Pat Riley, the president of the Miami Heat, informed the world of their plans with Jimmy Butler. Riley said in the statement that they are not considering dealing with Butler. This came after ESPN’s Shams Charania and a flock of trade rumors about the star forward circulated.
Butler is in the second year of his three-year, $146.3 million contract with Miami. After the 2024–25 NBA season, he will have the opportunity to exercise his $52.4 million player option. If he chooses not to, he will become a free agent at the start of the offseason.
There have been rumors that Butler wants to be traded this season and teams like the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns have been linked to the star. However, the All-Star’s agent has denied the rumors about it.
However, Charania stood his ground regarding his report about Butler. This led Riley to release a statement on Thursday via X (formerly Twitter).
“We usually don’t comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches. Therefore, we will make it clear – We are not trading Jimmy Butler,” Riley stated.
Statement from Pat Riley
"We usually don't comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches. Therefore, we will make it clear – We are not trading Jimmy Butler."
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 26, 2024
NBA Insider Bill Simmons claims that Riley decided not to deal with Butler because of the limited options available in the trade market.
“Butler is (making) $48 million and then (has a) $52 million player option next year, which, odds are, he’s gonna exercise because nobody has cap space this summer,” Simmons said. “The only team is Brooklyn. Is he gonna go to Brooklyn? They’re gonna be rebuilding.”
“Pat Riley is looking big picture and looking at an NBA that now operates way more like the NFL, where it’s way harder just to do big complicated deals, and he didn’t like the deals that were out there.”
NBA Insider suggests the Warriors should make a move to acquire Jimmy Butler
Despite Riley’s statement about their plans with the Miami Heat star, NBA Insider David Dennis Jr. still insists that a Western Conference team should make a move to trade for him. According to Dennis, the Golden State Warriors need help this season and he sees trading for Butler is their best move to get help.
“They need something to help that roster right now,” Dennis said, “and I think Jimmy Butler can infuse that. I think [he’d be] inspired going to that Warriors team … [You’d] have more veteran leadership, more [of a] veteran presence with Butler. I’m all for this trade right now.”
.@DavidDTSS says the Warriors need to go all in on bringing Jimmy Butler to Golden State.
"Move Kuminga, move Wiggins, move whoever you got to. Move E-40 if you got to, so you can get Jimmy Butler." 😅 pic.twitter.com/jCmWJJUKER
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 26, 2024
Butler is averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists this season. His production on both sides of the floor could help the Warriors’ struggles.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
