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The courtship of Jimmy Butler has certainly picked up steam in recent weeks. Butler declined his player option with the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2019-20 season, which in turn has prompted a number of teams to start making inquiries to land the four-time All-Star.
For over a week, the Houston Rockets have thought that Butler might be the final piece to their championship puzzle, in turn shopping the contracts of Clint Capela, Eric Gordon and PJ Tucker in an effort to acquire Butler in a potential sign-and-trade.
However, Butler has shown an increasing affinity for the Miami Heat franchise. The Heat were one of the reported destinations for Butler when he demanded a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he was reportedly struck by the love that the fans showed for Dwyane Wade during his retirement tour.
Butler is set to meet with the team in Miami when free agency opens on Sunday evening, and AP writer Tim Reynolds reports that Butler is expected to tell the team that he would like to come to South Beach:
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Not that this is a surprise – or means anything – but Jimmy Butler is expected to tell Miami officials tonight that he wishes to play for the Heat, per source.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 30, 2019
Even a verbal commitment from Butler hardly makes the move a done deal. The Heat are already over the salary cap for the 2019-20 season after center Hassan Whiteside accepted his $27 million player option, meaning that the Heat would only be able to acquire Butler via sign-and-trade unless they dump a lot of salary.
This begs the question of who they might have to give up in order to acquire “Jimmy Buckets.” Teams around the league have shown little interest in Whiteside, Ryan Anderson and Goran Dragic (the team's highest earners), so Miami may have to part with one or both of Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow to have a realistic chance at signing Butler.
