Jimmy Butler did not mince words when he discussed wanting to be traded by the Miami Heat.

“I want to get my joy back,” the 35-year-old athlete said in a press conference on Thursday night after the Heat lost to the Indiana Pacers.

According to ESPN, Butler has lost his passion for basketball.

“I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon,” he said. “I’m happy here off the court, but I want to be back to somewhat dominant, I want to hoop and I want to help this team win, and right now I’m not doing it.”

He added, “I’m going out there to compete either way; whether I score nine points or 29 points, I will compete. You won’t say I’m not out there playing hard. It may look like that because my usage is down and I don’t shoot the ball a lot, but [you can’t say] I’m not playing hard.”

What have the Miami Heat said about this?

Just over a week ago, Pat Riley, president of the Miami Heat, released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that the team has no interest in trading Butler.

“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,” his tweet read.

 

Which teams could Jimmy Butler play for next if he leaves?

Still, there’s a lot of chatter about where Butler will play next. Per ESPN, sources say that the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets are on the list of teams he’s eyeing. He plans to opt out of his 2025-26 player option and enter free agency this July.

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