Butler, it's hard to sell

For the past two days, the headlines in the NBA world have been Butler's trade rumors.

When I woke up, there was a new dynamic.

Butler's agent, Bernard Lee, continued to update social media and suddenly launched a bombardment of the whistleblower Shams.

Probably means, Shams is all nonsense, these reports are all fabricated, he never said these things, and even complained that Shams' news was written by Chat GPT...

Heat owner Mitch Allison just retweeted a statement from Jimmy's agent, saying the report was untrue.

But Shams didn't relent, and continued to release new information: Bernard Lee said in league circles that the Suns are also one of Butler's destinations, and the Heat are listening to trade offers.

In the world of the NBA, teams and players release news through reporters, raising prices and lowering prices, which is a means.

Therefore, it is also difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, who is building momentum and who is tempting?

What does Brother Di think?

First of all, we have to understand, what is Butler's demand? Quite simply, a 35-year-old athlete needs to get the last big contract of his career, commonly known as a pension contract.

If Butler signs an early contract extension with the Heat, he could sign a two-year, $113 million contract.

And if Butler chooses to jump out of his contract next summer, he can sign up to a four-year, $243 million contract with his parent team, the Heat.

And Butler joins other teams next summer, and he can sign a three-year, $171 million contract at most.

From the perspective of the team's future planning, the Heat will naturally not give such a big contract.

Don't talk about what team feats should be treated preferentially, Pat Riley even dared to offend Wade, the first person in team history, so angry that the Flash played hometown basketball, and little Jimmy naturally wouldn't be used to it.

So far this season, Butler has averaged 19.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 32.1 minutes per game, shooting 55.7% from the field and 36.0% from three-point range. In the 2025-26 season, his annual salary is a whopping $52.41 million (player option).

He will most likely become a free agent next year (for a long-term contract), and the Heat will definitely need to exchange some assets in order to avoid Jimmy leaving directly.

Their respective little ninety-nine are here.

Combined with Butler's response statement, the recent rumors will not be groundless:

"I don't care so much, all I have to do now is to stay healthy, play well and stay competitive, as long as I play happily in this team, my family is happy and healthy, as for where I play in the future, it doesn't matter to me at this stage, what I can do is to do the current things well first, and always work towards the championship."

But here's what I'm trying to say: Butler is hard to trade.

At the age of 35, the annual salary of nearly 50 million is enough to discourage the major interested teams.

For example, rockets.

Jimmy's hometown team is an offer for Dillon, Whitmore, Jeff Green, Landale, a 2030 first-round pick, and a 2031 first-round swap.

However, the Rockets are a young team and will prioritize age to ensure that the new arrivals keep pace with the existing pool of rising first-round rookies.

When Jimmy comes, will the rocket have a significant level increase?

To put it more directly, if it is the 35-year-old James, his ability and market value, then the Rockets will not close their eyes and choose to rush without brains.

Butler is tough, but not at that level, right?

For example, the Lone Ranger.

It is not easy for the cowboy to balance the salary of 50 million.

Doncic + Ou Shenxian + JB + Washington + Lively, this lineup is very beautiful and has a chance to compete for the championship.

But what is Dallas missing? The chips the Heat need.

You're going to say to Riley, I'm willing to go out of Clay and his Burber Klebber, and the easy phone calls are blocked...

The competitiveness of this offer is not as good as Russell + Hachimura in my lake.

And what about the warriors?

In theory, the Warriors are the most dramatic team, and they also need to find a good second-in-command for Curry.

The core factor is that Golden State has no shortage of chips, with three first-round picks and excellent players that can be traded.

But only if they are willing to let go of the young Kuminga, who is in trouble with a contract extension.

At the same time, there is another point, if the Warriors don't talk about Brother or Dream Green, there is no way to change it, and the Warriors will not trade Dream Green, so they can only sacrifice Wiggins.

Jimmy, it's just too expensive.

It's not necessary to exchange your mouth brother and a bunch of chips for it, right?

To be clear, for the sake of the 35-year-old Butler, you may have to break up half of the team, what?

So let the bullets keep flying.