Jimmy Butler will keep current Heat contract, will not sign extension with any team: source

Six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler decided he will play out next season on his current contract with the Miami Heat and will not sign an extension with them or any other team before his opt-out clause expires in 2025, the league said. Sources gave information. told the matter athletic,

His decision to play next season commits him to Miami and clears up any notion of demanding a trade due to the lack of an extension. League sources said Butler has a love for Miami and wants to stay with the Heat.

Meanwhile, league sources said the Heat have not expressed any interest in trading Butler. Theoretically, they could still trade him this summer if they find a deal that suits them, but Butler’s unwillingness to immediately sign an extension limits the return they get for their best player. Will be limited.

The 34-year-old Butler has two seasons remaining on his current max contract — $48.8 million in 2024-25 and a player option worth $52.4 million for 2025-26 — and a handful of NBA teams are taking a close look at his situation ahead of the draft and free agency. Keeping an eye. agency.

This decision also gives some flexibility to Butler. After averaging 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists for the Heat last season, Butler is determined to have a big season in 2024–25, which will help the Heat bounce back from their first-round playoff loss to Boston and Will keep the butler in one place. Big payday next summer in Miami or elsewhere.

If he opts out and becomes a free agent next summer, Butler would be eligible for a four-year, maximum extension worth a projected $243 million with his current team or a three-year, maximum, $171 million deal elsewhere.

Collective bargaining agreement rules limit the power of the Heat’s offers this summer. Miami could give Butler a two-year, $113 million extension this offseason. By waiting until next summer, he can opt out and get more years on a new deal via free agency.

But Heat president Pat Riley said at the team’s end-of-season press conference in May that Butler’s lack of availability in recent seasons would play a role in the team’s decision-making process whether to offer the superstar wing a new deal. Or not.

Riley pulled no punches when discussing the Heat’s season and Butler’s long-term future with the team.

“It’s a big decision on our part to commit these types of resources unless you have someone who is going to be there and be available every night,” Riley said. “That’s true. We have to think about this type of commitment and when we will do it. In fact we don’t have to do it until 2025.”

Butler played 60 games this season and 64 games in 2022-23. He missed the Heat’s first-round series against the Celtics this season with a knee sprain. Shortly after Miami’s season ended, Butler appeared in a video posted on social media saying that the Heat would have defeated both the Celtics and the New York Knicks had Butler been healthy.

Riley responded, “If you’re not on the court playing against Boston or on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut about criticizing those teams.”

Riley’s tough message added to the intrigue surrounding Butler’s future in Miami. Butler forced his way out of Minnesota in 2018 because he wanted a long-term contract that would have been difficult for the Timberwolves to immediately execute under the restrictions of the collective bargaining agreement.

Butler has won big in his five seasons in Miami – leading the Heat to two NBA Finals berths and one Eastern Conference Finals appearance – and the franchise’s all-business culture has been a great fit for him. His decision, which comes before the draft and free agency, allows the Heat to focus on making moves to improve the team around Butler as they try to compete in the Eastern Conference.

After Miami defeated Boston in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics made two big moves, acquiring Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņš, who played major roles in reaching the championship this season.

Meanwhile, Miami fell short in its attempts to add star power around Butler and Bam Adebayo, including poaching Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal from other teams in recent summers. Instead it had to settle for veterans like Josh Richardson and Thomas Bryant and the roster fell behind Boston, Milwaukee and Philadelphia in the conference.

(Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)