Depending on who you believe, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler may or may not be leaving South Beach via trade. First, NBA insider Shams Charania has reported that the team is open to offers from other teams wanting to acquire Jimmy Butler, while his agent Bernie Lee has directly refuted Shams' reports. Now, after Adrian Wojnarowski's retirement, Charania has become ESPN's main NBA insider, but Lee's statement is as close to the horse's mouth as if his own client had said it himself.

“Alright listen. I gave you a pass yesterday because I was busy but if you don't stop putting my name on your complete and utter made up bulls**t because you know you normally arent worth my time to acknowledge,” Lee said, quoting Charania's post about Butler's supposed openness for a trade to the Phoenix Suns, alongside the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, and Golden State Warriors.

Moreover, Heat owner Micky Arison retweeted Lee's post, seemingly giving credence to his denial of Shams' report, while the agent added a few more quote-tweets, for good measure.

Are the Heat trading their star or not?

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) tries to drive between Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (left) and forward Royce O'Neale (right) during the second half at Kaseya Center.
© Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Perhaps the trade rumors began circulating because the Heat hasn't offered Jimmy Butler a new contract, and he has a player option worth $52.4 million that he could decline to enter free agency after this season.

Obviously, any team would not let their star player walk away for nothing, which is where whispers of trades begin, growing louder and louder until it happens and Shams (previously Woj) drops the bombshell on a weekday morning.

Anyway, Bernie Lee's harsh rebuttal of Shams Charania's report on Jimmy Butler saw a flurry of fan reactions online.

Here's a meme of a shocked Kevin Durant on a post from @rileybtw_, captioned, “Shams is cooked.”

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Then, Heat fan @Zachppp uploaded a video of Patrick Beverley celebrating a play-in victory to celebrate Butler possibly staying with the Heat.

Meanwhile, another user @vincent_elric lamented Woj's retirement, saying “Shams a sham huh? Bring Woj back,” while @wallywonkaa posted a video of Jimmy Butler saying, “Shut up n****! Who you talking to?”

More celebrations came from Heat fans, as well. For instance, here's the Heat vs. the World podcast saying “BERNIE LEE (JIMMY'S AGENT) ENDING SHAMS CAREER AS WE SPEAK,” while posting another jubilant reaction video.

Right now, the Heat are likely to refuse to trade Butler, especially as they ride a three-game winning streak that included a crucial win over the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.

However, tides change quickly in the NBA, and it might only take a five- or six-game losing skid to persuade the front office to send him to a contending team, which was already part of his reported trade requirements anyway.

The smart money is for the fans to wait and see what happens with the Heat in the next couple of weeks.