The Miami Heat world was rattled on Tuesday by an ESPN report about the future of star forward Jimmy Butler.
According to the report, which comes from NBA insider Shams Charania, the Heat are open to hearing offers on Butler, whose camp has some preferred destinations in mind (like the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors) if a trade does come together. Above all, however, Butler seemingly would prefer a win-now situation, per Charania.
But none of that necessarily means that Butler is going to be moved. When head coach Erik Spoelstra was asked on Tuesday about what he tells his team when trade rumors surface, he provided an interesting response. He wasn’t asked directly about the new Butler report but seemed to address it anyway, saying he “didn’t mention it” to the team.
“I didn’t mention it,” he said. “I think the biggest message is we’re 3-0 the past week and the player that was rumored in so many trades and speculations the last three years [Tyler Herro], that player is still here and [Eastern Conference] Player of the Week. That’s the only thing I’m thinking about. Anything else, any other narrative, I don’t care. Nobody should because most of this stuff has been all like gibberish.”
The Heat, Butler’s agent and Butler himself all had nothing to say on Tuesday regarding the matter.
“The Heat, which sometimes publicly denies trade reports, declined to comment on the ESPN report,” wrote Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
“Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, also declined to comment. And Butler declined interview requests after Tuesday’s practice.”
The Heat are in a tricky spot. Butler is 35, and he’s expected to hit free agency this offseason. Meanwhile, the Heat, despite playing well lately, are just two games over .500 and may be a tier below some of the NBA’s top title contenders this season.
Given all of those factors, it makes sense that Butler’s future appears to be in question, but the Heat can’t take the idea of trading him away lightly. He has become one of the faces of the franchise and helped the team reach the NBA Finals twice.
For what it’s worth, the Heat don’t appear too worried about the possibility of losing Butler in free agency.
“Nevertheless, a source with direct knowledge has said the Heat is not concerned about the possibility of losing Butler in free agency if it comes to that, partly because there’s no contender with the cap space to sign Butler outright without the Heat’s help in a sign-and-trade,” wrote Jackson and Chiang. “If Butler simply signed elsewhere next summer without the Heat’s help, Miami would have modest cap space, not nearly enough to replace him with a similar player.”
It truly seems like Butler’s future could go in a number of different directions, whether he lands with a new team or the Heat keep him and sign him to a new deal in the offseason.
The veteran is averaging 19.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game this season on 55.7 percent shooting from the field and 36.0 percent shooting from deep.
Meanwhile, the Heat have won three straight games and picked up some impressive wins in the process, beating the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers. If Miami keeps picking up victories, then the team may start to feel like it has a chance to contend this season, which would likely decrease the chances of Butler being traded.
Moreover, during the Butler era, the Heat have shown an ability to overachieve in the playoffs, so the franchise may feel like simply getting to the postseason once again with the six-time All-Star would give it another chance at an unexpected run.