NBA Insider Says Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler Faces ‘Nonexistent’ Free Agent Market

Jake Elman | 1 Hour Ago

Dec 7, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) is introduced during pregame ceremonies before a game against the Phoenix Suns at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler is already an attractive name on the trade market. 

Butler better enjoy the attention now. He may not be as popular in July. 

ESPN NBA insider Bobby Marks said he believes Butler’s future in Miami is the “most interesting” of players who could be dealt ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline. Butler hits unrestricted free agency next summer and is expected to decline his $52.4 million player option. 

If Butler wants to keep cashing in, he may want to stick with Miami. Butler can opt out of his contract and sign a two-year, $113 million extension. 

Marks doesn’t sound too optimistic about the alternative, writing Butler’s free agency market could be “close to nonexistent.”

“Out of the teams with projected cap space, only the rebuilding Nets have more than $40 million,” Marks pointed out. “Butler could opt in to his contract in the offseason and ask to be traded, but that would require cooperation from the Heat.”

ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania linked the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and Phoenix Suns to Butler last week. Butler grew up in Houston and still has Texas ties. 

The New York Post reported last week Butler had “shown interest” in joining the Nets in the past. However, the Nets recently traded veteran point guard Dennis Schröder and are expected to deal other veterans in the coming weeks. 

It’s interesting—but unsurprising—to think about the potential contrasts in Butler’s NBA future. There has been so much talk about a possible trade over the last week that it’s become easy to forget that some of the teams linked to him, like the Mavericks and Warriors, would need to trade several rotation players just to make the salaries work. 

Butler is the trendy trade target now. Would his market really be that dead next summer? Butler remains a valuable scorer at 35, even if he’s no longer the Heat’s No. 1 option. 

Money makes the world go round. Money may also be what keeps Butler in Miami—and if it nets him another $100 million in the process, he may just decide to stick it out for the long haul.

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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.