Six-time All-Star Miami Heat small forward Jimmy Butler has long been a thorn in the Boston Celtics’ sides during the postseason.

Now, he’s on the trade block — of his own apparent volition. The Heat are 13-10 on the year, and when healthy Butler has been his typical All-Star self. Heading into Thursday’s victory against the Toronto Raptors, the 6-foot-7 Marquette alum is averaging 19.0 points on a .557/.360/.787 slash line, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.2 steals a night.

According to Shams Charania of ESPN, both Miami and Butler are open to a mutual divorce if both sides can find a deal that makes sense. Charania reported that the five-time All-NBA honoree’s agent, Bernie Lee, has indicated that he is interested in linking up with the Dallas Mavericks, his hometown Houston Rockets, the Golden State Warriors, and potentially the Phoenix Suns.

Lee himself took to his X account to dispute Charania’s claim about the Suns specifically, calling it “made-up bulls—,” though Charania later insisted that his sources were thoroughly vetted.

“I one thousand percent stand by my reporting,” Charania said on ESPN program “First Take.” “It’s fully vetted, and as a professional, that’s what I do. That’s what I get paid to do, that’s what I’m going to do: report truthfully and accurately. That’s what this is, period.”

NBA insider Marc Stein writes on his Substack, however, that due to cap constrictions, it is considered highly unlikely that none of the Rockets, Mavericks or Warriors will realistically be able to acquire Butler’s services.

Meanwhile, a source informs Gerald Bourgeut of PHNX Sports that the Suns are uninterested in obtaining Butler this season.

This would leave the door open for another team to take a gander. Would the 20-5 Celtics — the reigning champions who have brought back all of their top 10 players from 2024-25 — really want to disrupt their current, probably league-best chemistry to add a marquee name right now?

Yes, when healthy, the 35-year-old Butler would be the second-best player on the Celtics, behind only All-NBA superstar power forward Jayson Tatum. But acquiring him would mean ditching multiple core pieces elsewhere on the roster.

Outside of a straight-up trade for All-Star Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown, 28, for Butler, the logistics of making a deal in the modern CBA would make bringing in Butler almost prohibitively difficult, as both Boston and Miami are currently over the league’s salary cap. The teams could perhaps make other moves before trying to make a trade work.

The Heat would happily take on Brown, even if Butler at present is a smidge better. But the Celtics would almost certainly not do such a deal — perhaps not even if Miami attached both of its tradable future draft picks, in 2029 and 2031.