- ABC News
- December 27, 2024
The Miami Heat have no plans to trade Jimmy Butler, team president Pat Riley said Thursday. "We usually don't comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches. Therefore, we will make it clear -- we are not trading Jimmy Butler," he said in a statement. Riley's statement comes a day after league sources told ESPN's Shams Charania that six-time All-Star Butler prefers a trade out of Miami ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline. Butler is open to trade destinations such as the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, league sources told Charania. The Heat play in Orlando on Thursday. Butler did not fly with the team to Orlando on Wednesday night and has been ruled out for the game due to return to competition conditioning. He twisted an ankle in Miami's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. He missed the remainder of that...