Jimmy Butler wants out of Miami, but this trade request hasn’t played out like the trade requests we typically see from NBA stars. Usually, we witness a battle between the player and the front office until the request has been granted. Back in 2018, Butler had his own strategy to leave the Minnesota Timberwolves.
As a reminder, Butler was unhappy with the effort level of the young players in Minnesota at the time. In addition to being very vocal about hating Minnesota, he famously challenged the starters in a team practice scrimmage. He was able to defeat the other starters with a team of G-league players. From there, he continued to make the situation uglier until he was finally traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Butler’s strategy is different this time. Why? Because it has to be. Butler has said that he has loved playing for Miami. However, the divide over his contract extension has seemed to give him no other choice in his mind other than to leave the city of Miami.
Interest in Butler is already limited so he cannot go nuclear on his current franchise.
Jimmy Butler is 35 years old now and he is seeking a max contract in the offseason. With Butler having a down year for his standards and with him now frequently missing games at his age, interest in Butler is limited. There are very few teams that would be willing to pay him max money in the hope that he could extend their window an extra year or two.
That is why Butler is playing nice -- relative to his past -- with the Heat. Even the way the trade request played out was a little bizarre. It took a while for Butler to say outright that he wants to leave Miami. That is because he doesn’t want to look like the villain in this scenario. He can’t afford it. Unless they are extremely desperate, no team is going to sacrifice their future to take a chance on a player who has been in an ugly trade battle with multiple front offices.
Butler is trying to appear respectful rather than resentful in his trade request from the Miami Heat. With the trade deadline being a little over a month away, we might not have to wait long to see if his request is granted.