Trades featuring NBA stars rarely come out of the blue. There is often a long process that leads up to one -- whether it unfolds publicly or privately.
Last spring, Miami Heat president Pat Riley indicated that the team would wait until summer 2025 to address extending star Jimmy Butler's contract. That meant no extension before this season. In return, Butler made it known that his intention was to bypass his player option for the 2025-26 campaign.
So, here we have a star player with no contract in place after the current season, with both the team and the player passing on chances to extend.
This is a recipe for a divorce and often these situations turn ugly. This one has, with Butler finally crossing the Rubicon and asking for a trade on Jan. 2 after weeks of saber rattling. Miami suspended Butler for seven games less than 24 hours later -- citing "multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team" -- and the franchise announced it would listen to trade offers for the 35-year-old forward.
Butler then told Riley that he will not sign a new deal in Miami and intends to only use his $52 million player option for 2025-26 as a trade maneuver, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania on Jan. 14.
Butler returned for three games and then received a second suspension on Jan. 22 after he missed a team flight to Milwaukee. After sitting out two more games, the team indefinitely suspended Butler on Monday when the disgruntled star walked out of morning practice. The Heat had told Butler he'd come off the bench moving forward but now he'll be suspended for no fewer than five games -- which goes through the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
He is still a major talent with a long history of playoff success. There are teams that would dearly want him. But the Heat are not known for compromising or giving in to stars.
While there are a few other players at an All-Star level who could find themselves available on the trade market -- including Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine -- Butler has the most star power. If a team needs a difference-maker, Butler has to be on its list. And that is why he appears to be the centerpiece of trade season. -- Brian Windhorst
Jump to a section:
Where Butler and Miami stand right now
Deals, including to Phoenix in a 5-team trade
Four wild-card teams with trade paths
Where do Butler and Miami stand right now?
Butler has a $48.8 million salary this season and a $52.4 million player option next year. If Butler were traded, he would be eligible to sign a two-year $111 million extension with his new team.
Free agency could present a challenge for Butler
Butler, 35, does not fit the roster timeline of the Brooklyn Nets, the only team that projects to have more than $40 million in cap space.
Butler could opt in to his contract in the offseason and ask to be traded, but that would require cooperation from the Heat.
There is also still the chance of Butler declining his option and Miami signing and then trading him to a team that does not have room. This scenario is how Butler was traded from Philadelphia to Miami in the 2019 offseason. But that was under the 2017 collective bargaining agreement when roster building was less restrictive.
One scenario that should not be overlooked is what the LA Clippers did this past summer.
Instead of trading Paul George for contracts that would tie up their flexibility, the Clippers let George walk for nothing.
The Clippers were able to use the George savings and sign James Harden, Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn, Nicolas Batum, Kevin Porter Jr. and Mo Bamba. They also signed Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac to contract extensions. The Heat would be nearly $50 million below the luxury tax line if Butler opts out of his contract and signs elsewhere.
Butler's trade market is even more complicated
Last month, sources told Charania that Butler's list of preferred trade destinations included the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors. Three of those four teams -- Phoenix, Dallas and Golden State -- would need to trade a quarter of their roster. The Suns meanwhile, would need to have Bradley Beal waive his no trade clause. Sources told ESPN that the Heat have no desire to take back the $111 million owed to Beal and that Phoenix would need to find a third team to get involved to make a deal work. The Warriors and Mavericks would also likely need to find a third or fourth team to reroute some of the contracts sent out. The Heat also are not allowed to take back more salary, because they are an apron team.
On the court, can Miami trade Butler and remain competitive in the Eastern Conference without sacrificing future financial flexibility? Butler had been on pace to play his most games since 2018-19 and is shooting a career-high 55.7% from the field. -- Bobby Marks
Four teams with an uphill climb in acquiring Butler
Jimmy Butler questions whether he can rediscover the joy he once got from playing basketball with the Heat.
Phoenix Suns
The Jan. 21 trade with Utah gives Phoenix optionality in first-round picks available to use in a Butler trade.
Instead of the lone 2031 first that was available, Phoenix is allowed to trade the least favorable firsts in 2025 (Cleveland or Minnesota), 2027 (Cleveland, Minnesota, Utah) and 2029 (Cleveland, Minnesota if in the Nos. 6 to 30 range, Utah).
There are several roadblocks that remain for Butler to land in Phoenix.
The Suns are over the second apron and are not allowed to aggregate the contracts of Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic in a Butler trade. Because of this restriction, the only contract that matches is that of Bradley Beal (the Suns are not trading Kevin Durant or Devin Booker).
The Suns trading for Butler comes down to two things:
Beal would need to waive his no-trade clause, and;
Miami would need to take back the $111 million owed to Beal after this season or find a third team willing to take on Beal. (Because Miami has not shown a desire to trade for Beal, a third team would be needed.)
One trade that works
Suns get: Jimmy Butler, Delon Wright
Heat get: Ryan Dunn, Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis, 2029 less favorable first-round pick of Cleveland, Minnesota if No. 6 to No. 30 and Utah, 2031 swap rights with Milwaukee (if No. 8 to No. 30)
Bulls get: Bradley Beal, 2027 less favorable first (Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah)
Bucks get: Zach LaVine
Wizards get: MarJon Beauchamp, 2031 second (from Milwaukee)
In this five-team megadeal, the Suns finally get Butler but at a significant cost. Besides the two first-round picks sent, prized rookie Ryan Dunn is included in the trade. Phoenix is allowed to include Dunn because his salary is not aggregated with Beal's. The addition of Dunn, a first-rounder in 2029 and the right to swap firsts with Milwaukee in 2031 is the best available trade package considering the circumstances. Middleton and Portis each have player options in 2025-26. -- Marks
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks have been aggressive during the regular season, trading for Kyrie Irving, PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford in consecutive trade deadlines.
Trading for Butler, however, would present GM Nico Harrison with his biggest challenge.
Because Dallas overhauled their roster once again, adding Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes in the offseason, they are not allowed to take back more than $526K of salary in a trade than what is sent out.
The Mavericks do have five players earning between $8.6 million and $15.5 million, but because of the size of Butler's salary and the apron restriction, Dallas would need to send out a minimum of three players. -- Marks
One trade that works
Mavericks get: Jimmy Butler
Heat get: Brandon Ingram, Naji Marshall, Daniel Theis
Pelicans get: Daniel Gafford, Dwight Powell, Klay Thompson
Pistons get: Maxi Kleber, 2025 DAL 1 (top-14 protected)
This is the most complicated trade, requiring four teams to allow the three with tax or apron concerns to avoid adding salary. The upshot here is Dallas turning role players into Butler, Miami getting back Ingram as a younger -- and possibly cheaper -- replacement, and New Orleans saving money and rebalancing its rotation with a starting center and one of the great shooters in NBA history. Detroit uses its cap space to take on Kleber's contract, which runs through 2025-26. -- Kevin Pelton
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are in a similar position to Dallas. Golden State added Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and De'Anthony Melton in the offseason, thus triggering the first apron hard cap. (Melton was then sent to Brooklyn for Dennis Schroder.) Because of the restriction, Golden State is not allowed to take back more than $330K in salary sent.
The Warriors do have the contracts to make a Butler trade and still remain below the hard cap. Including Andrew Wiggins' $26.3 million salary, Golden State has seven players earning between $5.8 million to $13 million. Four of those players -- Schroder, Gary Payton II, Kevon Looney and Jonathan Kuminga -- are on expiring contracts. To take back the Butler salary, the Warriors would need to send out at least four players and remain under the first apron after their roster is filled out. -- Marks
One trade that works
Warriors get: Jimmy Butler
Heat get: Kyle Anderson, Gary Payton II, Andrew Wiggins, 2025 Warriors first-round pick (top-four protected), 2028 Warriors first-round pick
Pistons get: Kevon Looney, 2026 Lakers second-round pick (via Heat)
Golden State can choose from a variety of trade options, including moving Jonathan Kuminga and newly extended Moses Moody. The Warriors could also choose to deal the recently acquired Schroder, so long as a deal is completed at the trade deadline or the day before. From a financial standpoint, Miami probably would be best off prioritizing shorter contracts around Wiggins as a Butler replacement. That means most of the value to the Heat here is in two first-round picks, though they have to give up a second-rounder to shed Looney's salary and make this trade legal. -- Pelton
Houston Rockets
Houston best checks the boxes of financial flexibility, tradable contracts and draft assets of Butler's preferred teams. Rockets GM Rafael Stone, however, said he anticipates no changes to the roster.
"We definitely want this group to be as good as it can be this year and then we'll evaluate things at the end of the year," Stone told SiriusXM radio last month. "But the hope is very much that this core group can lead us to where we want to go and that -- from a transactional perspective -- we're largely done." But what happens if Stone can acquire Butler without giving up any young players? -- Marks
One trade that works
Rockets get: Jimmy Butler
Heat get: Steven Adams, Dillon Brooks, Jeff Green, 2027 first-round pick (worse of Brooklyn and Houston), 2029 first-round pick (second-best of Dallas, Houston and Phoenix)
In terms of money, this is the cleanest fit for Miami, which would cut its salary about $6 million this season and even more in 2025-26, when Adams and Green are both free agents. That leaves the Heat with Brooks as a defensive-minded replacement for Butler, plus the two extra first-round picks. Houston would upgrade from Brooks to Butler without giving up any other core players, albeit at the expense of future flexibility. -- Pelton
Four wild-card teams with realistic paths to a Butler trade
The Grizzlies were linked to Dorian Finney-Smith before talks fell through with Brooklyn over a disagreement on draft compensation. The aggressiveness in the failed trade showed a commitment by Memphis to strengthen its already top-three record in the West. Memphis has a pathway to acquire Butler without giving up Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane and still remain under the first apron.
The Grizzlies have four contracts -- Marcus Smart, Brandon Clarke, Luke Kennard and John Konchar -- that match up to the $48.8 million owed to Butler. Memphis also has its own first-round pick in the next seven years.
This big question is whether Memphis is comfortable extending Butler or signing him to a new contract in the summer. The Grizzlies have $100 million committed to Morant, Bane and Jackson next season. (Jackson is a free agent in 2026.)
One trade that works:
Grizzlies get: Jimmy Butler
Heat get: Marcus Smart, Brandon Clarke, John Konchar, 2025 first (top-15 protected)
Wizards get: Luke Kennard and 2027 second (via Atlanta)
Pistons get: Josh Richardson and cash
A trade would give Miami three rotational players in Smart, Clarke and Konchar and allow the Heat to remain competitive in the East. Because Kennard is rerouted to Detroit in this deal, the Heat would drop below the first apron this season and $152,000 below the luxury tax. As for next year, the Heat would be $8 million below the luxury tax with 14 players under contract. -- Marks
The Bucks have been aggressive in maximizing the Giannis Antetokounmpo championship window.
Since Jon Horst was promoted to GM in June 2017, Milwaukee has made 28 trades. He has acquired Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, Nikola Mirotic, Jrue Holiday, PJ Tucker, Grayson Allen, Serge Ibaka, Jae Crowder, Damian Lillard and Patrick Beverley. The trades cost Milwaukee seven first-round picks, three years of pick swaps and 18 second-rounders. The trades, especially the one to acquire Holiday and Tucker, played a pivotal part in Milwaukee winning its first NBA title since 1971.
Trading for Butler would be Horst's biggest challenge. Not only is Milwaukee $6.5 million over the second apron but it has just two draft picks available to trade: its 2031 first- and second-rounders. (However, the second apron rules state that a team is allowed to aggregate contracts if the post-transactional salary is below the threshold.)
For the Bucks to accomplish this, they would need to send Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis to Miami, then find a third team to take back Pat Connaughton. That would leave Milwaukee $700,000 below the second apron.
One trade that works:
Bucks get: Jimmy Butler
Heat get: Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis, 2031 first-round pick (top-10 protected)
Pistons get: Pat Connaughton, 2031 second-round pick, cash
While this trade would benefit Milwaukee, what incentive would Miami and Detroit have?
Middleton, who will likely opt in to his $34 million player option for next season, underwent arthroscopic surgery on both ankles in the offseason and missed the first 25 games. He is on pace to play fewer than 55 games for a third straight season. Portis, meanwhile, can be a free agent next summer if he declines his $13.4 million player option.
For the Pistons, a second-round pick to take back the $9.4 million owed to Connaughton next season is a negative. -- Marks
Denver getting involved in trading for Butler comes down to how much it values 26-year old wing Michael Porter Jr.
Because the Nuggets cannot trade Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray (both signed extensions in the offseason), Porter's $35.9 million salary is their biggest trade chip. The lone draft asset Denver has is a pick swap in 2031.
Porter has two years remaining ($38.3 and $40.8 million) after this season and is averaging 18.9 points, second highest on the team behind Nikola Jokic.
The Nuggets are $5.1 million below the second apron and are not allowed to take back more money in a trade. They are allowed to aggregate contracts if they remain below the threshold. -- Marks
One trade that works
Nuggets get: Jimmy Butler
Heat get: Zeke Nnaji, Michael Porter Jr., 2026 first-round swap, 2031 first-round swap
Pistons get: Dario Saric
Note: The Nuggets can swap their 2026 first, but only if their 2025 first to Denver is conveyed this year.
Denver has no tradable draft picks and could only offer Miami swaps to go from Butler to Porter and take on the contract of Nnaji, who has played just 79 total minutes this season and is signed through 2027-28. That sounds like a hard sell to the Heat. -- Pelton
The Spurs are competing for a spot in the play-in, and trading for Butler accelerates the timeline around Victor Wembanyama. It could also stunt the development of the third-youngest roster in the NBA.
San Antonio has the contracts, draft picks and is well positioned financially to take back Butler in a trade. Because it is well below the apron, San Antonio would only need to send out $40 million in contracts. Not including Wembanyama, the Spurs have seven players earning between $9 million and $30 million.
Over the next seven years, the Spurs have 12 first-rounders and 19 second-rounders available to trade. -- Marks
One trade that works
Spurs get: Jimmy Butler
Heat get: Harrison Barnes, Malaki Branham, Keldon Johnson, 2025 first-round pick (worst of Atlanta, Charlotte top-14 protected, Chicago top-10 protected and San Antonio)
Since Miami likely would not be interested in taking back Zach Collins' contract, San Antonio probably would have to include both Barnes and Johnson in any Butler trade offer. It's possible both could start at forward for the Heat, and Johnson (age 25) could be a long-term contributor in Miami. The Spurs probably don't need to include multiple first-round picks because the one they're sending is likely to be in the teens in June's draft. -- Pelton