The Jimmy Butler trade drama has picked up as the trade deadline nears, but he remains on suspension and away from the team until the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Top Jimmy Butler trade destinations
This is pretty much a one-team list.
Warriors out as Butler will not re-sign there
Jimmy Butler wants to be traded to Phoenix. For all the talk of “he just wants out of Miami,” the second anything starts to get serious with another potential destination, he cuts it off at the knees. The latest example is the Golden State Warriors.
When the Heat lowered the asking price for Butler, the Warriors jumped back in the mix and started exploring possible trade scenarios — until Jimmy Butler told Golden State he would not sign a contract extension with them, killing the talks, a story broken by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. That is probably just fine with the Warriors’ core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and coach Steve Kerr. This note also comes from Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor.
“My league sources say Stephen Curry specifically has concerns about Jimmy Butler’s fit in the Warriors locker room, and Steve Kerr shares those feelings.”
Not wanting any part of Butler was what a lot of people around the league read into Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr all saying in the last few weeks some variation of this Green quote:
“The beautiful part about being in the space that we’re in is, Steve Kerr, Steph Curry and myself all disagree with mortgaging off the future of this organization, saying that we’re going for it right now, Bad teams do that. Bad organizations do that. We’re not neither one.”
Phoenix Suns
What happened this week with Golden State is a reminder Jimmy Butler only wants to be traded to Phoenix. It’s options one, two, and three for the star forward. For their part, the Suns are still all-in on Jimmy Butler. They are the only team known to have made an offer for Butler and remain “fully focused” on acquiring him, as Shams Charania of ESPN put it.
There are good basketball reasons for Butler to want to go to the Suns: Teaming up with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker is a no-brainer, and Butler’s toughness could vault Phoenix up to the second tier in the West come the playoffs. However, we all know Butler primarily wants to get to Phoenix because its owner, Mat Ishbia, has suggested he would give Butler the kind of extension he seeks. It’s always about the money.
Butler is betting the Suns will figure out how to solve their Bradley Beal problem. To trade for Butler, the Suns must trade away Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause and can veto any deal. Miami doesn’t want him. That means bringing in at least a third team (maybe four or five) into a more complex trade that gets Beal to a desired destination — and that destination is not Chicago, one of the teams Beal shot down (Beal’s reportedly has a very short list of teams he’s willing to go to). Throw in the complexities of the luxury tax aprons and the trade restrictions that come with them — Phoenix cannot bring in $1 more than it sends out and cannot aggregate salaries to send out, Miami can’t take on additional money either — and this becomes a nearly impossible trade to make happen.
It’s impossible unless the Suns want to trade Kevin Durant to the Warriors, something Golden State is rumored to have called about. While that would free up roster space, we all know there is no way the Suns will trade Durant (although, days ago, we would have said the same thing about Luka Doncic in Dallas, and now we all feel a little unmoored).
The bottom line: The Suns and Heat would love to find a viable trade, but it remains doubtful that one exists.
Pelicans register Butler interest?
Brandon Ingram for Jimmy Butler?
Miami lowered the asking price for Butler, which had New Orleans calling and kicking the tires on a “swap of problems” trade of Brandon Ingram for Butler, reports Jake Fischer and Marc Stein in their latest substack. However, multiple other reports since then have said there is no offer and no meaningful discussion between the Heat and Pelicans involving Butler.
This was always a long shot at best, anyway. Ingram is on an expiring $36 million contract, which works financially for Miami, although Ingram himself wants to get paid with an extension/new contract, and that will not happen in South Beach. Also, is Jimmy Butler going to report to and be committed to a 12-36 New Orleans team?
76ers longshot candidate for Butler?
Joel Embiid loved playing with Jimmy Butler. Could he quietly be pushing for a Paul George for Jimmy Butler trade?
Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports said it’s possible: “I’ve heard that Philly quietly could be a suitor for Jimmy Butler…theoretically, it would be a Jimmy for Paul George swap. I believe that Embiid is pushing for them to reacquire Jimmy.”
This is a long shot at best. For Philadelphia, this wouldn’t be about getting better right now, it would be about making Embiid happy and getting off Paul George’s long contract (which runs through the summer of 2028). For Miami, it violates their no long-term money demand, but is Paul George worth it? Considering he is 34 with a lengthy injury history, don’t bet on it.
Also, Butler and George cannot just be traded for each other due to the new luxury tax apron restrictions. Doing so would require a third team and other players, making it even less likely.
Still, it’s an interesting idea.
Memphis Grizzlies lurking
Memphis is the one team on Butler’s “don’t trade me there” list because Butler has never seemed to like the city, plus the Grizzlies have no intention of paying his next contract (and that next contract is the actual crux of this whole saga, Miami wouldn’t give Butler the extension he wanted, so here we are).
That hasn’t stopped the Grizzlies from “lurking” around this trade, reports ESPN. If Memphis could get off some long-term salary (Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard) and then let Butler walk after this season — freeing up money for the Grizzlies to re-sign Jaren Jackson Jr. — then they would be into a trade. However, what Butler would Memphis get? One that wants to prove his worth, or the disgruntled, disruptive version? Concerns about the latter should make the Grizzlies uncomfortable, but they are at least considering this trade on some level.
Toronto open to helping facilitate trade
Consider Toronto if you’re looking for a third team in any potential Jimmy Butler trade.
The Raptors don’t want to land Butler (they couldn’t re-sign him and he’s redundant with the talent they like on their roster anyway), but they are willing to take on a “bad” contract for a year if it comes with enough draft picks to make it worthwhile, reports Doug Smith at the Toronto Star. This shouldn’t be a shock, Masai Ujiri has at his disposal some expiring contracts (Bruce Brown, Chris Boucher and Davion Mitchell) of various sizes that could see the player moved to facilitate the right deal.
Toronto is also checking the market to trade those three players outright.
Heat drop Jimmy Butler’s price tag
The Miami Heat want out of the Jimmy Butler business, and if that means not getting anywhere near full price in the trade, they’ll live with that.
The Heat lowered the asking price for Butler, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN, which brought several teams back to the table, although league sources told NBC Sports there has yet to be a solid trade offer out of this (Phoneix is the only team to make a firm offer so far). The Heat are “willing to do more” to make a trade, as Windhorst phrased it. However, reports out of Miami make clear that the Heat are not taking on any contract that runs beyond the summer of 2026 (which has the potential to be a deep free agent class, and the Heat are on track to have cap space).
For weeks, the focus has been on Phoenix trying to find a multi-team trade (like a four- or five-team fantasy basketball trade) that makes everyone happy, but to no avail because there is a very limited market for Bradley Beal (who Phoenix would have to trade out in any deal and Miami has no interest in).
Heat suspend Jimmy Butler indefinitely
Jimmy Butler’s latest two-game suspension was set to end Jan. 27 when Miami hosted Orlando, but by the end of the team’s morning shootaround, another Butler suspension was in place — and this one is indefinite, with a five-game minimum. That takes the Heat through the trade deadline.
(2/2) The suspension is due to a continued pattern of disregard of team rules, engaging in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services. This includes walking out of practice earlier today.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 27, 2025
Butler was informed at shootaround that he would come off the bench behind Haywood Highsmith, prompting him to walk out of shootaround. From there, the Heat suspended Butler.
While this is a battle of egos and wills between Pat Riley and Jimmy Butler, Riley wins this round because he removed the distraction from the locker room. If Butler remains with the Heat after the trade deadline — which is still a very real possibility, league sources have told NBC Sports — then Butler and Miami can decide how they want to handle the rest of this season.
What do Heat want in Butler trade?
Pat Riley’s first instinct is to play hardball, but he also wants the Butler situation to end. That’s why the Heat lowered their asking price for Butler. Just don’t confuse that with Miami taking anything back. This is no fire sale.
Miami’s two primary goals for any trade: No long-term money coming back (contracts that extend beyond the summer of 2026) and players who can help them win now, not just draft picks. No long-term contracts is the big one, and it rules out Bradley Beal (who has two more years at $110 million after this season) and some of the other big names available via trade. The Heat also are not looking to tank, they want players to go with All-Star Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo who can help the team win now (it’s starting to find its identity without Butler).
The challenge is that Butler is making $48.8 million this season, with a player option for $52.4 million next season, and the 35-year-old wants an extension beyond that. Matching that salary in a trade without sending back long-term money is a delicate balancing act, which is why any Butler trade likely involves at least three teams and likely even more.
What does Jimmy Butler want
To get to Phoenix. That is goal one, two and three, according to league sources speaking to NBC Sports. Was Butler taking the court before his suspension Suns colorway shoes not enough of a hint?
Butler tells Riley, Arison face-to-face: Trade me
Jimmy Butler has made it clear to anyone who will listen: He doesn’t want to play in Miami anymore. He wants to be traded — and before the Feb. 6 trade deadline. If not, he will use his $52.4 million player option next season to leave Miami and will not re-sign with the Heat.
None of that is new, but Butler reiterated in two face-to-face meetings last week, one with Miami Heat president Pat Riley (Shams Charania of ESPN had the report) and one with Heat owner Micky Arison. Butler is not backing down from his position.
News of these meetings leaked as part of a PR push by Butler’s backers to suggest that the Heat were not aggressive enough in finding a trade. This strategy may have worked because talks have heated up, but we will wait to see if it is enough.
Butler, not the easiest teammate to deal with
Part of Miami’s challenge is there is not much of a market for Butler, and him currently forcing his way off his third team in a row is part of that. Miami also doesn’t want him back — the rest of the Heat players are done with Butler and don’t want him to return to the locker room again, either. Listen to what Rachel Nichols said on the Open Floor Podcast:
“I talked to guys in [the Heat] locker room, and to say they have had it is an understatement, because [Butler] has disrespected them so much. The way he’s been in and out, the way he’s been acting towards [team staff] in their locker room,… making them wait for hours on the tarmac?”
In the wake of this, Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, brought the receipts that Butler did not leave his teammates hanging on the tarmac.
Two things can be true: That flight may not have been delayed, but Heat players are done with Butler as a disruption and not a guy who is acting like he cares about the team. The rest of the Heat players being over Jimmy is real.
What happened between Jimmy Butler and Pat Riley?
This entire saga is all about the money. Don’t pretend it’s about anything else.
Things fell apart between Butler and the Heat when Butler wanted to discuss a contract extension after last season, ideally with him opting out of his $52.4 million for next season to get two years, $112.6 million. Pat Riley emphatically shot that down when talking after last season.
“That’s a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you have somebody who’s going to be there and available every single night. That’s the truth,” Riley said. Butler played 60 games last season and was out for the team’s playoff series against the Celtics.
Butler told the Washington Post this week he still believes he’s in his prime.
It’s that simple: Butler wants to be paid, but the Heat don’t want to do it, so he wants to trade to a place where he thinks he will be paid.
How old is Jimmy Butler?
He is 35 years old and will turn 36 before training camp opens next season. This is his 14th season in the league.
