Getty

Nikola Jovic #5 and Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat speak on the court during the third quarter of the game against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Miami Heat announced on Friday, January 3 that they will “listen to offers” involving a Jimmy Butler trade. In the aftermath of the announcement, several teams contacted the Heat with their offers, per several insiders.

Although the Warriors, Mavericks, Rockets and Suns have been widely linked as Butler’s four preferred destinations, the Clippers could emerge as a darkhorse candidate to land the Heat All-Star due to their bevy of tradeable contracts and assets.

As such, Sports Illustrated’s Anthony Pasciolla proposed a three-team trade that would see Butler heading to Los Angeles.

Clippers would receive: Jimmy Butler

Heat would receive: Brandon Ingram, P.J. Tucker, a 2025 first-round draft pick from the Clippers, and a 2027 second-round draft pick from the Pelicans

Pelicans would receive: Norman Powell, Nah’Shon Hyland, Terance Mann, and a 2031 first-round draft pick from the Clippers

The trade pitch is interesting since the Clippers would replace Paul George, who bolted from Los Angeles as a free agent in 2024, with Butler, and return to title contention. Similarly, the Heat would get a younger version of Butler in Ingram, who averaged 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists through the early part of the 2024-25 season.

A Win-Win-Win Situation?

Finally, the Pelicans — who have been in a contract dispute with Ingram — will get an opportunity to hit the reset button with a host of young pieces and assets. While Hyland and Mann are both excellent role players, Powell is enjoying a career-best season averaging 23.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists with the Clippers.

Furthermore, it’s the league’s worst-kept secret that the Pelicans, who had the worst record in the Western Conference as of January 5, are in “tank mode” with the desire to land Cooper Flagg or Ace Bailey in the 2025 NBA Draft. As such, the aforementioned Jimmy Butler trade pitch allows them to move a step closer in that direction.

“This [trade] allows the Heat to move Butler to a contender while also landing themselves with win-now talent,” Pasciolla wrote on January 5. “The Los Angeles Clippers are off to a better start than most anticipated with a record of 20-15. With Kawhi Leonard’s debut occurring on Jan. 4, it may be worth going all in for another championship run. ”

Heat Unhappy with Jimmy Butler Trade Offers

The Heat have until the February 6 NBA trade deadline to find Butler a new home and re-energize the team in the second half of the season. However, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on January 6 that the Heat had yet to receive desirable trade offers for the six-time All-Star.

“They’ve definitely gotten a lot of calls,” Windhorst said of the Heat on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “The issue here is that most of the offers are not that attractive to the Heat. And that doesn’t surprise them because a month ago they heard some calls on Jimmy Butler and then they came out with that statement that they weren’t going to trade him because they really didn’t like any of the offers.

“Right now, I think you’re seeing a lot of teams are testing how low they might be able to buy Jimmy Butler for.”

To Windhorst’s point, Heat president Pat Riley issued a statement on December 26 in which he made it clear that his team won’t trade 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.”

A lot transpired after Riley’s statement as the Heat slapped Butler with a seven-game suspension for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.”

Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan