Disgruntled guard Jimmy Butler has made his trade request to the Miami Heat official, multiple media outlets reported.
The trade deadline is Feb. 6.
The Athletic reported Friday that Butler doesn’t intend to give the Heat a list of desired teams, just wanting out of Miami.
Butler and the Heat could be headed for a stalemate, however. As rumors swirled that Butler wanted a trade, team president Pat Riley issued a statement Dec. 26 stating he had no intention of shipping the six-time All-Star out of town.
“We usually don’t comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches,” Riley said. “Therefore, we will make it clear — We are not trading Jimmy Butler.”
Butler told reporters after Miami’s 128-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday that basketball isn’t fun for him anymore.
“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.”
Could Butler, 35, find that on-court happiness again in Miami?
“Probably not,” he said.
ESPN reported that Butler asked for the trade after team officials implied he hadn’t given an all-out effort on Wednesday in a 119-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans — his first game since Dec. 20 due to an illness. He scored nine points in 25 minutes, similar to his game against the Pacers (nine points, 27 minutes).
In his sixth season with the Heat, Butler is averaging 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 22 games.
The Heat are his fourth team, following stays with the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers. He was the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022-23 when the Heat beat the Boston Celtics in seven games.
In 836 career games (731 starts), Butler has averages of 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
–Field Level Media
