“Contract Year, He Wanna Get Traded”: Jeff Teague Believes Jimmy Butler Is ‘Top 5’ Only When He Needs To Be

Miami Heat’s last game saw Jimmy Butler dropping a 35-point triple-double in a losing cause against the Detroit Pistons. The Heat star had his career-best rebounding performance with 19 rebounds. On an episode of the Club 520 Podcast, Jeff Teague claimed that the praiseworthy performance was a calculated move from the forward.

Teague believes that Butler is a top-five player when he wants to be. He just chooses his moments very carefully. The former NBA star explained how Butler decided to on a rampage against the Pistons and why it was a well-timed performance.

Teague stated that Butler’s recent performance serves him a greater purpose. As a result, the Heat star decided to unleash all his talent on the floor. He said, “When something is about to happen, Jimmy starts killing. Contract year, you wanna get traded, whatever it is…to the point where you’re like, ‘Damn, we need him.’”

Teague said that Jimmy is “super calculated” in situations like this and knows how to get the best out of it for himself. The purpose-oriented outburst from Butler makes Teague believe that if he wants to be a top-five player in the league, he can be. He said, “If Jimmy wants to be top five in the league, he could. Like, sometimes he just be chilling.”

Butler’s current contract with the Heat is about to expire and the six-time All-Star is looking for a deal in the $100 million range. Landing such a huge contract at the age of 35 would be difficult for most athletes, but Butler already has a franchise lined up for him. The Phoenix Suns are willing to offer him the money. Another major team in the race is the Golden State Warriors.

Jimmy Butler’s trade rumors have led to a heated argument

Jimmy Buckets still has a lot of momentum in the league. So, his name being involved in trade rumors was bound to perk up some ears. On December 11^th, Shams Charania reported, “The Phoenix Suns are another team that Jimmy Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, has indicated in league circles that the six-time All-Star is open to as a destination while Miami listens to trade offers, sources tell ESPN, joining Dallas, Houston and Golden State.”

Within minutes, Lee responded to Charania’s post and stated that these claims were false. He wrote, “Shams this is your opportunity to say my bad “I let chat GPT write my tweets and it went old school Peter Vescey..” (Shams Peter was a writer in the 90’s) be a trend setter.. invent the new I was hacked.  Carry on all.  Thank you.”

This response from Lee harmed Charania’s credibility on the internet. The ESPN Insider took to First Take to defend himself. He said, “I will 1000% stand by my reporting. It’s fully vetted. As a professional, that’s what I do, that’s what I get paid to do, that’s what I’m going to do, report truthfully and accurately. That’s what this is. Period.”

Charania claimed that his report was backed by information he received and it wasn’t a made-up lie. He also stated that after his first post involving three teams, the Phoenix Suns have also joined the race to sign Butler.