NBA Teams Warned Not To Trade For Jimmy Butler, per Report

01/07/2025 02:30 PM

The Jimmy Butler-Miami Heat saga has been pretty wild to watch unfold.

Once the heart of the franchise and the embodiment of "Heat Culture," the six-time All-Star has seemingly quit on the team and has since been suspended by the organization for his conduct over the past several weeks.

Butler has made it no secret that he wants out of Miami and admitted that it would probably be impossible to find his joy again while wearing a Heat uniform.

"I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we'll find out here pretty soon," he told reporters. "I'm happy here off the court, but I want to be back to somewhat dominant, I want to hoop and I want to help this team win, and right now I'm not doing it."

Now, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes, teams around the league are being warned not to trade for the veteran swingman.

"League sources just relayed to me that the Memphis Grizzlies, along with a few other teams, have received word that Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler has no interest in being traded there," Haynes reported. "So the message is being delivered that a trade should not be attempted to acquire the All-Star forward."

"What makes this situation a little bit tricky is Jimmy Butler can become an unrestricted free agent this summer," he added. "So usually of a player of that caliber, teams like to have some assurance that he's willing to sign long-term or a multi-year deal. So Jimmy, in that regard, does have some leverage in this case."

Butler's next chance to return to the court will be Jan. 17. However, there's no guarantee that he'll be a part of the Heat's roster once his suspension is over.

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