Jimmy Butler may be frustrated he didn’t get a max extension last summer, but multiple reports have said he (nor his agent) has not requested a trade. The buzz out of the G-League Showcase — a gathering last week of NBA front office movers and shakers — was that no Butler trade was going to happen. None of that has stopped the rumor mill — and it felt like ESPN lit a fire under the rumor just in time for its Christmas Day games (with the spark coming from another team or someone interested in seeing Butler moved).
Miami’s Pat Riley moved to shut that all down Thursday.
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."
Is that clear enough?
To be fair, that statement is not entirely true: If some team came in tomorrow with a Godfather offer the Heat couldn’t refuse, Riley would rightfully pull the trigger on that trade. It’s just very difficult to see where that trade comes from. This is the first trade deadline with the NBA’s new tax aprons and associated trade restrictions in place, and those make it much more challenging to put together a blockbuster. Miami cannot take back $1 more in a trade than it sends out, and neither can most of the teams Butler is rumored to be going to (Phoenix, Golden State, etc). Even bringing in a third team (Detroit, the only one with cap space) it’s hard to construct a trade that makes sense for both sides. Do the Heat really want to take on Bradley Beal, who has two years and $100.8 million left on his contract after this season? Do the Heat want to make Jonathan Kuminga the center of a trade, then have to pay him next offseason (he reportedly wants something in the four-year, $140 million range)?
Miami sits sixth in the East and, when everything has clicked for them, looks like a team that could make a postseason run in this East (consistency has been the issue). The most likely scenario is what executives were saying at the G-League showcase: Butler plays out this season in Miami and then, if he wants out, leaves via a sign-and-trade next offseason.
Whatever the future, Riley wants to end the speculation around his team right now.
