After speculation about his long-time plans with the Miami Heat came into question, Jimmy Butler has indicated that he is ready to leave South Beach.
According to ESPN, Butler will not give the Heat a list of teams to which he desires to be traded and is “open to playing anywhere other than Miami.” The sources also stated that Butler still believes that he can make any team a championship contender.
Although he is planning his exit, “Jimmy Buckets” will participate in all team activities and fulfill his commitments as a member of the Heat.
Everything came to a head following the Heat’s 128-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday (Jan. 2) night. The six-time All-Star said he lost his joy of playing basketball with the Heat in a post-game press conference.
“I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon,” Butler said. “I’m happy here off the court, but I want to be back to somewhat dominant, I want to hoop and I want to help this team win, and right now I’m not doing it.”
When asked if he could regain his joy in Miami, Butler said: “Probably not.”
Another issue that many close to the situation believe led to this point is an allegation from team officials that Butler didn’t play hard enough during the Heat’s victory Wednesday over the New Orleans Pelicans. It was Butler’s first game in 13 days due to an illness. He scored only nine points in 25 minutes of action.
Erik Spoelstra, head coach of the Heat, sat Butler in the fourth quarter of the last two games.
“I’m going out there to compete either way; whether I score nine points or 29 points, I will compete,” Butler said Thursday night. “You won’t say I’m not out there playing hard. It may look like that because my usage is down and I don’t shoot the ball a lot, but [you can’t say] I’m not playing hard.”
Previously, it was reported that Butler asked to be traded to the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and Dallas Mavericks.
Following the report, Heat president Pat Riley issued a statement saying that Butler would remain on the team.
“We will make it clear — we are not trading Jimmy Butler.”
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