Jimmy Butler Rumors: Heat Interested in Trade for Timberwolves Star
Add the Miami Heat to the list of potential suitors for disgruntled Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Jimmy Butler.
According to the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson, the Heat hold Butler in "very high regard." However, Jackson cautioned it's unclear if the Heat have the trade chips necessary to swing a deal.
The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski first reported Wednesday that Butler requested a trade following a meeting with head coach and team president Tom Thibodeau in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
"Over the last several weeks, Butler began to seriously contemplate his future with the team and a potential trade request, league sources said," Krawczynski wrote. "It was in that meeting that Butler expressed a desire to be traded, telling Thibodeau that he does not intend to sign a long-term extension with the Wolves next summer."
According to ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski, Butler's preferred destinations are the Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers. All three teams are projected to have the cap space necessary to offer him a five-year, $190 million max contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Noticeably absent from that group are the Heat.
But as we've seen over the past two offseasons, those lists don't carry all that much weight when a player is under contract. Just ask Kyrie Irving, who wound up in Boston, and Kawhi Leonard, who is now a member of the Toronto Raptors despite reported interest in a move to Los Angeles.
