Miami Heat general manager Andy Elisburg provided some intriguing insight into Jimmy Butler’s future with the team.
Butler is currently under contract with the Heat for the 2024-25 season, with a player option for more than $52 million in the 2025-26 season. He could opt out of his contract after the 2024-25 season and become an unrestricted free agent.
“As Pat [Riley] said I think in his press conference – look – it doesn’t have to be something you do now,” Elisburg told the crowd. “You have the opportunity to do this all year.” So there’s a chance to accomplish it at some point. And, if he becomes a free agency next year, there is an opportunity to sit down and negotiate a contract at that time.
“There is always a chance to do it. If a player wants to be in Miami, and we want him there, the rest is just logistics.
“That’s how Pat’s always viewed it, regardless of how you look at it: the most important thing is to make players want to be here and want to come. Then how you use (cap) room or timing, all of that becomes a part of it.
“I believe Jimmy has stated that he wants to be in Miami. And we’ve stated that we’d like Jimmy to be in Miami. Pat stated in his postseason press conference that there are several things he wants to see. And there are challenges he wants to face.
“Jimmy isn’t used to facing problems or participating in them. Pat and Jimmy are two incredibly strong-willed persons who want the same thing: to win.
“So, in the end, I believe things will sort itself out. There are numerous possibilities for how this could turn out. But, most importantly, do the player and team want to continue working together? If it does, as you know from doing a lot of different numbers, there are a variety of approaches to make the remaining numbers work.
“If everyone wants to form a bargain, there are numerous ways to do so and complete the various components of it. The most crucial thing is that everyone wants to do the trade. And I believe — he is under contract — that we want to win right now.
Elisburg also stated that Riley has challenged the squad to get over the hump and win a championship, which the Heat have failed to do throughout Butler’s career with the franchise.
Elisburg feels Butler and the Heat have a mutual interest in staying together beyond the 2024-25 season, which is a positive indicator for the Heat and its fans.
Butler signed with the Heat in free agency before the 2019-20 season, having previously played for the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Philadelphia 76ers.
The six-time All-Star’s effect was noticed immediately in Miami, where Butler led the Heat to the NBA Finals that season in the Orlando bubble.
Even though Miami lost in the Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers, it made an incredible run, knocking off the No. 1-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the process, demonstrating that it could be a title contender with Butler leading the way.
Butler has helped the Miami Heat reach the NBA Finals twice and the Eastern Conference Finals three times in his five seasons there. Miami most recently reached the Finals in 2022-23, making another stunning run – this time as the No. 8 seed in the East – before falling to the Denver Nuggets in the Finals.
Miami was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round this season, although Butler did not play in that series due to a knee injury sustained during the team’s play-in tournament loss to the Sixers. Without him, the Heat finished as the No. 8 seed in the East, but they were eliminated in five games by the Boston Celtics in the first round.
There’s no doubt that Butler has made Miami a team to watch in the East year after year, but he’s 34 years old and will be 35 in 2024-25. This might change how Miami approaches Butler negotiations, as the team may seek to sign him to a lesser contract because to his age.
For the time being, it looks that Elisburg, Riley, and the Heat are focused on winning the 2024-25 season, with Butler playing an important role in that strategy.
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