As the Miami Heat scan the market for a suitable Jimmy Butler trade, one option remains, as unpalatable as it may seem this moment.

The Heat can still bring Butler back, play out the season, and hope that he opts out this summer and becomes a free agent – if both parties still want this partnership to end, which seems likely at this stage.

Butler has a $52.4 million player option for next season that he reportedly plans to opt out of. That’s the plan, for now. Although if his representation gets the sense that a better deal isn’t out there this summer, he could just as well opt in for the final year.

That’s the risk the Heat take if they don’t trade him before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

Strange as it sounds, Butler turning down the final year of his contract and walking away for nothing wouldn’t be the worst-case scenario for the Heat. (Him opting in while the bridges remain burned and making things difficult for the organization might be.)

Under the current salary cap rules, letting a player walk in free agency isn’t as harmful or embarrassing as it once was. The LA Clippers, for example, preferred to let Paul George leave as a free agent rather than trade him to the Golden State Warriors. That’s because doing so created cap space that allowed the Clippers to become a major player in free agency.

After George signed with the Philadelphia 76ers last summer, the Clippers targeted free agents who fit their specific team needs. Using cap space and exceptions, they signed Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn, Kevin Porter Jr. and Nic Batum.

The Clippers preferred that group of players over what they may have gotten from the Warriors, a package that would have likely included Andrew Wiggins and other salaries.

Butler opting out and walking away in free agency would create roughly $13 million in cap space for the Heat in the offseason. They can also create another $10 million by waiving Duncan Robinson’s partially guaranteed contract over the summer.

Because they would be under the luxury tax, the Heat would also have access to the non taxpayer mid-level exception, projected to be worth $13.6 million.

While that isn’t enough to attract an All-Star talent to replace Butler, it is enough to add two or three helpful players to bolster the rotation around Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.

Here’s one scenario of a potential free-agent haul.

This free-agent class includes some helpful role players the Heat can sign if Butler walks.

Use the mid-level exception on Minnesota Timberwolves wing Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a swingman who can fill minutes on the perimeter and maybe start alongside Herro in the backcourt. Alexander-Walker is a strong defender who is shooting 43% on 3s this season. At 26, he’d fit Miami’s revamped timeline.

Waive Robinson, whose $19.9 million salary in the final year of his contract is guaranteed for only $9.9 million. Provided that he clears waivers, re-sign him on a team-friendly, three-year, $21 million deal. If that’s not an option, Bojan Bogdanovic or Gary Trent Jr. could help fill the need for shooting.

Sign Brook Lopez to a one-year, $17 million deal.

Would Malcolm Brogdon be willing to take a minimum salary at 32 years old with his injury history? Adding someone like him, Gary Payton II or Dante Exum on the veteran minimum could help bolster Miami’s point-of-attack defense.

Or the Heat could sign a wing to a minimum, such as Torrey Craig, Jae’Sean Tate or Gary Harris.

Miami’s total dream free-agent haul: Lopez, Alexander-Walker, Robinson (re-signed) and a veteran on the minimum such as Brogdon, Exum or Tate.

The key here is also maintaining cap space for the summer of 2026, when the free-agent class could include Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant and De’Aaron Fox, among others. Signing Alexander-Walker and Robinson to moveable deals and Lopez to a one-year contract ensures the Heat can clear max cap space should one of those stars want to move to Miami.

While this haul wouldn’t elevate the Heat to favorites in the East, they would have significantly more depth and versatility than this current Heat iteration. With coach Erik Spoelstra pulling the strings, they’d be a solid playoff team and provide a springboard for the next chapter.