The Miami Heat are trying to thread a pretty complicated needle in any potential Jimmy Butler trade. Miami wants to remain a playoff team, but the Heat also do not want to take on long-term money in a Butler trade.
Miami wants to make the playoffs this season, so that their first-round draft pick will convey to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Draft. If that pick does not convey, it will roll over to the 2026 draft with no protections. That will then force the Heat to give the Charlotte Hornets an unprotected first-round pick in the 2028 draft. If the Heat convey the pick to the Thunder this year, they owe the Hornets a lottery-protected pick in 2027.
In addition, Pat Riley and the Miami front office is looking to create salary flexibility in a Butler deal. The Heat are looking to players in the offseason free agent of trade market in either the summer of 2025 or the summer of 2026. That’s why Miami is reluctant to take back long-term money in a potential Butler deal.