Luka Doncic’s trade to the Los Angeles Lakers appears to have restored people’s faith in the idea that anything can happen. Kevin Durant, LeBron James and pretty much everybody else is now being viewed as a potential trade candidate before the February 6 deadline.

One man who has been on the trade block for far too long is Jimmy Butler, as the Miami Heat continue to search for his next destination. Butler wants to leave, the Heat want him gone and yet, with days to go until the trade deadline, a solution has not been found. Some even started to view the Dallas Mavericks as a potential landing spot for Butler after the Doncic trade.

If the Mavs are looking to build a gritty defensive team to challenge for the Championship, it does not get much better than Butler, for what he brings to the table on both ends of the floor.

He is a proven playoff performer as well, having taken the Heat to two NBA Finals and narrowly missed out on a third. Yet, according to Marc Stein’s Substack (via HoopsHype), the Mavericks are not pursuing Butler or Kevin Durant, although Dallas is definitely not done looking for upgrades on the trade market after acquiring Anthony Davis. The Heat seem to be quickly running out of destinations to trade Butler to.

The fact that the 35-year-old has a player option for next season does not make things any easier. Somehow, the Phoenix Suns still look like his most likely destination but Bradley Beal’s no-trade clause has made that difficult and the recent speculation around the future of Durant raises questions about the franchise’s long-term plans.