Sources – Heat’s Jimmy Butler prefers trading outside of Miami

Six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler favors a move from Miami before the Feb. 6 deadline, league sources told ESPN.

ESPN reported in the Dec. 10 Inside Pass that the Heat are willing to listen to trade offers for Butler and that Butler wants a win-now prospect in any deal. According to sources, Butler has not made an official request for a trade, but he is believed to be ready for an exit.

Butler has a $49 million contract with the Heat this season and a $52 million player option for 2025-26 after the two teams failed to reach an extension last summer. Both teams appear ready to put this Butler-led era behind them, as the Heat lean on an emerging core of All-Star centers Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro (in the midst of a career season) and Butler’s player option for next season The parties are given their own point of view and influence.

Teams have been told that Butler intends to decline his player option for 2025-26 and become a free agent in July, sources said.

According to league sources, Butler is open to trade destinations such as the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets. Multiple teams have called the Heat in the last two weeks to express interest in Butler, but Miami has shown no urgency in the talks as the franchise oversees the first half of the season, these sources said.

The Heat, sitting in sixth place in the East, could simply play out the season and wait to see whether Butler decides to do so or not. But to reach a new home via trade, Butler will need help from the Heat – a test of the balance of how the franchise handles its cornerstone of the last half-decade.

The Heat signed Adebayo to a three-year, $166 million maximum extension last offseason but decided against a similar deal with Butler.

Butler, 35, is averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists this season. He is one of the NBA’s elite competitors and a consistent postseason performer. His teams have made the playoffs in 12 of his first 13 seasons, including the previous five seasons in Miami, where he led the Heat to two NBA Finals berths and another Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

After Miami defeated Boston in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals, the Celtics made two big moves, acquiring Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis, who played important roles in their path to the championship in 2024. The Heat’s efforts to increase star power around Butler and Adebayo have failed, with Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, among others, losing to other teams in recent years.