It’s a volatile situation in Miami as Heat star Jimmy Butler plays out a seven-game suspension. Although it was initially believed that Butler would never return to the Heat, it’s being reported by Heat insider Barry Jackson that Butler could rejoin the team unless they find a trade within the next week.
“Miami has not been presented with an appealing offer and is planning for Butler to rejoin the Heat for next Friday’s game against Denver,” wrote Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “According to sources, that would change only if an appealing trade offer is made in the next week. In the meantime, the Heat will continue to try to trade him; those efforts have not stopped. But the market has been soft and no team has been willing to offer anything that particularly intrigues the Heat.”
Butler, a 6x All-Star, is having a pretty rough season by his standards. With averages of 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game on 55.2% shooting, his scoring is down and the Heat have suffered for it with an 18-17 record (7th in the East).
The two-way swingman was on good terms after he arrived in 2019 but repeated playoff failures and questionable effort in the regular season caused a rift between the two sides. And after trade rumors began to run rampant online, chaos broke loose within the organization.
Things reached a breaking point between Butler and the Heat last week when they announced a 7-game suspension for the 35-year-old veteran. According to the team, Butler’s careless play and disconnected chemistry with his teammates became a distraction in the locker room and was turning the entire situation toxic.
To preserve their season, the Heat suspended Butler and conceded on finding him a new home. What they didn’t expect was for the offers to be so low. Currently, besides the Phoenix Suns, there aren’t any teams making a serious pursuit for Butler and the Heat have yet to find a deal worth making.
With plenty of young talent and one of the best coaches in the NBA, it’s known that the Heat want to compete and they’d rather trade Butler for win-now pieces over draft picks that will help them reset.
Someone like Bradley Beal might qualify as a win-now piece, but the Heat are looking for something more and they are willing to take their time to find the right trade.
With weeks to go before February’s deadline, the Heat still have time to find a deal more to their liking but it means that Butler will have to re-join his team on the court this season. Without his maximum effort, it remains to be seen what impact he’ll have for the Heat but they intend to compete for a top-six seed this season whether he’s there or not.
Butler currently has a player option for the 2025-26 season worth $52.4 million but he can become a free agent if he opts out this summer. So whether it’s now or next month, it’s in the Heat’s best interest to trade Butler now rather than risk losing him for nothing.
The Heat won’t have Butler back until next Friday’s game against the Nuggets but they have games to play in the meantime. Next up on the schedule is tonight against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center (9:00 PM EST). They play the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center at 10:00 PM EST before a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome at 10:30 PM EST.
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