Miami Heat team president Pat Riley said Thursday the team will not trade Jimmy Butler. Riley was responding to a recent report that said Butler preferred to be relocated by the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
“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,” Riley said Thursday. “Therefore, we will make it clear — We are not trading Jimmy Butler.”
News of Butler’s trade request was first reported by ESPN earlier this week.
Riley’s attempt to shut down those distractions comes as the Heat sit at 14-13 and in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Butler has been out since Dec. 20 and could miss more time due to illness.
The 35-year-old six-time All-Star played in 20 games this season, averaging 18.5 points and 4.9 assists per game, his lowest averages in years. Butler has historically elevated his play in the postseason, most recently averaging 26.9 points per game in the Heat’s run to the Finals in 2022-23, but he missed the 2024 playoffs due to an MCL sprain sustained during the Play-In Tournament.
After Miami’s playoff exit, Riley publicly called out Butler for making waves with his comments about opponents despite missing time.
“If you’re not on the court playing against Boston or on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut,” Riley told reporters in May about Butler.
Later in the offseason, the Heat opted to not offer Butler a long-term contract extension in the offseason.
Not a surprising move from Miami
Miami deciding it won’t trade Butler continues the franchise’s longstanding approach of timing its biggest moves when ready, and not a second sooner.
Although rumors of Butler’s trade market predate last May, when our own Anthony Slater first reported the Golden State Warriors as a potential interested suitor, Miami doesn’t have a history of trading big-name stars during the season. In Butler’s case, according to a team source, the team attempted to reach an agreement on a contract extension with the six-time All-Star, but talks fell through before both parties turned their focus to the 2024-25 regular season.
Butler does maintain a $52.4 million player option he can exercise this summer, but Miami is clearly comfortable crossing that bridge once it gets there. It is a similar case to the departures of franchise legends Dwyane Wade (signed with his hometown Chicago Bulls after failed contract negotiations), LeBron James (returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers to play on a max salary) and Shaquille O’Neal (traded to the Phoenix Suns after his own contract dispute).
Beyond that, though, the Heat (14-13, sixth in the East entering Thursday) are also still formidable enough to chase a sixth consecutive playoff appearance with Butler in the fold. Miami sports a plus-6.2 net rating when he plays and hopes for him to return to the lineup soon, as the 35-year-old recovers from an illness. This season, Butler is second on the team in points per game (18.5) and is shooting a career-best 55.2 percent overall.
Whether he remains in a Heat uniform beyond this season remains to be seen, but Miami understandably wants to drown out the trade chatter and attempt at least one more playoff run with one of the best postseason performers in recent memory. — James Jackson, NBA staff editor
Required reading
(Photo: Eric Espada / NBAE via Getty Images)
Miami Heat president Pat Riley has put an end to any speculation surrounding a potential trade involving star player Jimmy Butler. In a recent interview, Riley stated that the Heat have no intention of trading Butler and called the speculation surrounding the situation “not fair” to the team.
Butler, who has been a key player for the Heat since joining the team in 2019, has been the subject of trade rumors in recent weeks. However, Riley made it clear that Butler is a crucial part of the Heat’s success and is not going anywhere.
Riley’s comments come as a relief to Heat fans who have been worried about the possibility of losing Butler. With the team currently sitting near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, keeping Butler on the roster is crucial to their chances of making a deep playoff run.
While trade rumors may continue to swirl around Butler, it seems that the Heat are committed to keeping him in Miami for the foreseeable future. As Riley put it, the speculation surrounding Butler is “not fair” to the team, and it’s clear that the Heat are focused on building a championship-caliber team with Butler at the helm.
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