Heat not trading All-Star Jimmy Butler, Pat Riley says

The Miami Heat have no plans to trade Jimmy Butler, team president Pat Riley said Thursday.

“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,” he said in a statement.

Riley’s statement comes a day after league sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania that the six-time All-Star Butler prefers a trade out of Miami ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline. Butler is open to trade destinations such as the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, league sources told Charania.

The Heat play in Orlando on Thursday. Butler did not fly with the team to Orlando on Wednesday night. He twisted an ankle in Miami’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday but missed the remainder of that game and the next two Heat games — at the Orlando Magic last Saturday and against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday — with illness, not the ankle, cited as the reason.

“I actually like it,” Butler said earlier this month when asked about being linked to trade talks and speculation. “It’s good to be talked about. I don’t think there’s such a thing as bad publicity — to a point.”

Butler is making $49 million on his contract with the Heat for this season and has a $52 million player option for 2025-26 after the two sides failed to reach an extension last summer. Butler intends to decline his 2025-26 player option and become a free agent in July, sources told Charania.

Butler, 35, is averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists this season. He is one of the NBA’s elite competitors and a perennial postseason performer. His teams have made the playoffs in 12 of his first 13 seasons, including the five previous seasons in Miami, where he has led the Heat to two NBA Finals berths and one additional Eastern Conference finals appearance.

The Heat (14-13) are currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.