Why Miami is making the right decision by trying to trade Jimmy Butler now
By Quinn Everts
The Jimmy Butler era was a roaring success for the Miami Heat. In five seasons, the Heat made two NBA Finals, three Eastern Conference Finals and went to the postseason each year Butler has been on the roster. In 2024-25, the Heat are 12-10 — fifth in the Eastern Conference — but no one watching thinks they can compete with the Celtics, Cavaliers or Knicks in the East.
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Being one tier below the elite teams of the East isn't a horrible place to be, but for a Heat team that doesn't have a ton of young talent and an upcoming contract decision with Jimmy Butler (who has a player option for next season) it's probably the right call to be shopping the 35 year-old Butler.
The Heat are open to listening to offers for Jimmy Butler, league sources told ESPN, and the six-time All-Star is believed to prefer a win-now contender in any trade. https://t.co/ifbfJY7ZPw
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 10, 2024
Who's up next for the Miami Heat?
Tyler Herro is playing the best basketball of his career. Bam Adebayo is only 27 years old. But outside of those two core players, Miami doesn't have many young players who they can reliably count on to produce at a high level in the futute.
The team is high on rookie Pelle Larsen, and Jaime Jaquez Jr is still talented despite a sluggish start to his sophomore year, but outside of those two... the future is a little barren for the Heat right now. As Butler's career begins to trend away from his prime, this might be the last season Miami could get some high-level young players back in a trade. And instead of letting Butler play out his contract on a team that isn't likely going to make another deep playoff run, a trade would benefit the franchise most.
What would a Jimmy Butler trade look like?
That's a good question. Like I said, Miami has Herro and Bam so a Butler trade would likely include promising players, not just salary and picks. A trade with Houston would make an awful lot of sense; if Miami could pry Amen Thompson away from Houston, it would be a big win. But Houston has plenty of young talent to entice Miami, if that's the route Miami does decide to take.
Golden State is another option for Miami, and a package centered around Jonathan Kuminga makes the most sense.
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