Jimmy Butler seems to be the biggest name who might be on the trade block this winter, as Butler’s time with the Miami Heat looks close to its end. Butler was looking at teams like the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, and Houston Rockets before ESPN’s Shams Charania said that Butler would also be interested in joining the Phoenix Suns, as informed by his agent Bernard Lee.
Lee attacked Shams in multiple tweets after Shams named him in his Suns’ story.
“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 aren’t worth my time to acknowledge,” said Lee in his first post.
Lee would then claim that Charania was fabricating conversations and stories.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do because I’m a middle-aged dad but just know it would indicate severe dislike. World… all this is fabricated. I have never and honestly, it wouldn’t help me or the position I represent to do anything that’s been reported by said ‘journalist.'”
The agent ended his tirade with an implication that Shams uses AI for his writing.
“Shams this is your opportunity to say my bad “I let chat GPT write my tweets and it went old school Peter Vescey..” (Shams Peter was a writer in the 90’s) be a trendsetter.. invent the new I was hacked. Carry on all. Thank you.”
We haven’t seen an agent publicly trash Charania the way Lee has just done, as Shams is considered the new generation’s Adrian Wojnarowski, quite literally replacing Woj at ESPN this season. Charania is considered one of the most credible news-breakers in the NBA, so most fans believe his reports at face value.
For what it’s worth, Charania doubled down on the Suns being a potential destination for Butler on live TV as well.
“Jimmy Butler’s agent has indicated that he would be open to the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, and Golden State Warriors in a potential trade. But another team that Butler’s agent Bernie Lee has indicated recently that Butler is open to – the Phoenix Suns, sources told me today.”
Shams doubles down on his report during NBA Countdown, saying to keep a “very close eye” on the Phoenix Suns in the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes
(h/t @esidery )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 12, 2024
Lee has disputed Charania’s reports in the past. The biggest instance came last season when Butler suffered an MCL sprain that Shams reported on before Mac disputed the validity of the report. Charania was vindicated soon, as the Heat eventually announced the injury themselves.
There’s no smoke without fire, so Lee getting this upset over this news coming out means there’s something happening with Butler. The Heat could have already found a team or agreed on a deal to be executed after December 15 or in January, with Shams’ report about the Suns potentially hurting that deal.
If the Suns’ interest is real, the Heat are within their rights to hear Phoenix out and use that interest to leverage the Warriors, Rockets, and Mavericks into giving a larger offer. All four franchises are battling for a top-six seed in the West, with a Butler acquisition making a huge difference in that battle.
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