Sources: Butler indicates to Heat he wants trade

Six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler has indicated to the Miami Heat he wants the team to trade him, league sources told ESPN.

Butler does not plan to furnish the Heat with a list of favored destinations, sources told ESPN. He is open to playing anywhere other than Miami and feels he can make any team a contender — no matter where he is moved, sources said. He does plan to take part in all team activities and will plan to do whatever the Heat ask of him during this process, sources said.

Heat officials did not immediately return messages Thursday night.

Butler scored just nine points in the Heat’s 128-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night and then said after the game that he’d lost his joy playing in Miami.

“I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon,” Butler said. “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.”

When asked if he can get his joy back on the court with the Heat, Butler responded: “Probably not.”

An issue that led to Butler’s decision was an implication from team officials Thursday that he hadn’t played his hardest in the Heat’s victory Wednesday over the New Orleans Pelicans. Playing his first game in 13 days after being away with an illness, Butler took just five shots in 25 games and scored nine points in that game.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra did not play Butler in the fourth quarter of either game this week.

“I’m going out there to compete either way; whether I score nine points or 29 points I will compete,” Butler said Thursday night. “You won’t say I’m not out there playing hard. It may look like that because my usage is down and I don’t shoot the ball a lot but (you can’t say) I’m not playing hard.”

Butler taking this position regarding a trade sets up a possible showdown with team management, which has been adamant it does not plan to trade Butler. Last week, following an ESPN report on Christmas Day that Butler preferred a trade and had the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks atop his preferred destinations, Heat president Pat Riley issued a statement that said, in part: “We will make it clear — we are not trading Jimmy Butler.”

Before issuing the edict, the Heat had preliminary trade discussions with several teams regarding Butler but none had progressed, sources told ESPN. The Heat have shown no urgency in trade talks, sources added.

Riley and Heat owner Micky Arison have met with Butler’s representation in recent days attempting to resolve the divide between the parties without success, sources said.

The Butler-Heat relationship has been tense since last spring when Riley announced the team would not extend Butler’s contract before the 2024-25 season. Butler could have gotten an extension for as much as $113 million over two years.

Butler missed the Heat’s 4-1 first-round playoff series loss to the Boston Celtics last season with a knee injury he suffered in the team’s play-in tournament victory. After the loss, Butler gave an interview on social media in which he indicated the Heat would’ve won the series had he been healthy.

“If you’re not on the court playing, you should keep your mouth shut,” Riley said in response at his end-of-season media session.

Riley and Butler’s relationship has yet to recover, sources said.

Butler is in the final year of a contract paying him $49 million this season, and he has a player option for next season for $52 million. In 2021 with one guaranteed year left on his deal, Butler had extended his contract with the Heat in a similar situation.

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

Butler, 35, is averaging 18 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists while shooting a career-high 55.3% from the field this season. He is one of the NBA’s elite competitors and a perennial postseason performer. His teams have made the playoffs in 12 of his first 13 seasons, including the five previous seasons in Miami, where he has led the Heat to two NBA Finals berths and one additional Eastern Conference finals appearance.