The relationship between Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat has slowly broken down over the last year. Thursday night, after the team’s 128-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers, Butler revealed that he would like to play ‘anywhere other than Miami.’ When speaking to reporters in the postgame press conference and asked if he could regain his joy playing basketball with the Heat, he said, “Probably not.”
“I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball,” Butler said. “Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon.”
News came out more than a week ago that Butler had requested a trade, but it seems after Thursday, he has no genuine interest in staying with Miami for the rest of the season. The team has repeatedly stated that they have no intention of trading the six-time All-Star, but he seems adamant about finding a new place to play as soon as possible. Things initially got worse after Miami declined to offer Butler a contract extension last spring, and since then, the star has sat out numerous games and looked disinterested at times on the court. Butler was dealing with injuries over that time, but it didn’t seem to stop the back-and-forth jabs between him and the front office.
“If you’re not on the court playing, you should keep your mouth shut,” President of the Miami Heat Pat Riley said at the end of the 2023-24 season in response to Butler.
Despite leading Miami to two finals appearances in his six seasons with the team, the Heat never made a big move to find another piece to add along Butler and Bam Adebayo in hopes of winning it all. They lost in five games in 2020 to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals and fell again in five to the Denver Nuggets in 2023.
Despite rumors and interest from stars like Donovan Mitchell about joining the team, Miami never made that final push to get them over the hump. Since then, they’ve continued to coast, and Butler has become increasingly frustrated with the team and their pursuit of a championship with him at the helm.
At 35 years old, Butler has proven that, with the right pieces, he can lead a team to a playoff run. He did it twice with a Miami team that barely made it to the postseason. However, this behavior from the forward is nothing the league hasn’t seen before, with the star quickly packing up and leaving the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers years prior.
In his six years with Miami, Butler has averaged 21.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in the regular season. This year, he is averaging a slightly lower 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in only 22 games. Before his most recent comments, Butler wanted to join teams like the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, and the Houston Rockets. Miami reportedly did make initial talks to trade their franchise star. Still, nothing came of it, and the Heat eventually put out a statement saying they had no intention of moving on from Butler.
The clash between Butler and the Miami front office is clear. Though they have not publicly said they want to move on from him, it might be their only option if Butler expresses his frustration openly after every game. Butler was on the bench for the fourth quarter of the Heat’s last two games, putting up only nine points in each contest.
In his 14th year in the league, Butler is a proven game-changer when he puts his full effort on the court. Yet, it is hard to say how many years he has left, especially with the string of injuries he has dealt with over the last few years. He is currently under contract until the end of next season, in which he will make $52 million, but it is hard to say if another team is willing to pay him a max extension as he enters the twilight of his career.
As it looks today, the best thing for Miami to do would be to trade Butler and end this saga that has seemed to envelop the entire team. After his most recent comments, the Heat have a record of 17-15 and are sixth in the Eastern Conference. It’s a similar path that has been seen before: coasting through the regular season and making a push once the postseason begins.
By moving on from Butler, Miami can prioritize Tyler Herro, who in 2024-25 has a career year with averages of 24.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per night. Herro has been the primary catalyst for the Heat’s offense this season and, without Butler, has the potential to make an even more significant leap in leading the team. They also have Adebayo, who is having a down year in points, rebounds, and shooting percentage, and they may want to find a new home for him in hopes of rebuilding a new, young team around Herro.
With things only going from bad to worse in a week, Miami should most likely trade Butler and start fresh with Herro and some supporting pieces. They’ve made some great runs and gotten very close, but at this point, it seems Butler is ready to move on. Where he’ll eventually end up is still unknown, but teams like the Suns and Warriors have made significant moves to add a star in the past despite the large contract he will be looking for. A team like the Rockets has the money to pay him, but with a strong, young roster, it is hard to tell if they’ll want to bring in someone who will demand the ball as much as Butler.
Either way, things look like they’ve run their course for him in Miami, and we will most likely see Butler on a new team by the Feb. 6th NBA trade deadline.
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