Jimmy Butler is extension-eligible this offseason, and according to NBA reporter Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, Butler is expected to ask for a two-year extension worth around $113 million. It seems that the Heat have no intention of giving Butler such a figure. “Jimmy Butler will be traded,” The Ringer’s Howard Beck wrote. Rival executives have been talking about it for months, for all the obvious reasons. Butler is about to turn 35 (with a lot of hard miles and many injuries), with a year left on his contract with the Heat, and is reportedly looking for a two-year, $113 million extension. The Heat will have little to no flexibility to add another star.
Butler will make $48.8 million next season. He has a player option worth $52.4 million for the 2025-26 season. Such a figure, with the Heat already in the red in the luxury tax table, would be within the reach of the Sixers who want to add a Big Three winger to Embiid and Maxey for the decisive assault on the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Beck again: “Credit Butler for taking Miami to two finals in five seasons. But a team built around Butler and Bam Adebayo isn’t enough to challenge the Celtics, Bucks or Sixers in the East. Pat Riley is known to push his team away expensive players before they fall off a cliff. And Butler at this stage would be much more valuable as a second or third option on a contender than as a top dog in Miami. This seems like the right time for a turnaround.”
2024-06-21 21:10:17
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