Jimmy Butler’s potential trade saga continued today, with the Miami Heat star offering a short answer on the status of his future. Speaking with Zachary Weinberger from Clutch Points:
Jimmy Butler on if he wants to stay in Miami.
“That’s a good question. Who knows? I don’t, but right now I’m here, so I’m going to make the most of it…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/ha1OChCSNY
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) December 31, 2024
The comments are fueling more speculation on the 35-year old’s future with the team. Currently in his sixth season in Miami, Butler did not receive a contract extension this past offseason. He’s on the final guaranteed year of the five-year, $140 million contract he signed with Miami in July of 2019. There is a player option available for next season, but it is unclear whether Butler will pick up that option or if he will opt for free agency this summer.
Butler’s comments came at a December 31 practice, his first team activity since December 20, when he left a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to an illness. In his absence, the Heat have 3-2, including a ferocious matchup with the Houston Rockets that saw the Heat’s Tyler Herro and Houston’s Amen Thompson ejected after a scuffle.
Cooling Off In Miami?
Jimmy Butler’s time with the Miami Heat has seen its ups and downs. Butler helped carry the team to two NBA Finals appearances, one in 2020 against the Los Angeles Lakers and again in 2023 against the Denver Nuggets. Miami lost both series. Even with that playoff success, Butler’s time in Miami hasn’t been without drama. Butler has missed eighteen games due to injury in each of his seasons in Miami, and the Heat have struggled to provide Butler with a consistent secondary scoring option.
This lack of a consistent Robin to Butler’s Batman may be part of the reason for Butler’s discontent in South Beach this season. The Heat have made persistent runs at some of the NBA’s biggest available names, such as Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Damian Lillard, but have thus far been unable to lure any of them to South Beach. Another sticking point for Butler, per ESPN’s Shams Charania, has been Miami’s focus on extending the younger members of its roster, namely center Bam Adebayo and shooting guard Tyler Herro.
Despite Heat president Pat Riley’s insistence that Jimmy Butler isn’t going anywhere, rumors of a potential trade will continue to swirl, especially when Butler is making cryptic comments to the media. Butler has stated that he enjoys hearing the rumors:
“I like it, it’s good to be talked about. It’s even better to be wanted, though, remember that.”
Any Jimmy Butler trade would have to materialize on or before the league’s trade deadline on February 6, 2025.
Regardless of his trade status, Jimmy Butler appears primed and ready to return to the Heat’s lineup for their next game, a New Year’s Day matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans in Miami. In twenty games this season, Butler has averaged 18.5 points, 4.9 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game on 55.2% shooting from the field. It is his lowest-scoring season since the 2013-14 season with the Chicago Bulls, his third in the NBA.
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