Sources: Heat’s Jimmy Butler prefers trade away from Miami

Six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler prefers a trade away 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 contender in any deal. Butler has not formally requested a trade, sources said, but is believed to be ready for departure.

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

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

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 shown no urgency in the 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 see if Butler opts in or out. However, to reach a new home via trade, Butler needs the Heat’s help, a balancing test in how the franchise handles fulfilling its cornerstone of the last half-decade.

The Heat signed Adebayo to a three-year, $166 million max extension last offseason but decided not to move forward with 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 perennial playoff player. 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 an additional Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

After Miami beat 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 run to the championship in 2024. The Heat’s efforts to add star power around Butler and Adebayo have failed, including losing to other teams of Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in recent years.