Report: Jimmy Butler ‘prefers’ a trade out of Miami at deadline; Suns, Warriors top his wish list

[ad_1]

The vibe coming out of the G-League showcase in Orlando was that Jimmy Butler likely would remain a member of the Miami Heat past the Feb. 6 trade deadline. The reason was primarily the new NBA CBA with its tax aprons and trade restrictions: It is very difficult to construct a deal that worked for both sides and gets Butler to one of his preferred destinations (Butler has leverage because he can opt out at the end of this season and become a free agent).

To crank up the fire under those talks comes this report from ESPN’s Shams Charania on Christmas Day: Jimmy Butler would prefer a trade out of Miami before the deadline and has a short list of playoff/contending teams he would prefer to be traded to.

Six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler prefers a trade out of Miami ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline, league sources told ESPN…

Butler is open to trade destinations such as the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, league sources said. Multiple teams have called the Heat to express interest in Butler in the past two weeks, but Miami has not shown urgency in talks as the franchise monitors the first half of the season, those sources said. The Heat, in sixth place in the East, could simply play out the season and view whether Butler opts in or opts out.

On ESPN before the tip-off of the Christmas Day slate of games, Charania said the Suns and Warriors top Butler’s wish list.

Let’s break all this down:

• Because they currently live between the first and second aprons, the Heat cannot take back $1 more in a trade than they send out. Most teams Butler wants to go to (such as Phoenix) are in this same situation. This has to be an almost dollar-for-dollar trade, which is very difficult to construct. Plus, Miami is the current sixth seed in the East, has played better of late and is open to just playing this season out and then seeing what happens this summer with a potential sign-and-trade of Butler (because the teams he wants to go to don’t have the cap space to sign him then, either).

• While the Suns reportedly have a serious interest in Butler, the only way to make the trade work is to…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/report-jimmy-butler-prefers-trade-182115246.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-12-25 18:21:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.