ESPN’s Bobby Marks defended his colleague Shams Charania after Jimmy Butler’s agent Bernie Lee claimed that Charania’s reporting was incorrect.
Lee claimed that Charania’s report that Butler would be willing to be dealt to the Phoenix Suns was “complete and utter made up bulls—.”
Alright listen. I gave you a pass yesterday because I was busy but if you don’t stop putting my name on your complete and utter made up bullshit because you know you normally arent worth my time to acknowledge.. (continued) https://t.co/1KOXza9kUI
— Bernard Lee (@BernieoLee) December 11, 2024
However, Marks came to Charania’s defense, saying that it is “a hundred percent accurate” what his colleague reported.
“Bernie Lee, who is Jimmy Butler’s agent stole the show the other night as far as with his verbal – I don’t even know what to call it – assault on Shams. I’m not gonna really dive into that. But I would say this, that what Shams put out there certainly with what he wrote in his really good article on NBA Pass on ESPN. And then what was reported with Phoenix being a team that Butler would go to if he can’t work out a deal in Miami, that was a hundred percent accurate.
“From all the people I’ve talked to, and all the people he’s talked to, hundred percent accurate. So, I have no idea why Bernie Lee would go on a rampage that night, but it is what it is, and I’m not going to speak out on that.”
In addition to Marks backing up Charania, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst shared on Monday that the Suns are interested in acquiring Butler.
“And by the way, I know that the Suns have interest in Jimmy Butler,” Windhorst said. “This is not a controversial statement. It is not some sort of secrecy.”
It is worth noting that the Suns would have to trade one of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant or Bradley Beal to make a Butler deal happen. In addition to that, Beal has a no-trade clause that he would need to waive in order to be included in any trade.
This season, Butler has appeared in 18 games for the Heat and is averaging 18.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 55.0 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from 3.
While the six-time All-Star has a player option in his contract for the 2025-26 season, he could also opt out of that deal and become an unrestricted free agent this coming offseason. That could make things tough on the Heat, as it would be possible they could lose him for nothing in free agency if he signed with a team that had the cap space to give him a deal without a sign-and-trade being involved.
The Butler trade rumors have come at a strange time, as the Heat are starting to find a groove. They’ve won four straight games to move into the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they face the Detroit Pistons on Monday night with a chance to extend that streak to five.
While Lee seems insistent that Charania’s reporting is wrong, it’s notable that multiple other NBA insiders have seemingly corroborated what Charania has shared.
For now, Heat fans will have to wait and see what happens with Butler and his future in Miami.
