In the last few weeks, the Miami HEAT front office has gone to war with their star player, Jimmy Butler. NBA insider Shams Charania has made multiple rumors saying Butler wants to be traded by the trade deadline on Feb. 6. Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, denounced this statement along with HEAT president Pat Riley clearly stating, “We are not trading Jimmy Butler.” But from the way the week is looking, those words might have been empty statements.
After a loss to the Indiana Pacers, Jimmy Butler stated he “wanted to get his joy back playing basketball,” and when asked if he could find it in Miami, he responded, “Probably not.” After this, Butler requested a trade, and the HEAT front office suspended him for 7 games due to ‘conduct detrimental to the team’. In the statement, the HEAT front office stated, “Through his actions, he has shown he no longer wants to be part of this team.”
Jimmy Butler is already stapled as a Miami HEAT legend, leading the team to its first NBA finals since the Big 3 era. In his 6 years here, Butler willed the HEAT to 2 NBA Finals appearances in 2020 and 2023, winning 2 Eastern Conference Championships, and giving fans multiple memorable performances in the playoffs.
Some fans have gone on to blame Pat Riley, Andy Elisburg (the HEAT General Manager), and Micky Arison (owner), for not doing enough in free agency to acquire help around Butler and make a championship run. Despite the emergence of Tyler Herro, most fans were expecting the HEAT to make a big off-season move, so they can hopefully make a deep run again. Jimmy Butler, without that much All-Star help other than Bam Adebayo, helped the HEAT to get to the Finals, an extra piece could’ve been the difference between getting to the Finals and winning the Finals.
After the suspension, I’m about 100% sure Jimmy Butler will be traded to another team, most likely in the Western Conference for more assets and the HEAT will have to hope to try to get another star to pair alongside Tyler Herro to attempt to get their fourth banner in the rafters. But on the off chance that Butler stays for the rest of the season, it could either go really good or the HEAT organization could go up in flames due to Riley and Butler’s relationship. I feel like Butler will stay only if we have a good season and if he still doesn’t want to be in Miami, his trade value could go up and we can trade him off to another team.
