Miami Heat president Pat Riley says team will not trade Jimmy Butler
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If Jimmy Butler wants a trade, the Miami Heat have no plans to make him happy. Heat president Pat Riley – in a rare move – spoke out to address rumors Thursday, saying the team has no plans to trade Butler. It’s a clear sign that, if necessary, the team will be willing to let Butler leave as a free agent and get nothing in return.
“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,” Riley said in a release distributed by the team. “Therefore, we will make it clear – we are not trading Jimmy Butler.”.
The Heat play in Orlando on Thursday. Butler did not fly with the team to Orlando on Wednesday night, and his intentions for future games seem a bit unclear as well. Butler has not asked the Heat for a trade, but ESPN, citing sources it did not name, reported Wednesday that the six-time All-Star wants a trade by the league’s 6 February deadline and is open to joining teams such as Phoenix, Golden State, Houston and Dallas.
“You have to compartmentalize in this business,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday at the team’s morning shootaround in Orlando. “We want Jimmy here. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. And it’s just unfortunate that you have to control or deal with a lot of the noise on the outside.”.
