Heat Urged To Pursue Blockbuster Trade For Unexpected All-Star By Moving Jimmy Butler

Anthony Pasciolla | Jan 1, 2025

Dec 8, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) smiles at the bench against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images / Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

If the Miami Heat decide to trade away veteran star Jimmy Butler, accepting the package with the most win-now value is likely.

Heat team president Pat Riley is not fond of the rebuilding strategy but would rather retool the roster around Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. One of the strongest available win-now pieces is New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram.

However, sports personality Bill Simmons suggests it may be in the Heat's best interest to take a risk on Ingram's teammate with much higher upside.

“If I'm Miami, [Zion Williamson] is the guy I'm really thinking about," Simmons said on his podcast. "And especially if this Butler thing keeps going sideways, it could be a three-way [trade] or whatever. Could we get Zion? Could we save this? Could we salvage this? Could we turn him into an awesome asset?”

The reason trading for Williamson is such a shot in the dark stems from his injury concerns. The 24-year-old is six seasons into his NBA career, yet appeared in 60 or more games just twice. His inability to stay healthy continued into this season, as he's played in six games thus far.

Still, when Williamson is able to stay on the floor, there's no downplaying his dominance. He averaged 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals on 57 percent shooting in 2024.

“Is there a world two years from now where we have Bam Adebayo and Zion Williamson and Tyler Herro, and that's like our version of a Big Three? Because Herro’s been fantastic this year," Simmons said. "He's just a really, really elite offensive player now.”

If the Heat are able to land a young former No. 1 pick to the mix by moving on from a 35-year-old, Riley and the rest of Miami's front office deserve a lot of credit.

---

MORE HEAT NEWS

Heat Boldly Predicted To Cut Ties With $120 Million Star In Favor Of De'Aaron Fox

Heat Part With Duncan Robinson In Proposed Blockbuster Trade For Multi-Time All-Star

Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or follow him on X @AnthonyPasci.