Jimmy a key player for the Miami Heat, may be compromising on his desire to finish out his current contract before agreeing to a new one.
Butler “wants to be in Miami” and hopes to sign a new contract with the Heat, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on the most recent episode of The Hoop Collective podcast (which begins at the 21:00 mark).
“A few things on the Heat,” Windhorst remarked. “Jammy Butler wants to be in Miami, as far as I’m aware. His objective is to sign a new deal with the Heat. I believe his deal includes a player option as well. Which, he most likely intends to waive in order to become a free agent, in my opinion. However, he continues to publish that.”
“Maybe Jimmy follows through on what he says, like, ‘Hey, contract year, this is a prove-it type of year for me,’ and he’s all business,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said, offering further insight. When he’s on the floor, nobody doubts his ability to play the game and influence the outcome. However, Jimmy Butler is at least somewhat being considered if you ask around the league, “Who’s the next big-name or star-caliber player who gets traded?”
Following the Heat’s early-season playoff loss to the Boston Celtics in the first round, there appeared to be a rift between Butler and the squad.
Due to a knee injury, Butler missed the series; however, he told Rock the Bells that the Celtics “would be at home” if he had been well.During his season-ending press conference, Heat president Pat Riley bluntly responded to that remark, saying, “If you’re not on the court playing, you should keep your mouth shut.”
Shams Charania of The Athletic said that Butler will not sign an extension with the Heat or any other team until he opts out after the 2024–25 season, in response to trade rumors that surfaced during the summer.Butler has a $52.4 million player option for 2025–2026 and is owed $48.8 million this season. He can now choose to sign a $58.6 million, one-year deal that would maintain his 2025–2026 option as is or a two-year, $112.9 million extension that would negate the option for 2025–2026, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN.
According to Spotrac, the Heat are now $1.2 million under the second advanced contract for this season and $12.1 million under the second advanced contract for 2025–2026 after accounting for Butler’s option.
Butler is still a fantastic player, but the Heat may be hesitant to give him a full max contract due to his age and durability issues. He has missed 100 games in his first five seasons in Miami, and he just turned 35 on September 14.
In 60 starts during the previous season, Butler averaged 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. After defeating the Chicago Bulls, the Heat finished 46-36 and secured the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs in the game of the play-in tournament.
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