The Miami Heat are reportedly “open to listening to trade offers” for Jimmy Butler amid his contract year. And ESPN insider Shams Charania has made it clearly known based on his repeated comments. Although, it seems like his push for this storyline hasn’t been anything more than glorified non-information that Heat fans have already known.
The problem is that this aggressively pushed narrative by Charania has Heat insiders questioning reports that aren’t even truly there (yet). Butler has been linked to several ‘preferred destinations’ including the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets.
As a win-now fit could make sense for the Heat star on those rosters, Butler has yet to make a formal trade request. Nor has Miami been actively shopping him.
https://x.com/flasportsbuzz/status/1869399153903907021?s=46&t=70KMxl0CSvAS2niDn8R-TQ
Shams Charania jumped on NBA Countdown recently to continue doubling and tripling down on his reports:
“I’m told the Suns and the Warriors are believed to be atop (Jimmy Butler’s) list of preferred, win-now destinations if the Miami Heat were to trade him.”
(- Shams Charania)
Butler’s agent, Bernard Lee, put the internet in a frenzy over a week ago when he called out the insider for “made up” headlines. However, he has responded to the accusations. On a recent episode of the Pat McAfee show, Charania stated that Butler speculation is “probably the most vetted story that I’ve ever put out and I’m that confident in this story.”
Miami is still trying to build their continuity and make a leap in the Eastern Conference standings. All these rumors can easily take away from what this group is trying to accomplish. And although there could be some truth in Charania’s reporting, it seems like this is nothing more than the Heat doing their due diligence in being opening to see what type of offers are out there. Butler can opt out of his contract and become a free agent at the end of this season, and any franchise would explore possibilities to avoid losing a star player for nothing.
The Rockets have reportedly committed to their young core, and haven’t been aggressive in pursuing Butler’s services. His timeline at the age of 35 may also not align with theirs. Dallas seems to have no pieces to facilitate such a deal.
Phoenix, who is seemingly getting the most traction in these rumors, are very limited on assets. They only have one (2031) draft pick to utilize and are a second apron team— meaning they cannot aggregate more than one player in a trade to match salaries.
They would have to get very creative to make a Butler deal come to fruition, and convince Bradley Beal to waive his no-trade clause. Miami would be foolish to even take on his bloated contract amid his statistical decline and injury history. Unless the Suns are willing to part with Kevin Durant or Devin Booker (highly unlikely), a straight Phoenix/Miami swap involving Butler seems far fetched.
https://x.com/flasportsbuzz/status/1869227523651051802?s=46&t=70KMxl0CSvAS2niDn8R-TQ
The Warriors still remain the team that could be best positioned to pull of such a trade with the Heat. They have draft picks and quality players to send back, along with providing Butler with a win-now window that he would be coveting.
At the end of the day, the Heat are still not actively shopping Butler and he hasn’t requested a trade. Unless that notion changes and the star begins to make things ugly, it seems like these repetitive ‘preferred destinations’ from Charania are meaningless.
This is a developing news story. Stay tuned for updates.
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It makes sense to sit Jaquez until he gets his game together. There are too many good players on the bench for him to get a pass when his shot isn’t falling. In addition to Larsson and Burks, I would like to see Keshad Johnson get a few minutes to see what he can do. I think he is taller and has better defense than either Larsson or Jaquez, is a better rebounder and looks like a better 3 point shooter. As I’ve said before, like Dru Smith, if he is given an opening, he may be difficult to remove from the rotation. I also believe that Johnson may be the Heat’s long term solution to replace Butler.
Time for the Heat to have an uncomfortable conversation about Jamie Jaquez Jr.
it might be best for Jaime to sit a couple of games.
https://allucanheat.com/miami-heat-uncomfortable-conversation-jamie-jaquez-jr?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=e0273490fd355e2c28bdb25751d41af65a4dd80936ff00a80be9866c97887955
I dont know. But for sure, he is not good.
Good comments. Players like JJJ, Nico, are almost good enough, but their ceiling is more like a JRich, Alec Burks career. Still, you have to take what you can when you draft past maybe tenth. Every pick after that is a crapshoot (and sometimes picks earlier don’t work out either). JJJ may not have enough diversity in his game. One thing I’ve noticed is he is being asked to dribble more than he should. He should only be attacking the basket when the defender is off balance on the close out a la Dunc. The best part of his game are his bullish inside moves. He also needs to improve on threes so he gets the defense’s respect more. There is still a chance he could become a starter, but he may end up a rotation piece.
Zach Lowe used to always say “growth is not linear”. I think we’re seeing it with Bam, who is trying to extend his game beyond the 3-point line, and his offense seems to be taking a step backwards right now so it can take two steps forward in the future. I think the same was true about Tyler over the past couple years, when he focused on improving his defense and tried running pick & rolls. He took a step back last year, but has taken two steps forward this year.
I agree that JJJ and Jovic are not playing as well this year as they did last year. But I also think this is the reality of drafting players and coaching them up until they reach their prime. Growth is not always linear, and they will take steps back as well as steps forward. That’s one of the reason Riley prefers vets. Alas, this team has been stealth rebuilding for the last couple years, and basically every important player besides Jimmy and Terry are 27-and-under (nba prime is usually 28-32). So I think we have to allow these young guys to struggle a bit in the short term, as they develop their careers for the long term
With Riles keeping mum on Butler situation, he maybe cooking something in secret. And as always I trust the godfather to do his thing. Not always pretty but Heat is a winning franchise in his tenure. My guess is a wait-and-see-then-react plan from the gm and co while in close coordination with coaching staff of the team’s development. In short, they know what they’re doing. But that’s just me lol. Go Heat!!
The Ringer had a good pod about this today. First time I’ve heard a national pundit realize that the Heat are built around Bam, Tyler, Jamie, and a bunch of players between 22-27.
They think Houston is still in play, which would be my preferred trade partner. They also mention MPJ from the Nuggets, which I didn’t love but I also don’t hate it.
The problem is any trade involving multiple players for Jimmy. Miami doesn’t have open roster spots to accommodate such trades. They are better off trading for one high priced veteran, a very good young player with a high upside and a first round pick for Jimmy and a fill-in or two like Richardson or Burks. A three-way trade could also work with the third team getting the players and the Heat getting expiring contracts, prospects and draft picks.
If the right trade comes around, I don’t think Alec Burks and Keshad Johnson are going to be the thing that prevent it from happening
Numbers suggest Heat must make key roster move in order to bolster playoff chances
…”Currently, Miami ranks 14th in rebounding, 26th in second-chance points, 16th in points in the paint allowed, and dead last in blocks per game. On top of that, they allow their opponents to show 65.1% in the restricted area.”
“The solution to their problems is sitting on their bench. Picked 15th overall by the Heat in 2024, rookie Kel’el Ware holds his opponents to 50% shooting in the restricted area and only 36.4% in the paint on 60 total attempts. Those numbers are elite and are complemented even more by his 2.6 blocks per 36 minutes and 3.6 blocks per 100 possessions…”
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/miami-heat/news/numbers-suggest-miami-heat-must-make-key-nba-roster-move/251a9ebb8fca5b3a668aa58e
guys a legit 7 foot and his arms reach down to below his knees.eric oh eric why do u do this.