Six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler has been the face of the Miami Heat for several seasons, but based on the latest reporting from ESPN’s Shams Charania, it’s no guarantee that the 35-year-old will be still be in South Florida beyond this season’s trade deadline.
The Heat are reportedly open to hearing offers for Butler and “making a deal if the proposal is right.” Meanwhile, Butler’s camp appears to have some preferred destinations in mind if a trade does come together.
“Every trade deadline period, there are players who emerge as key figures to watch — those who could shift the balance of power in the NBA.,” wrote Charania. “This season, all eyes will be on Miami Heat six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler and New Orleans Pelicans one-time All-Star Brandon Ingram.”
Charania continued.
“The Heat are open to listening to offers for Butler and making a deal if the proposal is right, league sources told ESPN, and Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, has indicated in league circles that Butler is open to destinations such as two of the Texas teams (Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks) and the Golden State Warriors,” Charania wrote. “Butler is a native of Houston, Texas. Above all, though, he is believed to prefer a win-now title contender in any trade. Teams have also been informed that Butler intends to opt out of his deal in the offseason and become a free agent, sources said. The Heat have hovered around the play-in tournament over the last two seasons, and with Butler’s contractual status, they have been open-minded to trade inquiries.”
While the Heat are on a three-game winning streak, the team is still just 12-10 on the season and may have a hard time dealing with some of the Eastern Conference’s top teams when the postseason rolls around.
The trade destinations Charania mentioned are exclusively Western Conference teams. One has to believe that if the Heat were to deal Butler, they’d prefer to get him away from the East to avoid making an in-conference foe more dangerous.
It makes sense that Butler would want to land in a win-now situation if he were traded, as he is aging and may be running out of time to capture a ring. For as good of a playoff performer as he has shown to be, he is still without an NBA championship.
Butler is expected to become a free agent this offseason, as he has a player option for the 2025-26 campaign that he will likely decline. In the past, there have been indications that he wants to stay with the Heat beyond his current contract, but it’s unclear if that will come to fruition.
Butler has helped Miami reach the NBA Finals twice during his time with the team, once in 2020 and again in 2023. The Heat would love to put together a similar run this season but almost certainly wouldn’t be able to do so if they were to trade Butler ahead of the deadline.
For those who want to see the veteran stay with Miami, it may be time to root like crazy for the Heat to keep picking up wins. The squad’s three-game winning streak has featured victories over the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers, and if the Heat can keep building some momentum to look like contenders again, perhaps Butler will stay put beyond the deadline.