Atlanta Hawks Named as A Potential Surprise Trade Destination for Jimmy Butler

If the Heat trade Jimmy Butler, would the Hawks want to try and be a surprise destination?

Apr 9, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) drives on Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (15) in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The 2024-2025 NBA season is inching closer and media days and training camps are starting to get underway around the league. The offseason has been at a standstill, with not many big moves being made since the early days of the summer and it will likely remain that way until the trade deadline or even next offseason. With that being said, there are some possibilities out there.

While it seems unlikely, the possibility of the Miami Heat trading Jimmy Butler is out there. He has a player option for next season and may or may not stay with the Heat for the long term. Our own Rohan Raman wrote earlier this offseason about a possible Butler trade:

"Butler's future has been quietly in question throughout this off-season as he angles for a long-term deal to stay in Miami. Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, he can sign for up to two years and $112.9 million on an extension with the Heat. However, Heat president Pat Riley did not commit to securing Butler for the foreseeable future. He had this to say in June after the Heat were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the first round:

“We have not discussed that [a Butler extension] internally right now. We have to look at making that kind of commitment and when do we do it. We don’t have to do it until 2025, actually. But we’ll see. We haven’t made a decision on it, and we haven’t really in earnest discussed it."

He also commented on Butler's availability, which has been a persistent question over the last few seasons. Butler will soon turn 35 years old and just missed the entirety of the playoffs with a knee injury. He has also never played in over 65 regular season games as a member of the Heat.

“That’s a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you have somebody who’s going to be there and available every single night. That’s the truth.”

If the Heat decide to move Butler, would the Hawks be a destination? They have not been mentioned much in those discussions, but Bleacher Report's Dan Favale listed the Hawks as a potential surprise destination for Butler:

"Jimmy Butler did not sign an extension with the Miami Heat over the offseason and has a 2025-26 player option. Maybe he picks it up. Perhaps he and the team will hash out their future together next summer.

Or maybe, just maybe, Miami's current window has run its course and the front office contemplates taking a bigger-picture approach.

Admirers will not be hard to find if Butler hits the rumor mill. All the usual suspects will be mentioned—namely the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers.

But how about the Atlanta Hawks?

Draft-pick compensation gets complicated since San Antonio controls their next three first-rounders. But that merely incentivizes the Hawks to go for it now. They can build a pretty competitive package thanks to the firsts they received for Dejounte Murray as well as the more distant first-rounders they have available.

Miami may insist on getting Zaccharie Risacher or Jalen Johnson. Atlanta should draw a line on them. Butler just turned 35 and is approaching the end of his contract. The Heat's leverage is limited. Scooping up a handful of digestible contracts, players like Onyeka Okongwu (who can be re-flipped since Miami has Bam Adebayo and Kel'el Ware), Dyson Daniels and Kobe Bufkin and multiple firsts is a viable return.

Whether Butler transforms Atlanta into a quasi-contender is a separate matter. The same goes for how his diabolical competitive streak meshes with Trae Young. But the two are no doubt a dynamite on-court fit.

Young has more off-ball chops than he's consistently shown, and Butler is someone to whom ceding partial offensive control makes sense. Between Risacher, Butler himself, Vit Krejčí and potentially Daniels, the Hawks would also have a line to some pretty intriguing defensive combinations around their floor general."

I actually think the Hawks make some sense as a destination for Butler if the price was right, but getting Butler at a low price is probably not going to happen. The Hawks are not a Butler trade away from being a Finals contender and giving what draft picks and young players they do have for a 35-year old player, even one as good as Butler is not a good move. If the price were to be right, the Hawks could be a surprise team.