With yet another underwhelming Miami Heat season finding themselves at a 9-10 record, trade rumors are quickly approaching. And unsurprisingly, Jimmy Butler is at the thick of these speculations.
The Heat star is in the midst of his sixth season in South Beach, but averaging his lowest amount of points, rebounds and assists of his entire tenure here. He is putting up just 18.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists on 54% shooting and 33% from 3-point range. Butler has also struggled with availability issues once again, already missing five and the first 19 games with injuries.
He more recently suffered a tweak to his right knee on a hard drive to the rim late in the game against the Toronto Raptors this past weekend. The injury forced him to sit out the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
It’s clear that Butler’s body has a lot of mileage under his belt, with several deep playoff runs to show. But in his age-35 season and Miami stuck at mediocrity, it could be time to pick a direction. According to HoopsHype NBA insider Mike Scotto, there are a pair of Western Conference contenders that pose as a potential trade destination for Butler’s services.
“Within league circles, there’s been quiet discourse about whether the Houston Rockets or Dallas Mavericks will eventually land Butler, a Texas native, should he and Miami decide to part ways.
For now, however, the Rockets are among the top teams with a young core, and the Mavericks remain a contender in the tightly competitive Western Conference. It’s also worth noting executives who’ve checked in on Butler got the impression that Miami wants to figure out their star’s future after the season.”
Both of the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks could be one major piece away from making news in the West, and a Butler fit makes sense for each of those franchises. The Rockets have over-performed to the current second seed in the Western Conference, and have an intriguing young core to balance Butler’s veteran status. However, a Dallas pairing could immediately put him in the best position possible to win a championship before he retires.
The Mavericks are coming off an NBA Finals run that fell short to the Boston Celtics, but Butler’s playoff dominance provides them with a needle mover to get over the hump. A collaboration with Luka Donic and Kyrie Irving is good enough to be the greatest big three in the entire league, especially come postseason.
Butler’s impending contract situation puts the Heat in a difficult position, as it may be questionable to invest in max contract resources to an aging player when the team is far away from contention. As fitting as it sounds to see the Heat leader retire in South Florida and get the farewell tour he deserves, the front office has failed to make the necessary roster improvements to maximize his window.
If Miami opts to pivot into a new iteration of the franchise, they need to do right by their franchise star and put him in a better position to win.
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What a mess. So tired of watching our GM get nothing done. As time goes by, our options become more limited, and our players less valued.
I don’t see how Dallas makes sense. They don’t have the contracts that line up and they don’t have any good young prospects.
Houston is the ideal trade partner, they’re loaded with young talent and have the veteran contracts to make a Jimmy trade work. Also a great spot to send Jimmy, so we don’t feel bad about trading a top-5 Heat player of all time. It’s a no brainer.
Otherwise, you’re looking for another Western Conference contender that are willing to trade couple young prospects and an expiring contract. Teams like OKC or Golden State or Memphis make sense. I don’t think the Lakers or Wolves or Suns have the trade assets to get it done. But if you let me pick the perfect trade partner, it’s Houston
Anything is possible, especially if you throw in a third and maybe a 4th team as well as multiple Heat players. Let’s see if Riley can still work his magic.
maybe. I’m just sayin, the Rockets have like four young wings and a couple bigs that play ferocious defense and are still on rookie contracts. Give me a couple of those guys and a couple vets, you can have Jimmy Butler and keep your draft picks
San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, OKC and New Orleans should be invited to bid for him. Throw Golden State and Brooklyn in there too.