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Jimmy Butler Rumors
ESPN insiders: Zion Williamson most likely star to request a trade
The next superstar to request a trade will be ...? 1. Zion Williamson: 10 votes 2. Giannis Antetokounmpo: 7 votes 3. LeBron James: 6 votes 4. Ja Morant: 1 vote 5. Trae Young: 1 vote There isn't a situation simmering this summer that seems as destined for midseason divorce as Jimmy Butler's strained marriage with the Miami Heat was last season. Williamson's stay in New Orleans might have been extended by the Pelicans' front office change, with Joe Dumars replacing David Griffin as the primary decision-maker. If Williamson can have a strong start to the season -- and avoid the injury bug that has plagued his career -- it's feasible that he could seek a fresh start instead of remaining with a New Orleans franchise that seems stuck in neutral. It has been radio silent since James, via his agent Rich Paul, attempted to rattle the Lakers' cages immediately after exercising his $52.6 million player option for this season. The all-time leading scorer and his camp understand just how complicated a trade involving him -- at his age, making that much money, with the contractual right to veto any deal -- would be.
Jimmy Butler's agent promised Heat that Butler would comport himself last season after not getting extension
A Heat source said Jimmy Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, promised Miami that Butler would comport himself well last season and would never complain about not getting a contract extension. That proved to be untrue, leaving the Heat without any bargaining position at the trade deadline
Not proactively trading Jimmy Butler before last season. A team source insists that there was no indication that Miami could have received more than one first-round pick — or a superior package — than what it ultimately obtained from the five-team trade (Andrew Wiggins, Anderson, Mitchell and a 2025 first-round pick). The teams that inquired about Butler last summer, when Miami wasn’t trying to trade him, never discussed offering multiple first-round picks.
Though the Knicks reportedly had interest, there was never a firm offer, the source said. And though the Warriors had interest last summer, the source said Golden State never presented a proposal that included multiple first-round picks. Could the Heat have snagged two first-round picks if it had actively shopped him last summer? It’s impossible to know.
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As one Western Conference source said, for all of Jimmy Butler’s greatness, he’s an acquired taste with a limited market. The Heat assuredly could have acquired a better package if Butler had been dealt after the Heat’s 2023 Finals run, but Miami never considered that and understandably so. The Heat perhaps could have acquired more if he had been traded before the 2024 trade deadline, but that’s speculative.
The Heat have been rebuilding around Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo ever since Jimmy Butler was traded to the Warriors. But the direction in which that rebuild has been going so far is not very impressive to many experts around the NBA world. The Heat recently traded Haywood Highsmith to the Nets for a 2026 second-round pick. This did not sit well with Draymond Green, who took a shot at 'Internet experts' who followed the Heat and felt that Highsmith should have started over Jimmy Butler during his final months with the Heat. "Y'all (internet experts) wanted Jimmy to come off the bench behind dude, and 5 months later the Heat traded him for a bag of chips, that's wild."
If it hadn’t been done already, Jimmy Butler and Buddy Hield’s frenemyship is being immortalized for good. On Monday, as is customary every year, the Warriors revealed the unique bobblehead giveaways to the first 10,000 fans entering Chase Center throughout the 2025 NBA preseason. And, of course, Butler and Hield’s “Best Buddies” bobblehead stands out, scheduled to be handed out on Oct. 17 when the Warriors host the Los Angeles Clippers.
Sam Amick: Steve Kerr is is somebody who uh has obviously at times been frustrated by the the limitations in Jonathan Kuminga’s game and and uh and it's it's pretty evident that the Warriors are willing to move on. The thing that they are trying to salvage here is that they really need that salary slot. You know, there's only so many ways for them to meaningfully add to this roster and try to continue the Steph-Draymond, now Jimmy Butler era and if Jonathan takes the qualifying offer then you're pretty limited when the February trade deadline comes around as far as like picking up real impact players. So, I mean, they're trying to thread the needle here and that's where it goes back to the staring contest.
Kuminga would be a significant part of the Warriors' rotation to open next season, and they'd need his supplementary scoring on nights when Steph Curry, 37, or Jimmy Butler, 35, rest. That's something head coach Steve Kerr has voiced to Kuminga in recent weeks. Kerr has been one of the leading voices trying to patch this together, sources said.
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Ira, do you see a team taking on Terry Rozier straight up, and if not do you see the Heat forced to add a sweetener? I hate for this team to start the season with the Terry noise going on. We had plenty last year with Jimmy Butler. – Jerry, Miami. A: Based on last season’s performance and the outside swirl regarding Terry Rozier, I can’t see any takers without a sweetener. And I can’t see the Heat adding a sweetener when they already sent out a first-round pick for Terry that is coming due in 2027 or ’28. If there is a Terry trade, it likely would be another team trying to move off future money in exchange for Terry’s expiring deal (meaning not Heat cap space next summer), or as his salary being packaged as part of a bigger deal.
DeMarcus Cousins: The Warriors are definitely one of the top organizations in the NBA
DeMarcus Cousins has played for several NBA teams throughout his career, but when it comes to how an organization treats its players, one team stands out. During a guest appearance on the Run It Back podcast, the former All-Star center shared high praise for the Golden State Warriors, calling them one of the best-run franchises in the league. “Being a guy that was a part of an organization, I can agree with Jimmy 100%,” Cousins said, referring to comments by Warriors forward Jimmy Butler. “It’s definitely one of the top organizations in the NBA. They treat their players well. They treat players’ families well.”
Q. Jeff Teague on this podcast said that before you had your 50, you went into the locker room and you said you were going to drop 50. Derrick Rose: That's a fact. I asked was he playing? I seen Jimmy Butler wasn't playing and I said it, bro. Q. What was going through your mind? What made you feed off the energy to say, ‘Man, I'm going for this sh*t there.’ Derrick Rose: Like I said, Jimmy wasn't playing and Jeff wasn't playing. That meant that's 20 something shots. I'm going off field goal attempts. That's 20 shots I could get up. If I do my thing and I make majority of this, I can keep shooting. And that's what happened.
Heat planning to keep Andrew Wiggins
With an NBA source confirming to the Sun Sentinel that the Heat’s plan at the moment is to move forward with Andrew Wiggins for training camp, Erik Spoelstra spoke of how the goal is getting Wiggins in a comfort zone. “I think there’s still real opportunity for growth with him as he gets comfortable with us,” Spoelstra said, with Wiggins acquired in the Feb. 6 deal at the NBA training deadline that sent Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors. “He’s already down in Miami right now and will be bringing his family in. He’s going to be here most of August and September, I think just to get more acclimated. And I think that’s really important for him.”
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