A blockbuster trade proposal has the Miami Heat sending All-Star guard Jimmy Butler to a Western Conference powerhouse in a move that would drastically alter the NBA landscape.
The Heat have struggled with consistency this season, sitting at 14-13 following Monday’s home win over the Brooklyn Nets. Miami should make the playoffs, but Jimmy Butler’s gorup group doesn’t at all resemble the 2019-20, 2021-22 or 2022-23 squads that reached the Eastern Conference Finals, with trips to the big dance in 2020 and 2023.
Butler, 35, is expected to decline his 2025-26 player option and become a free agent in the summer. If the two sides aren’t keen on an extension, Miami’s best bet would be to trade Butler now and get something of significant value in return.
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale proposed a blockbuster trade idea that has Miami sending Jimmy Butler to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team deal involving the Detroit Pistons.
In Favale’s proposal, the Pistons would get Jalen Hood-Schifino and a 2025 second-round pick (via the Los Angeles Clippers) from the Lakers. LA would get Butler, with the Heat receiving D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Rui Hachimura, the Lakers’ 2029 and 2031 first-round picks and a 2025 second-round pick from Detroit (via Toronto):
“Hachimura can come in and soak up minutes on the wing while providing a complementary scoring punch. Russell replaces some of Butler’s initiation in the interim before coming off the books this summer. Vincent’s contract has not aged well, but he’ll be an expiring deal over the offseason, and head coach Erik Spoelstra knows how to use him.
Getting two loosely protected firsts that post-date the Lakers’ window with Butler, AD and LeBron would be a borderline coup for Miami. Los Angeles can try to get a deal done with only a single pick, but that’ll likely require subbing out Vincent for Austin Reaves or, less likely, Max Christie. Detroit shouldn’t have a problem scooping up a second-rounder to sponge up a half-season of Hood-Schifino.”
Heat fans please from now on appreciate Jimmy Butler more, this dude saved the franchise and made us respected again in the East.
— 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 (@WadexFlash) December 22, 2024
Tonight showed how incompetent the team is without him. pic.twitter.com/zGfxXmObO3
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Also Read: REPORT: Jimmy Butler’s Potential Trade Timeline Revealed, And It’s Sooner Than Anyone Expected
The Lakers have been searching for a third star to complement the ageing duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. With only two playoff series wins (both in 2023) since their 2020 championship win, the pressure is on GM Rob Pelinka to upgrade the roster.
And if all goes well, the future Hall of Famer would surely be happy to sign an extension with the Lakers in the summer.
Jimmy Butler Would Make Lakers NBA Championship Favorites
Los Angeles will always have a chance (albeit a small one) with Davis and James leading the way. But if they can somehow land the perennial All-Star guard, the Lakers would immediately become the new NBA championship favorites.
