The Miami Heat have listed Jimmy Butler as doubtful for Thursday’s game against Orlando, stating that he needs time to get back into shape before playing again.
Butler did not travel with the team to Orlando on Wednesday night, and it is unclear what his plans are for future games.
Although Butler hasn’t requested a trade, ESPN, citing anonymous sources, reported that the six-time All-Star wants to be traded before the February 6 deadline. He is open to joining teams such as Phoenix, Golden State, Houston, and Dallas.
These teams’ uniforms feature colors like orange, yellow, red, and blue, which happen to be shades that Butler’s hair has been dyed recently.
“I actually like it,” Butler said earlier this month when asked about the trade rumors. “It’s good to be talked about. I don’t think there’s such a thing as bad publicity — to a point.”
If the Heat decide not to trade Butler, they could risk losing him for nothing as a free agent next summer.
This is the latest chapter in a long-running situation regarding Butler’s future with the Heat. The situation began to pick up pace in May when Heat president Pat Riley hesitated to commit to an extension for Butler over the summer.
Butler is eligible for an extension that would guarantee him $113 million for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. However, at 35 years old, he tends to miss around one in every four games during his time with the Heat.
“That’s a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you have somebody who’s going to be there and available every single night,” Riley said in May. “That’s the truth.”
Riley also criticized Butler last season after he said that if he hadn’t gotten injured during the play-in tournament, teams like Boston and New York would have lost to Miami.
“I thought, ‘Is that Jimmy trolling or is that Jimmy serious?’ If you’re not on the court playing against Boston or on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut on the criticism of those teams,” Riley said last spring.
Butler twisted his ankle in Miami’s loss to Oklahoma City on Friday, but he missed the rest of that game and the next two Heat games — against Orlando on Saturday and Brooklyn on Monday — due to illness, not the ankle injury.
Butler has helped lead Miami to the NBA Finals twice during his time with the Heat. He is currently averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists this season.
