Miami Heat president Pat Riley said the franchise has no plans to trade Jimmy Butler despite a reported trade request.
"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. Therefore, we will make it clear - We are not trading Jimmy Butler," Riley said in a statement shard on behalf of the Heat Thursday (December 26).
ESPN insider Shams Charania reported that Butler, 35, preferred a trade out of Miami prior to the NBA's February 6 deadline and was open to be dealt to the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks or Houston Rockets, citing league sources with knowledge of the situation on Wednesday (December 25).
Butler was reportedly away from the team when the Heat traveled to Orlando Wednesday night ahead of Thursday's (December 26) game against the Orlando Magic. The six-time All-Star reportedly twisted an ankle during Miami's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder last Friday (December 20) and has missed the last two games, a prior road loss to the Magic on Saturday (December 21) and a home win against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday (December 23), but was ruled out due to an illness, not his ankle injury.
"You have to compartmentalize in this business," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday during the team's morning shootaround via ESPN. "We want Jimmy here. There's no ifs, ands or buts about it. And it's just unfortunate that you have to control or deal with a lot of the noise on the outside."
Butler is making $49 million on his current deal with the Heat for the 2024-25 NBA season and has a $52 million player option, which he reportedly intends to decline, according to Charania, during the upcoming offseason after failing to agree to an extension last summer. Miami is currently sixth in the Eastern Conference standings with a 14-13 record through its first 27 games.