It wouldn’t be the NBA without a bit of drama, and the latest main character in the league’s ongoing soap opera has been Jimmy Butler. The 14-year NBA vet is a five-time All-NBA player and a six-time All-Star, but things have ended badly with him at every stop in his career. Now it appears that the same thing is happening in Miami.
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Butler had a rough game last night against the Indiana Pacers, scoring just nine points in a 128-115 loss. After the game he did everything but request a trade right then and there, saying that he wanted to “get my joy back from playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon.”
Butler has been rumored to be unhappy for weeks, and the chatter had gotten so loud that Heat team president Pat Riley felt the need to come out last week with a statement, saying, “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.”
Riley is one of the most accomplished coaches and executives in NBA history. He is not a man to be trifled with, and Chandler Parsons of the Run It Back podcast speculated Friday on what Riley’s reaction would be to Butler’s comments.
“I don’t think Pat Riley gives a damn about sending [Butler] to a contender. I think this is gonna end poorly … He could send him to Washington for [Kyle] Kuzma at this point, just to prove a point that, like, you don’t call the shots.”
“I don’t think Pat Riley gives a dam about sending him to a contender, I think this is going to end poorly” – @ChandlerParsons
If you want to embarrass me in the public like that, go and do that, and I’m going to send you to Siberia” 😳 – @MichelleDBeadle
Do you think Jimmy… pic.twitter.com/NiCgUFZCjQ
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 3, 2025
Parson’s co-hosts Lou Williams and Michelle Beadle agreed that Riley wouldn’t accommodate Butler by trading him to a preferred destination if it didn’t help the Heat first. Beadle said:
“It feels like [Riley] has all the leverage. Jimmy is 35, he’ll be 36 in September. There are some really bad teams with some really good parts that are available that would love to go to Miami, I’m sure … I feel like Pat Riley has a chance to do something real funny right here. ‘If you wanna embarrass me in the public like that, go ahead and do that, and here’s what’s gonna happen, I’m gonna send you to Siberia basically.'”
Jimmy Butler could be the first major name to move before the NBA trade deadline
Butler has missed 10 games with a variety of ailments, and Tyler Herro has become the clear focal point of the offense as the Heat have scuffled to a 17-15 record. Between Butler’s comments, Riley’s statement, and the public back-and-forth between ESPN’s Shams Charania and Butler’s agent Bernie Lee, this situation has been deteriorating rapidly in the last week or two, making a trade seem inevitable at this point.
Charania reported that Butler would be “open to playing anywhere other than Miami,” but if the Heat forward is interested in contending for a championship, that list would narrow dramatically. Parsons speculated on Run It Back that a trade to Houston for Fred VanVleet could be a possibility, as could a trade to Denver for Michael Porter Jr.
The Thunder and Grizzlies are at the top of the Western Conference with many potential assets available as well, while in the East the resurgent Bucks could try to piece something together to get Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dame Lillard some help.
No matter where he ends up, the drama between Butler and the Heat promises to make the coming weeks interesting for NBA fans.
