Jimmy Butler has done a lot for the Heat since being traded there in 2019. He’s made two All-Star teams, three All-NBA teams, an All-Defensive team and led them to two Finals runs.
The NBA is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, though. After a first-round exit in which Butler was not healthy enough to play, Pat Riley seems like he might be ready to move on from the Playoff Jimmy era. The Heat’s team president raised some eyebrows when he expressed hesitation about extending his star at the end of the season.
“We don’t have to do that for a year. We have not discussed that internally right now, but we have to look at making that kind of commitment,” Riley told reporters.
Riley said that Butler would not be traded for now, but he didn’t sound all that happy with his franchise player’s performance. He criticized Butler for trolling the Celtics during the Heat’s swift first-round loss, expressing that “if you’re not on the court playing, you should keep your mouth shut.”
That matches up with the “increasingly loud whispers that [Butler’s] future might not be in Miami,” according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger. The six-time All-Star is 34 years old and on the verge of getting paid again. That would complicate the Heat’s cap situation even further — they’re already projected to be well into the tax and likely over the first apron for a team that barely made the playoffs this season.
If Riley is starting to sour on Butler, then this summer would be the time to trade him for maximum value. Here’s where he could end up.
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Pat Riley discusses Jimmy Butler’s future at end-of-season press conference
Butler is under contract through the 2024-25 season with a $52.4 million player option for 2025-26.
Butler is seeking a three-year, $161.7 million deal this offseason, per the Miami Herald. Such an extension would guarantee his contract through 2027 when he will be 37.
Riley made it clear that availability is Miami’s top concern as it relates to a long-term commitment, and that comes as little surprise. Butler has missed at least 18 regular season games in each of the last four seasons, and that trend typically doesn’t improve when a player enters his mid-to-late 30s.
The Knicks have been stockpiling assets for a star.
They have up to eight first-round picks
that they could move in a deal this summer, along with a ton of matching salary.
Tom Thibodeau and Butler obviously have a strong connection, dating from their days both in Chicago and Minnesota. Thibs has already traded for Butler once. Nothing would make him happier than another reunion.
New York is so reliant on Jalen Brunson to produce everything for its offense. Butler would give the Knicks a second option that could get to his spots on the floor, along with an absolutely deadly closer at the end of games. Playoff Jimmy is one year removed from finishing runner-up in the Clutch Player of the Year award, and he’s shown his value over the years in the postseason where he regularly morphs into an MVP candidate.
Here’s what a Knicks deal would potentially look like:
The Knicks don’t have cap space to work with, so they’d have to get up to Butler’s $48.7 million salary. Julius Randle and Bojan Bogdanovic are easy ways to match. Their 2024 first-round pick is slotted at No. 25. Throw in an additional two firsts, and this seems like the type of big deal needed to get Butler.
For the Heat, this trade gets them out of luxury tax hell and gives them a younger player who can create some badly-needed offense for them. They were ranked 21st on that end of the floor this season.
Randle commands double teams regularly. He’d be fantastic when surrounded by Miami’s shooters. He is a significantly worse player than Butler, but the main draw would be a chance to take a small step back, add picks to bring in another player down the road and get salary relief to usher in the next era of Heat basketball.
The Pistons are part of this deal for bookkeeping purposes. As a team with a ton of cap space, they can take in a player without having to send one back. This would be a nice piece of business for them, essentially reversing the trade that they made a few months ago and getting Bogdanovic back for a fraction of the price that they traded him away for.
Detroit is trying to add veterans to improve next year, so this would line up with its incentives.
The 76ers made a massive mistake in choosing Tobias Harris over Butler back in 2019. It’s one that Jimmy still remembers. This could be their chance to rectify that mistake.