Report: Butler prefers trade from Heat by deadline
Jimmy Butler's preference is for the Miami Heat to move him before the trade deadline, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.
Although he'd like to be dealt elsewhere, Butler has yet to formally request a trade, Charania adds.
If no trade can be found, the six-time All-Star is prepared to finish this season in Miami and then test free agency, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports. Butler, who's earning around $48.8 million this season, holds a $52-million player option for 2025-26. Interested teams have been told that he intends to decline the option this summer, according to Charania.
Multiple teams are already showing interest in the 35-year-old wing. Butler's preferred destinations reportedly include the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, and his hometown Houston Rockets. However, the Rockets are reportedly unlikely to pursue a Butler trade at this time.
Butler is listed as doubtful for Thursday's game against the Orlando Magic after not traveling with the team Wednesday, Chiang adds.
While Miami has spoken to interested teams over the past few weeks, it's unknown if the team has received any official trade offers, per the Miami Herald's Chiang and Barry Jackson.
Butler's led the Heat to a pair of Eastern Conference championships and three conference finals appearances over his six seasons in Miami. However, relations between him and the team began to sour after he missed the Heat's first-round series against the Boston Celtics with a knee injury last year.
Following the Heat's elimination last spring, president Pat Riley expressed his unhappiness with Butler for tweeting that the Celtics and New York Knicks would be "at home" if he'd been healthy. Riley's reaction took Butler by surprise, a source told Chiang and Jackson.
Butler decided that 2024-25 would be his final season in Miami once extension talks stalled over the summer, Chiang and Jackson report.
Butler is averaging 18.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game across 20 contests this season. He left Miami's Dec. 20 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder early with an illness and has missed the team's last two games. The Heat listed him as doubtful for Thursday's game against the Orlando Magic, citing a return to competition reconditioning.
The Heat currently hold the Eastern Conference's No. 6 seed with a 14-13 record.