Jimmy Butler could seek "beyond Jaylen Brown's record of $304,000,000" deal for next contract extension
Jaylen Brown secured the richest deal in NBA history a few days ago, but Jimmy Butler could be among the superstars that will sign even more lucrative contracts in the future.
According to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, Jimmy Butler will seek a new deal with the Miami Heat that goes beyond the five-year, $304 million deal Brown signed with the Boston Celtics last week.
In 2021, the Heat signed a three-year $146,396,031 contract extension with Jimmy Butler. Butler had two years left on his current contract; thus, the extension would start from the 2023-24 season.
Next year, Butler will earn a base salary of $45,183,960 and $48,798,677 in 2024-25. There is also a player option for 2025-26 for $52,413,394.
Miami will certainly aim to keep Jimmy Butler long-term, but this will come with a cost for the franchise, which is expected to offer him a supermax deal. And with the salary cap set to increase, we should expect a deal way up of the $304 million agreement between Jaylen Brown and the Celtics.
Jimmy Butler could seek ‘beyond Jaylen Brown money’ on his next extension, per @IraHeatBeat pic.twitter.com/tggXHRJ96y
Jimmy Butler picks Heat to win 2024 title as Miami pursues Damian Lillard
Jimmy Butler has helped the Miami Heat maintain a title-contending status since he joined the team back in 2019. He has guided Miami to two NBA Finals since joining, but the team has lost both times.
The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals in six games. Miami lost to the Denver Nuggets in five games in the 2023 NBA Finals.
However, Jimmy Butler, who averaged 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists last season, has not lost his confidence and picked his team to emerge victorious in the 2023/24 season.
“It was a great season as a whole but we came up short,” Butler said (via Mike Chan of SCMP). “We’ll go back to the drawing board and I am going to pick the Heat to win the championship in 2024.”
To do so, the Heat will need to bolster their roster and become even stronger heading into the new season. Hence, they have targeted Damian Lillard aiming to create a Big Three with Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Both stars are on board with the idea of Lillard joining the franchise. But, talks between the Heat and the Portland Trail Blazers have not progressed since early July when the All-Star guard asked out of Portland.
With little progress between the two parties and Portland unwilling to acquire Tyler Herro as part of the deal, the Heat have reportedly grown “frustrated” over the pace at which the trade talks are occurring.
NBA insider Chris Haynes revealed this a few days ago during the latest episode of his podcast, "This League Uncut:"
"They feel like things could be moving on a little bit quicker if Portland would say exactly what it is they want because, obviously, Miami doesn’t have all the assets that Portland would want in return for a Damian Lillard trade.
"So they want to know, ‘OK, what do we have to get out there? What other teams do we have to get involved to make this work?’ And so far, the communication is just not there."
Both sides are hoping to avoid taking these discussions into training camp and even the start of the regular season in October.
Damian Lillard, who has four years and $216 million left on his deal (with a $63.2 million player option for the 2026-27 season), averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 58 games, with the Blazers missing the playoffs for a second year in a row.