On January 15, Beijing time, according to Shams of the Register, league sources told ESPN that Heat star Jimmy Butler reiterated his desire to be traded in an in-person meeting with team president Pat Riley last week. Butler told Riley that he would not renew his contract with the Heat.

Butler intends to exercise his $52 million player option for the 2025-26 season in the offseason, but it's only in a trade to leave the team, not to stay with the Heat.

Butler is being suspended for seven games by the Heat for "detrimental behavior," which ends on Friday, when the Heat will face the challenge of finding a way forward for Butler, with options including returning to the team or trading.

League sources say Heat management will meet later this week to discuss the best way to deal with Butler's condition, who requested a trade earlier this month. Heat owner Mitch Allison is also expected to sit down with Butler later this week to talk.

Heat head coach Spoelstra and players like Herro and Bam Adebayo have spoken over the past week about eliminating distractions during Butler's absence.

The Heat currently sit seventh in the Conference with a 20-18 record and are currently 3-2 on the road. They will conclude their road trip on Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers and return to Miami on Saturday to host the Nuggets.

"That's what we want...... Stay away from all the chaos," Herro told reporters after the win over the Trail Blazers. 'Stick together and put the players here in the spotlight. We've had enough. ”

The Heat began suspending Butler on Jan. 4 and said in a statement, "Through his actions and words, he has shown that he no longer wants to be a part of this team." Jimmy Butler and his representatives have stated that they want to be traded, and as such, we will listen to offers. ”

The day after Butler's suspension, Spoelstra said the team's goal was to "remove all distractions."

The Heat have been in contact with multiple teams about Butler's trade package and have received offers, but have been hesitant to negotiate further, sources said. With the Feb. 7 trade deadline just around the corner, Riley has shown no sense of urgency in those talks.

ESPN previously reported that Butler would prefer to leave the Heat through a trade, with the Suns, Warriors, Mavericks and Rockets being their ideal destinations. At one point, Riley also issued a statement saying, "We're going to make it clear — we're not going to trade Jimmy Butler." ”

During this time, Butler has been sidelined. Due to illness and recovery periods, Butler was away from the team for 13 days and played two games with little impact on his return. Butler played 25 minutes in the Jan. 2 win over the Pelicans and scored nine points; A day later, against the Pacers, Butler played 27 minutes and scored nine points. In these two games, he only made 11 shots in total.

One of the issues that led to Butler's decision to request a trade was that team officials hinted that Butler didn't give it his all in the Heat's win over the Pelicans, sources said. Butler made it clear to the Heat before the suspension that he planned to participate in team events during a period of uncertainty about his status, sources said.

Butler's salary this season is $49 million, with a player option for the 2025-26 season. His suspension is expected to cost him $2.35 million in salary, but the players' union has filed a complaint for him, calling the suspension "excessive and inappropriate."

The 35-year-old Butler is averaging 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this season while shooting a career-high 55.2 percent from the field, but he is averaging just 10.5 shots per game, his lowest since the 2013-14 season. During his career, Butler was named to the All-Star team five times, three of those times while with the Heat. In his 13 seasons, his team made the playoffs 12 times, including five previous seasons with the Heat, where he led the Heat to the NBA Finals twice.