Inside The Heat

Miami Heat Fans Rip NBA Insider For Jimmy Butler Tweet

Jake Elman

Dec 7, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) shoots the ball against Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Dec 7, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) shoots the ball against Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania spent his Christmas morning landing on Miami Heat fans’ naughty list.

Charania reported Wednesday that Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler “prefers” a trade. Earlier this month, Charania said the Heat are “open” to trading Butler; he previously linked the All-Star to the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and Phoenix Suns.

A large portion of the Heat fanbase subsequently ripped Charania on X (formerly Twitter) for his initial post and subsequent reporting. Charania’s tweet, which had 1.7 million views at publication, said Butler “prefers a trade out of Miami.” However, the story Charania wrote and linked mentioned Butler has not requested a trade.

“What Shams is trying to do with this Jimmy Butler story is SERIAL clickbait,” one X user wrote. 

“Officially done with Shams rumors,” @HeatForum added. “ESPN just needs to sell more stories. Clicks are down? Time for a Jimmy Butler nonstory.”

Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, questioned Charania’s integrity earlier this month. Some X accounts defended Charania on Wednesday, insisting his reporting was right all along. 

The key word there is “some.” One user called Charania “shameless” and suggested ESPN bring back longtime NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, who left the earlier network this year.

“Shams is so down bad for ESPN,” @WeeklyAudible posted. 

Charania defended his reporting during an NBA Countdown segment, adding the situation has “unraveled” over the last several months.

“Over the last three years, Jimmy Butler has wanted the Heat to go get him some help in that roster,” Charania said. “They just have not been able to land players; they’ve gone after Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving … The writing, in a lot of ways, is on the wall for the Heat and for Jimmy Butler.”

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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.

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Jake Elman
JAKE ELMAN

Jake Elman is a veteran sports journalist and graduate of Florida Atlantic University’s journalism program. In recent years, he has covered the NFL for EndGame360 and served as the sports content lead for ExpressVPN. He also covered the Lane Kiffin years at FAU for the Palm Beach Post.