A source tells Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald that they anticipate 34-year-old All-NBA Heat small forward Jimmy Butler will look to nab a two-year, maximum-salaried contract extension with Miami, worth $113MM, before the start of the 2024/25 season.
The theoretical deal would kick in for 2025/26. Butler has a $52.4MM player option for that year, which an extension would replace.
If Miami opts to not extend Butler, Chiang argues, the team could be faced with an unhappy star. The 6’7″ swingman led the Heat to three Eastern Conference Finals and two NBA Finals appearances during his first four seasons with the club, though he has struggled with injuries during several of his first five years with the team, including an MCL sprain that knocked him entirely out of the playoffs this year.
Should the Heat decline the extension, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald speculates about the potential trade haul Miami could receive in exchange for its best player.
There’s more out of Miami:
- Following a first-round playoff elimination marred by injuries, the Heat face a variety of questions about their future this offseason. The biggest, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel contends, surrounds what Miami brass wants to do with shooting guard Tyler Herro. Winderman wonders if Miami will look to trade the 2022 Sixth Man of the Year this summer, or if it will consider demoting him back to a bench role going forward. Herro is owed three years and $93MM across the rest of his deal.
- With the Heat set to explore the trade market this summer, Jackson takes stock of the club’s movable assets in a new piece, during which he consulted a rival scout. The scout criticized Herro’s inconsistency both as a player and as an injury risk. As far as young players still on rookie scale deals go, the scout is high on the ceilings of forwards Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic. The scout also addressed the contracts of guards Duncan Robinson and Terry Rozier, Miami being a potential trade destination for Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, and more.
- One fascinating potential internal change the Heat could consider, according to one alum who still works for the franchise, is shifting All-Star center Bam Adebayo from center to power forward, writes Jackson in another piece. While on the ESPN program “First Take” this week, 20-year Miami vet Udonis Haslem explained why he thinks the 6’9″ big man could benefit from a positional move. “He can guard all five positions but he would have even more of a matchup at the 4 position where we can post him up and do different things with him,” Haslem said. “Go for a center and possibly another scoring guard.” Haslem is currently the Heat’s vice president of basketball development, and also hosts a podcast with fellow ex-Heat champion Mike Miller.