ESPN NBA Insider Shares Most Shocking Part of Jimmy Butler Trade Saga

Jake Elman | Jan 6, 2025

Nov 26, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) reacts with the basketball against the Milwaukee Bucks during the third quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Considering his history of ugly departures from previous stops, the overall Jimmy Butler trade saga shouldn’t be too shocking.

That doesn’t mean ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst hasn’t been surprised by parts of the process.

On the Jan. 6 episode of ESPN’s Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast, Windhorst explained how the Heat are “maybe the most measured franchise” he’s spent time around. In other words, the Heat are methodical and “take care of their business” without letting drama overtake the team.

Now?

“They’ve been a little wild,” Windhorst said. 

Windhorst cited the Heat’s “passive-aggressive fight” with Butler and how the roles are reversed. He argued Butler, who offered vague replies and “no comments” when asked about trade rumors in recent weeks, has been the passive party.

Meanwhile, Windhorst feels the Heat, who suspended the All-Star forward for seven games last week, are responding aggressively. 

“When I expected this to go down when they didn’t extend Jimmy and they didn’t get off to like a 15-3 start and it was pretty clear to me that Jimmy was gonna cause problems, I would’ve expected the opposite,” Windhorst explained. 

Windhorst added Heat president Pat Riley made two contradictory public statements. Riley declared Dec. 26 the Heat wouldn’t trade Butler, a day after NBA insider Shams Charania reported the veteran prefers a trade.

Riley and the Heat then proclaimed Friday evening the team will listen to trade offers for Butler, who hits unrestricted free agency next summer.

“The second [statement] was basically, ‘Who the hell wants this guy?’” Windhorst’s co-host, Tim Bontemps, replied. 

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Jake Elman works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jakeelman97@gmail.com or follow him on X @JakeElman97.