Immediately After Saying He Wants To Play "Anywhere But Miami", Jimmy Butler Is Reportedly Already Telling Certain Teams Not To Trade For Him

Vaughn Ridley. Getty Images.

What, you thought we were at the end of the Jimmy Butler drama after he officially told Pat Riley that he wants out? Oh sweet child, you couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, we're just getting started. Now that the floodgates are open, the drama and speculation has shifted from "will Jimmy ask out?" to "where is he going"? The one thing we know is he's most likely not going to be on the Heat a month from now once the trade deadline hits (Feb 6th), and as I blogged yesterday in regards to Bradley Beal and the Suns, there are only so many destinations that can pull off a trade like this given the salaries.

The good news is when Butler told us he wanted to be traded, he said he was down to go "anywhere but Miami". Well just a few days later….whoops!

It's no secret that Haynes mentions Memphis here. They are one of the few teams that have the salaries available to make a move like this, and are a good potential fit for Butler's skillset. Given they're a contending team in the West, why wouldn't Butler want to go there? Did he not just say he'd be OK with playing literally anywhere else other than MIA, but one of the best teams in the West shouldn't trade for him because he's not going to re-sign there? Interesting

Add this to more info coming from Shams/Windy on ESPN, it more feels like what BUtler really meant to say was "Get me to PHX"

You have to admit, Shams is looking pretty good with his whole Suns reporting back when this whole ordeal first started. 

The funny part about all of this is exactly what Windy said. The Heat are getting poo-poo platter offers for Butler. Oh well! You'll remember that back when the Dame trade drama was unfolding, all we heard from Heat media (their front office) and Heat fans was that the Blazers needed to simply do what Dame wanted (trade to MIA) and not care about the trade package. That given everything he's done for them, they owed it to him.

By that logic, who cares what the offer for Butler is? If the Grizzlies are offering a better package that Pat Riley likes, but Butler wants to go to PHX who can't offer as good of a package, then the Heat should do right by Jimmy and send him to the Suns. I wonder if Heat fans now understand how insane they sounded last summer with that whole thing. 

It's also not a surprise why Butler is probably so adamant about the Suns. He knows their owner will probably be the one guy who will pay him a big time extension given how reckless he's been throwing money around/making trades. All that guy wants to do is win by any means necessary, and that's the exact owner that gets caught up in the big name of Jimmy Butler and gives him that type of money on the open market. Meanwhile, a team like MEM is run very differently. They look for value contracts as a small market, especially with an aging player. 

What I want to know is who are the "other" teams that Haynes was mentioning. There are only so many teams in the NBA that can make the money work AND have a need for Butler, so why not just give us the list? Shams would. 

This is also the reality of trades in the NBA. It's all about leverage. Right now, the Heat don't really have all that much. When the rest of the league knows your situation, you're going to get 60 cents on the dollar if you're lucky. Nobody is overpaying for an aging Butler who can walk for nothing after this season. That would be idiotic.

So as much as he may not like it, Pat Riley is ultimately going to have to bend the knee here. Where that sends Butler is anyone's guess, but my money is on the Suns in some sort of 3 team deal.