NBA Rumors: Executive believes Miami Heat will 'seriously' look to move Jimmy Butler at some point
A recent NBA rumor has suggested that Jimmy Butler may soon find himself on the trade block. With the NBA executive expressing his thoughts on the Miami Heat's approach towards Butler, the exec shared his insight with Heavy.com's Sean Deveney.
The Miami Heat are in a bit of an awkward position this season. Considering how dominant they were in the regular-season last year, the Heat are practically a shell of that team.
Given the aggressive and competitive environment within the Heat organization, players and staff have been fairly vocal about their poor performances. Currently falling to seventh in the East, the organization has every reason to be discontented.
The current rumblings within the organization are only exacerbated by some occurrences after the game against the Orlando Magic. The Magic came out on top after a grueling regulation and OT period. However, Heat superstar Jimmy Butler's response to the loss was quite jarring.
Butler could be seen walking to the locker room without heading to the bench after the loss. Considering his individual contributions to the game, several fans felt his reaction was justified.
Nonetheless, these actions have resulted in some interesting rumors.
While in conversation with Heavy.com's Sean Deveney, an NBA executive mentioned the possibility of Miami moving Jimmy Butler soon. He initially shed light on the potential of Miami considering a roster overhaul. He said:
"If they really wanted to overhaul, it would have to start with Jimmy Butler and that is a tricky, tricky proposition."
The exec also mentioned Butler's history with different teams also makes him a bit of a complicated asset to move.
"He has a home in Miami, but we have seen Jimmy cause some problems in other places and no one has forgotten that. Minnesota, Philadelphia, Chicago, he has some history, right? So that is a problem."
He concluded by saying:
"Then you have the fact that he is going to be 34 this summer. He has played well, his numbers have held up but he works so hard for everything he gets that you can imagine he is going to have a pretty quick drop-off once age catches up to him. That is another tough thing they’d have to deal with.”
NBA exec believes Miami Heat will ‘seriously look at moving Jimmy Butler’ at some point: heatnation.com/rumors/nba-exe…
The exec listed some fairly valid points. While also factoring in the frequency with which Butler gets injured, he may not have a lot of value in the trade market.
But would the Heat really benefit from trading Butler?
Trading Jimmy Butler may not help Miami
The Miami Heat certainly appear to be in a position where they will be considering all options for the future. The notion of trading Jimmy Butler to kickstart a roster overhaul seems like the most obvious approach at this point.
However, this may not benefit the team.
The real issue for Miami lies in the elements that haven't been performing for the team. Duncan Robinson and Kyle Lowry are prime examples of this. The roster, as it stands, is flawed.
There may be some upside to trading Butler. However, given what he brings to the table as a leader and his sheer excellence in the playoffs, Miami may be better off hedging their bets with him on their side.