Pat Riley makes Jimmy Butler trade declaration after Heat distraction
The potential Jimmy Butler-Heat breakup will have to wait.Amid rumors that the veteran star could be traded, Heat president Pat Riley said Thursday the team will not be trading Butler.“We usually don’t comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches,” Riley said in a statement released by the franchise.“Therefore, we will make it clear – We are not trading Jimmy Butler.”Rumors had swirled recently about Butler being on the move amid an ESPN report that he wanted to leave the organization during his sixth season with the team.Ironically, the Miami Herald reported one of the reasons for Butler’s desire to potentially land with another team centered on the Heat not publicly shooting down the trade rumors.Well, Riley did exactly that Thursday.The Heat are content to let Butler play out the rest of the season and then, seemingly, re-evaluate where things stand.Butler has a $52.4 million play option for the 2025-26 season that he reportedly is set to decline, and the Miami Herald reported that the Heat’s unwillingness to extend him through the 2026-27 season.The 35-year-old reportedly wanted to land with a win-now team, per ESPN, with the Warriors, Rockets, Mavericks and Suns on his wish list.There were hurdles with several of those team, though.The Miami Herald reported that the Nets are the only team that could have signed Butler to a max contract this upcoming summer due to available cap space, but the Nets are not contenders yet.“The Heat is not at all concerned about the possibility of losing him for nothing in free agency, a source with direct knowledge said,” the Miami Herald reported Wednesday night.The Heat will now look to build around Butler and try to create a team that can compete with the Cavaliers, Celtics and Knicks in the Eastern Conference.Butler is averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists this season, and the Heat entered Thursday with a 14-13 rec...