The drumbeat around Jimmy Butler‘s time in Miami coming to an end has grown louder in recent days as reports indicate the Heat are now listening to trade offers for the six-time All-Star.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Heat are open to dealing the 35-year-old, and his agent – Bernie Lee – has made it known around the league that the forward would be open to joining the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns.
One team that Butler has expressed interest in that was not mentioned is the Nets. But Brooklyn has been interested in Butler in the past and that feeling has been reciprocated. And according to The New York Post’s Brian Lewis, he still has an interest in joining the Nets.
However, with the Nets undertaking a rebuild it isn’t believed that general manager Sean Marks is interested in giving up assets to acquire the veteran, Lewis noted. And with Butler’s injury history – he last played 65 regular season games in 2018-19 – he may not be the superstar to sit at the center of the revamped Nets come next season.
Not to mention, Butler has a $52.2 million player option for next year which he could decline to become an unrestricted free agent. A source close to the forward told Lewis that the Nets are Butler’s “first choice” for a scenario that involves playing the year out, opting out of his contract and then signing there as a free agent.
Lee, for his part, denied Charania’s reporting in a series of posts on social media, one of which was reposted by Miami owner Micky Arison, which seemingly could indicate there isn’t much interest in trading Butler in the first place.
Butler, who is averaging 19 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists for the Heat (12-10 and 5th place in the Eastern Conference), said he doesn’t mind his name being in the rumor mill two months before the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline.
“I actually like it,” he told reporters Wednesday. “It’s good to be talked about. I don’t think there’s such a thing as bad publicity — to a point.”
SNY
