After being away from the team and missing the last five games, Jimmy Butler returned to the Miami Heat on Tuesday for the first time since ESPN reported on Christmas Day that he would prefer to be traded before the Feb. 6 deadline. Here was his chance to echo Pat Riley and tamp down the trade speculation.
Instead, Butler pulled out the gas can and threw that on the fire.
Here are his responses to media questions, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Asked if he would indeed prefer to be traded, Butler said: “Does it matter? Does it matter?.. I honestly do not care about getting traded, where I’m supposed to go, who’s saying what.... All of that is out of my control anyway.”
Would he be happy and content if he’s not traded this season, in the wake of team president Pat Riley saying he won’t be traded? “I don’t know,” he said. “We will see. Only time will tell. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen come tomorrow. I appreciate the statement. But this is a business after all. I won’t have any hard feelings either way.”
Butler then was asked if it’s the best interests of both parties to stay together this season or have an amicable divorce before the Feb. 6 trade deadline. “I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know. That’s up to Pat. He will do what’s best for the organization as they should. And as long as I’m happy. And right now, I’m happy. I’m in a good space. I’ve got my kids here. I’m healthy. I’m smiling. I promise you I’m happy.”
Go ahead and fire up the trade machine and try to create fake trades for Butler. However, remember what Pat Riley said just after Christmas.
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."
Butler’s comments, nor Riley’s statement, don’t change the basic facts of the situation:
Butler is 35 years old, has a lengthy medical history, and has a player option for next season at $52.4 million, which his camp has let it be known he intends to opt out of because he wants a new, large, longer contract. When he plays and is focused, Butler is still an All-Star, maybe All-NBA level player averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists a game, and the Heat outscore opponents by 6.4 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court (and play them basically even when he is out).
Butler will have interest around the league, particularly for teams with an aging roster willing to go all-in on winning now, such as Phoenix and Golden State. However, constructing those trades in a luxury tax apron world is next to impossible, especially during the season. Miami cannot take back $1 more in a trade than it sends out, which is essentially the case for most playoff teams in the league. Even bringing in a third team (Detroit, the only team with cap space to take on a contract) it’s hard to construct a trade that makes sense for both sides. To use Phoenix as an example, the only way it works is for Bradley Beal to waive his no-trade clause (which he has given no indication he would do), and even if he did, do the Heat really want to take on Beal, who is not as good a player as Butler right now plus has two years and $100.8 million left on his contract after this season?
The buzz coming out of the G-League Showcase before Christmas is that Butler would end up playing out the season in Miami, and then a trade would come this summer. Butler’s comments sound like a guy who would rather be traded sooner than that, but recognizes that he is likely with the Heat through the end of the season (and can’t tank it and keep his value to other teams).
So he’s happy. He’s healthy. He’s smiling. And that’s what is important.
