put Butler on the open market today, what return would they get? Maybe the Houston Rockets offer Jalen Green and some picks. The team trading for Butler would have money on the books and be close to contention. Butler is that "one piece away fit."

That's a decent return for Butler from the Rockets, but the fit between Green, Rozier and Herro would be wonky. That team does not immediately put you closer to a championship, and that's the Heat's top priority.

The Brooklyn Nets, who Buter has reported interest in, don't have anything attractive enough for the Heat to deal with. Other competing teams may not want to give the 35-year-old big guaranteed money, so who the Heat could get back that can help the team is limited.

If the Heat can't get anything of substance for Butler, they should pay him. Don't pigeonhole your franchise by giving him a five-year contract. A smaller, two-year deal with a player option is ideal (if he's willing to accept it).

Butler is in this tier alone because no other Heat player is in this predicament. He's too good to let walk for nothing, and his context would limit the size of return you'd get for the future Hall of Famer.

All Heat fans can hope for is that Jimmy plays his arse off in this contract year and recreate that magic that propelled them to the 2020 and 2023 NBA Finals this upcoming season. Anything beyond that stems from how Butler looks this year.