Heat’s Jimmy Butler reportedly prefers trade out of Miami before NBA trade deadline

Jimmy Butler is ready for a change of scenery.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Miami Heat star “prefers” a trade out of town by the Feb. 6 trade deadline. However, he reportedly hasn’t formally asked the Heat for a trade.

Butler, 35, is in his 14th year in the NBA. He’s been with the Heat since 2019. Miami is reportedly open to listening to offers for Butler, who wants a trade to a “win-now contender” above all. The teams Butler is open to reportedly include the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, and Houston Rockets.

The Heat have been to the playoffs in five of Butler’s six full season in Miami. He hoped the Heat could be his chance to win the NBA Finals and get his long-awaited championship ring, and they got close several times. The Heat made it to the finals in 2020, Butler’s first season in Miami, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 in the COVID-19 bubble finals. Three years later the Heat were back in the finals, but lost 4-1 to the Denver Nuggets.

The 2023-2024 season was the first time the Heat weren’t in the playoffs since Butler joined the team, and while the Heat aren’t in the basement so far during the 2024-2025 season, they are struggling to keep their head above water. They’re sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 14-13 record, above the play-in line, but there are still quite a few games left to play. The two teams immediately behind the Heat both have .500 records and could overtake them very easily.