Former NBA Forward Suggests Pat Riley Should Send Jimmy Butler to 'Petty' Location

The superstar swingman has been agitating to be moved all year.

Jan 2, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) defends Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Six-time All-Star Miami Heat small forward Jimmy Butler has continued to demand to be traded away from the team this season, report Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

Butler has enjoyed five-and-a-half very productive seasons in Miami so far. During his first four years with the club, the 6-foot-7 Marquette product brought Miami to three Eastern Conference Finals, including two NBA Finals runs.

"I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we'll find out here pretty soon," Butler said following a blowout 128-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, in which he scored just nine points and was held out of the fourth quarter. "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."

The 35-year-old was subsequently asked if he could recapture that "joy" with the Heat — the team with whom he has enjoyed, by far, the most postseason success.

"Probably not," Butler declared.

Heat team president Pat Riley issued a statement late last month that the team did not intend to trade Butler this season. Butler has a $52.4 million player option for 2025-26, and had been angling to negotiate a contract extension with the Heat this past summer to no avail. If Butler is ultimately retained at the trade deadline, it seems likely that he will decline the option and explore unrestricted free agency.

"I'm going out there to compete either way; whether I score nine points or 29 points I will compete," Butler said. "You won't say I'm not out there playing hard. It may look like that because my usage is down and I don't shoot the ball a lot but (you can't say) I'm not playing hard."

Former NBA forward Chandler Parsons was selected in the same draft as Butler circa 2011, but has been out of the league since 2020. He's now a talking head for FanDuel TV's "Run It Back," and he had a wild take on where Riley should trade Butler: the 5-29 New Orleans Pelicans, who possess the worst record in the Western Conference.

"If I'm Pat Riley, I might just send Jimmy Butler here." 👀@ChandlerParsons thinks Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum should all be traded by the New Orleans Pelicans

📺 https://t.co/GmiBzcUOku pic.twitter.com/62soIj3XRj

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 3, 2025

"This group, I feel like, it's coming to an end. I would trade Brandon Ingram, I would trade Zion [Williamson], I would trade CJ [McCollum] and start over," Parsons said. "If I'm Pat Riley, I might just send Jimmy Butler here."

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