The Godfather has spoken! In a statement released by Miami Heat president Pat Riley on Thursday, Riley poured cold water on the recent Jimmy Butler scuttlebutt:
“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,” the statement read. “Therefore, we will make it clear — We are not trading Jimmy Butler.”
This comes one day after ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Jimmy Butler “prefers a trade out of Miami” ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline, even though he had not formally requested a trade.
“Both sides appear ready to move on from this Butler-led era as the Heat lean into a rising core of All-Star center Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro (in the midst of a career season), and Butler’s player option for next season has given the parties their own vantage point of leverage,” Charania’s report read.
Read more on that here!
There was no indication that, up to this point, the Heat were shopping Butler. They were keeping their ears open, but unless a can’t refuse offer reached the dinner table, they wouldn’t budge.
Butler, 35, is having the most efficient season of his career, albeit on lower volume. He is averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists on 55.2 percent shooting and 35.7 percent from deep on minimal volume.
The pressure is now on him to perform. The pressure has been on him since the summer. He has to play well and play well consistently, point blank. Especially after the last week–rolling his ankle but being diagnosed with a stomach illness–he hasn’t shown he can consistently stay on the floor, and thus hasn’t quite shown he deserves a max extension.
After today’s game against the Orlando Magic, he will be on pace to play 59 games, one fewer than last year and five fewer than in 2022-23, his best season with Miami.
The pressure will also be on the Heat to improve the team come the deadline, should they be in a favorable playoff position. What the move that will be remains to be seen, but it can’t trot out a similar roster to the one it has right now and expect it to go any further than it did last April.
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100% agreement with Pat Riley’s statement. The team need some stability and not distractions.
The body language of the Heat’s players made me wonder if the trade rumors are true and what impact it has had in the locker room.
However, Pat Riley being the right hand man of capo di tutti i capi in the Heat’s system , this must also be the thinking of Mr Arison…..but, if Butler wants to be traded, get him traded and let the team move on. The sooner, the better for everyone.
Go Heat, Go!
Is Riley now exploring trades in order to bolster the line-up/make the team more competitive this season? If so, in addition to older players such as Rozier, Robinson, Love, Richardson and Burks will younger players such as Jaquez, Jovic and Larsson be on the table?
Here’s a few trade ideas:
Malcolm Brogdon
Keyonte George
Jaden Ivey
Tre Mann
TJ McConnell
Marcus Sasser
John Collins
Walker Kesler
Maybe Jimmy really isn’t running the show here. If this is not another negotiating ploy, then our next best hope is making a trade to strengthen the team and make keeping Jimmy worth it.
Actually, I have no idea what’s coming next but I do hope it helps the Heat either this year or down the road.