According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Miami Heat are listening to offers for star Jimmy Butler.
At 35, Butler’s prime is behind him, but he’s still a model of efficiency. Despite averaging his fewest points and shot attempts in a Heat uniform, he’s shooting a career-high 55.7% from the field and still chipping in about five points and five rebounds per game. While no longer a no. 1 scorer on a title-contending team, there’s no denying Butler’s postseason bona fides. For a team looking for a final piece to put them over the top, Butler certainly qualifies.
For his part, Butler is open to being traded to a contending team, according to Charania’s reporting. On his list are the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets.
Over at All U Can Heat, I outlined how each of those teams could swing a Butler trade with their current assets and finances. TLDR; the Warriors could technically get something done, the Rockets are in the best position, and it doesn’t make much sense for the Mavericks considering they’d have to give up half of their rotation. (As someone who covers the Mavericks told me, it would essentially make them last season’s Phoenix Suns. Bleh.)
Important nuance that often gets lost in these things: “Listening to offers” is much different than “aggressively shopping,” “seeking a deal,” or putting Butler on the trade block. But this is still news. There are a handful of players in the NBA whose respective teams would hang up the phone and block your number if you called about them. Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, etc. Butler used to be on that list. He is no longer. The fact that the Heat are at least listening is new news.
So if the Heat aren’t hanging up, then who should be calling? Here are five teams that should be putting together a pitch.
Draymond Green likes to categorize players into 82-game players and 16-game players. The idea is that 82-game players can get it done in the regular season but shrink in the playoffs. Sixteen-game players are the rare few who reserve their best for the brightest stage and the crunchiest of times. And, yes, Draymond considers himself and Steph Curry as 16-game players. But if there’s anyone’s picture next to 16-game player in Draymond’s Dictionary, it’s Jimmy Butler’s.
Adding Butler to Curry and Green would be thrilling. At first blush, Butler doesn’t seem like a fit for Steve Kerr’s high-octane, free-flowing, three-point shooting offense. But imagine the Warriors running their famous split cuts with Butler facilitating out of the post. He would provide all the physical things the Warriors hope Kuminga can catch in a bottle, but with all of the basketball IQ and, for lack of a better term, chill of a seasoned vet.
The Warriors have big contracts (Andrew Wiggins), expiring ones (De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II, Kevon Looney), young players (Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski) and picks (two future firsts) to use to build a package.
Ask anyone in or around league circles which team they expect to make a big move, and most will point to the Rockets. Pressure from ownership and motivation from the coaching staff to win now could prompt the Rockets to hit fast-forward on the rebuild process.
To their credit, that process may already be nearly over. The Rockets are 16-8, third in the West. They have one of the league’s stingiest defenses, a rising star in Alperen Sengun and a coach in Ime Udoka who has them playing disciplined basketball that belies the roster’s age.
Adding Butler, a Houston native, could give this young roster someone to follow when they make their first playoff series since 2020. It’s easy to picture Butler as a Dillon Brooks upgrade, with all the saucy attitude but less of the WAIT NO DILLON WHAT ARE YOU DOING. (In fairness, Brooks has been really good for the Rockets this season.)
The Rockets can include Brooks, expiring contracts (Steven Adams, Jeff Green) and a choice of young players (Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Reed Sheppard) and plenty of picks.
Between the collective basketball IQ of Nikola Jokic and Butler, the Nuggets could be accused of cheating on every basketball test. While there are certainly some fit concerns when considering Butler in Denver (Butler’s reluctance to take 3s would drive down the league’s lowest volume 3-point shooting team even further and his affinity in the post could clash with Jokic), there’s enough savvy and unselfishness here to make it work.
Butler would provide a defensive backbone that the Nuggets lost when Bruce Brown and then Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left in free agency. His cutting would be *chef’s kiss* next to Jokic, and he could shoulder playmaking responsibilities to make life easier on Jamal Murray.
Building a competitive offer might be tough. What do the Heat think of Michael Porter Jr.? His fit as a big wing who can shoot 3s is an easy fit next to Bam Adebayo, but he’s expensive (owed $79.1 million over the next two years) and has had multiple back surgeries (although he played 81 games last season and has yet to miss a game this season).
Looking for a competitive team in need of one more piece to put them over the top? Have you met my friend, the Grizzlies?
Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. are so back, but do they have enough to dethrone the Mavericks or get passed the Thunder? Adding a playoff assassin like Butler can only help as this Grizzlies team attempts to climb more rungs in the West.
They could offer an assortment of contracts, starting with Marcus Smart’s $20.2 million salary and adding on a Brandon Clarke here, a Luke Kennard expiring there. They also control their own draft for the foreseeable future, have two more future firsts incoming in 2026 and 2030, and Zach Edey, who the Heat were high on in the predraft process.
Miami could ask for Desmond Bane in a Butler deal. Bane has long been considered part of the Grizzlies core, but he also hasn’t played more than 58 games in a season since 2022 and is shooting a career-low 32.3% on 3s.
Wait, Butler back to Chicago? While they are rebuilding?
Before you laugh, hear me out.
Butler could actually help the Bulls rebuild. After all, if he plans to decline his player option for next season, he could be considered an expiring contract. The Bulls have been looking to get off of Zach LaVine’s long-term money.
Butler would almost certainly walk away in free agency to join a contender, but the Bulls would have greased their rebuild after saving more than $137 million against the cap over the next three seasons. (They could also move Butler in a sign-and-trade in the summer and recoup some assets.)
Would the Heat entertain taking the 29-year-old LaVine in exchange for the 35-year-old Butler?
LaVine is playing well this season. He’s averaging 22.1 points per game while shooting 50.6% overall and 43.2% from beyond the arc. The Heat have found success playing Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson together. Replacing Robinson with LaVine would be a juiced-up version for a team that wants to shoot more 3s. At least, that would be Chicago’s sales pitch.
They’d have to throw in more stuff: Picks, young players like Ayo Dosunmu, Dalen Terry or Julian Phillips, etc. (Nikola Vucevic could be an interesting fit next to Adebayo.)
The Heat could say no. But if they’re listening to offers, the Bulls and several other teams should at least give them a call.
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I freaking love watching Jalen Suggs play basketball.
In a league that is increasingly sterilized by social media and marketing, Suggs is raw, both emotionally and physically. He leaves everything on the court, practically shedding his skin to play the best defense possible. I can’t imagine many things more terrifying than Giannis barrelling down the court in transition. Suggs jumped in front of him like the Hulk trying to stop a moving train.
In the first half of the game, he made his point. You’re gonna have to go through us, literally, to advance in this NBA Cup game. When he missed the potential game-tying 3, the agony was written on his face. Unlike many of his peers, Suggs isn’t too cool to care. Watch until the end to see Suggs doubled over, hands covering his face, blood seeping through his compression pants.
With Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner both sidelined by oblique injuries, Suggs is Orlando’s last star standing. Banchero started the season by playing at an All-Star level. When he went down, Wagner grabbed the baton and looked like an All-Star and early favorite for most improved. That baton has been handed to Suggs, who has an opportunity, like Wagner did, to explore the outer edges of his game.
Suggs finished Tuesday night with 32 points, nine rebounds, four steals, an assist and a block. He took a team-high 26 shots, including 11 from deep, and went 5 of 6 from the free-throw line. He’s long been the tone-setter for a gritty Magic team filled with tone-setters, but for a little while his teammates will follow him on offense, too.
He needs to develop as a playmaker. Goga Bitadze actually had more assists to Suggs than vice-versa, which is fine if coach Jamahl Mosley plans to run his offense through his centers away from the basket, but it doesn’t help Suggs reach his ceiling on that end. What happens these next couple of weeks until the Magic get one of their stars back will tell us a lot about who Suggs can be. A stress test, of sorts.