Miami Heat head coach spoke out about star Jimmy Butler and the recent reports that Butler would like to be traded elsewhere ahead of the NBA’s Feb. 6 trade deadline.
“That’s just the deal,” Spoelstra said. “You have to compartmentalize in this business. We want Jimmy here. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. And it’s just unfortunate that you have to control or deal with a lot of the noise on the outside.”
Spoelstra also had an interesting response when asked if Butler had within the team expressed a desire to move on.
“That’s all I’m going to talk about,” Spoelstra said. “The more any of us talk about it, the more fuel it gets. It’s just really unfortunate that it just continues to build momentum outside of our building.”
On Thursday, the Heat released a statement from Pat Riley saying that they are not trading Butler.
Through 27 games this season, the Heat are 14-13 and hold the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Butler has appeared in 20 of Miami’s 27 games this season and is averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from beyond the arc.
It’s not a surprise that Butler has missed so many games already this season, as he has never played in more than 64 games in a single season since joining the Heat prior to the 2019-20 campaign.
In fact, Butler is listed as doubtful on Miami’s injury report ahead of Thursday’s matchup with the Orlando Magic. So, it’s possible that he’ll miss his eighth game of the 2024-25 season.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Butler’s preferred destinations for a trade are the Golden State Warriors Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks. While the Heat could look into dealing Butler to one of those contenders, they may not receive as much in return since they’d be giving into Butler’s desire.
Recently, an NBA executive implied that the Heat need to do what is in their best interest when it comes to Butler’s future.
Butler is under contract through the 2024-25 season and has a player option for the 2025-26 campaign. He’s expected to decline that option to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.
Ultimately, the Heat and Butler need to find a resolution at some point this season so the franchise can figure out a direction that it is going in for the 2024-25 campaign and beyond.
The Heat have reached the NBA Finals twice in Butler’s tenure with the franchise, but they lost both times (to the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets). It’ll be interesting to see if the Heat hang onto Butler in hopes of making another deep playoff run this season.