Jimmy Butler continues to outwardly demand a trade away from the Miami Heat with an explosive press conference after the Heat’s 115-128 blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers tonight.
Butler, who had another poor performance since requesting a trade, told the media that he is playing basketball without joy and he can’t get that back while playing for the Heat.
Jimmy Butler: “I want to see me get my joy back from playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon. I want to get my joy back. I’m happy here off the court, but I want to be back to somewhere dominant, I want to hoop, and I want to help this team win. Right now, I’m not doing that.”
Reporter: “Can you get your joy back here on the court?”
Jimmy Butler: “Probably not.”
oh dear. pic.twitter.com/NQvgFsENGO
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 3, 2025
This is the most aggressive pushing for a trade we’ve seen since any of James Harden’s trade requests over his career. Butler is staying away from the ball during games and actively passing on open shots, actively hurting the Heat on the court. He put up nine points (3-6 FG) tonight and was benched by Erik Spoelstra.
Butler is averaging 6.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in his last three games, intentionally playing poorly to hurt Miami’s chances. He’s averaging 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists on the season, his worst numbers since he joined the Heat in the summer of 2019.
We are in the middle of a standoff between Butler and Pat Riley, as Riley made it clear he will not trade Butler in the middle of the 2024-25 season. If Butler continues playing like this and affecting the team, Riley might not have a choice.
Given the Heat’s reputation as one of the strictest front offices in the NBA, it’ll be interesting to see if they end up bending a knee to Butler and trading him away or keeping him on the roster strictly out of principle while not playing him on the court.
Jimmy Butler Wants To Play Anywhere But Miami
Shams Charania, who’s been the most accurate source in the Jimmy Butler trade saga so far, revealed that Butler wants to play for any team but the Heat and is willing to be moved anywhere.
“Butler does not plan to furnish the Heat with a list of favored destinations, sources told ESPN. He is open to playing anywhere other than Miami and believes he can make any team a contender — no matter where he is moved. He does plan to take part in all team activities and do whatever the Heat ask of him during this process, sources said.”
Butler’s relationship with Pat Riley has fully broken down, with the tipping point coming in the summer when Riley told Butler to ‘keep his mouth shut’ for trash-talking Playoff opponents while out injured.
Jimmy has a $52.4 million player option on his contract for the 2025 offseason, which could result in early free agency. However, no competitive team projects to have cap space next summer so he’s trying to secure his competitive future as well by getting traded to a winning team who can extend him on a max contract using his Bird rights.
If the Heat don’t trade Butler and force him to test free agency, Butler will lose his Bird rights as well as likely end up signing with a team like the Brooklyn Nets or Detroit Pistons. If he continues agitating for a trade, teams like the Golden State Warriors might be desperate enough to send a big offer to the Heat which allows them to have future assets as well as help Butler secure his future.
This is going to be a tense situation over the next 30 days as we’re in the final month before the 2025 trade deadline. If Butler doesn’t get moved in this time, the Heat might have a problem on their roster while they try to make a Playoff push with Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo.
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