Although the trade chatter around Jimmy Butler was reignited after his candid media availability on Tuesday, one couldn’t tell as he returned to the Miami Heat on Wednesday after his five-game absence.
Before the 119-108 win over the Pelicans, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra remained as confident as ever that Butler would give Miami a boost. The team maintained its intense walkthroughs upon returning from its three-game road trip. Heck, fans passionately screamed as the six-time All-Star’s name was announced to round out the Heat’s starting lineup. Things seem mostly status quo, even if the elephant in the room makes matters awkward.
The team’s way of handling that elephant? Just don’t talk about the trade stuff.
In the week since team president Pat Riley announced via a team statement Miami has no intentions of trading Butler, the Heat remain steadfast in not discussing their franchise star’s potential departure, whether by next month’s NBA trade deadline or this summer, when Butler can test the free-agent market by declining his $52.4 million player option.
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Of course, public statements alone won’t stop potential suitors from clamoring for Butler’s services, especially in an NBA where actions say far more than words. Other franchises have expressed intentions of not trading a player before actually doing so — that’s how business works, especially when front offices can be a day away from finally receiving the right offer after months of playing hardball.
Barring matters reaching that point in Miami, though, the team’s focus remains on the court, which is likely the best resolution for both parties.
Until the Heat part with Butler, they need him in the lineup to maximize hopes of a sixth consecutive playoff appearance (which would tie the longest such streak in franchise history), no matter how low their potential seeding; do remember their impromptu 2023 NBA Finals run after reaching the playoffs as a Play-In team. On Tuesday, Butler said his focus was on simply playing basketball and keeping his mouth shut, which could have been delayed music to Riley’s ears after the Hall of Famer advised just that last May, when Butler claimed he would have led Miami past the Celtics and Knicks had he played in the playoffs.
For the 35-year-old Butler, who has already missed nine games and hasn’t surpassed 64 single-season appearances since joining Miami, playing well — let alone at all — is his best course of action for navigating toward his next deal, whether it comes in South Florida or elsewhere. The longest, most lucrative contract he could next sign could only come from Miami, and any team hungry for his presence can only trust such a move knowing he’s closer to All-Star form than declining.
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Whether Butler’s long-term future extends beyond the Heat and to teams like the Warriors, Rockets, Suns or Mavericks relies just as much on sound trade packages as any perceived leveraging in the background. Teams will understandably inquire about him, but as we recently outlined, Miami does have a history of prioritizing its preferred interests and timing when assessing how to handle star-related impasses.
In this instance, the team wants to concentrate on winning games and climbing the East standings, even if a third finals run with Butler in the fold looks like a pipe dream to outsiders.
When the five-time All-NBA selection has played this season, he’s been effective despite carrying his lightest scoring load in a decade. His scoring average (18.5 points per game) is down, but he’s rarely missing when deciding to shoot the ball (career-high 55.2 percent shooting). Defensively, Butler remains among Miami’s leaders in loose balls recovered (18, second) and deflections (58, third). In the grand scheme, his presence is still productive enough to swing the Heat’s net rating by 7.6 points, which is a higher mark than Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics (plus-5.3), Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers (plus-3.2) and Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns (plus-2.0).
Depending on the day, Butler’s feelings on being traded seemingly range from being dismissive to entertained. Although he says he’s staying away from social media as rumors circulate, he’s aware of — and amused by — every pitched proposal and the attention paid to the color of his braids, the latter of which he credits to his daughter and not the idea he’s trolling potential trade suitors.
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Whatever the case, the bigger picture is still unfolding for Miami and Butler, even as the team takes a day-by-day approach to its star’s future and simply winning games. If, by the Feb. 6 trade deadline, the Heat pivot from last week’s sentiments and part with Butler via trade, few reasonable people would argue against the potential rationale, considering the ages of Bam Adebayo (27) and Tyler Herro (24) eventually needing younger support should Miami choose to rebuild. The right collection of win-now players, salary-cap flexibility, prospects and/or draft picks could change a lot in the next month or beyond.
But until that happens, the Heat remain focused on keeping the main thing the main thing as they sit two games out of fourth in the East. Close losses have been the bane of their season so far, but games like Wednesday’s can help with stacking wins and quelling trade chatter, even if for just another day. It could be easy to nitpick Butler’s performance against the Pelicans (nine points on just five shots) as a product of the off-the-court distractions. But it’s also important to remember he was returning from a 13-day absence that saw him lose weight because of an illness. Depending on your perspective, it’s easy to see what you want.
At this point, though, what’s another day of rumors in the NBA? In one word: normal.
In May, Anthony Slater of The Athletic expected the Warriors to be interested in Butler should his time in Miami reach an end. Since then, Butler’s reported list of preferred teams has grown, but the Heat remain steadfast in blocking out external chatter, even if few people buy the notion Butler is off the market.
Whether both parties agree to a trade destination, reach a pact on a new contract or simply dial in on notching wins as they’ve done since Butler’s arrival in 2019, their best approach is to do so together.
(Top photo: Jeff Haynes / Getty Images)
