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The Brooklyn Nets are in the middle of an offseason in which they are looking to improve enough to make it back to the playoffs next season. While the NBA Finals are happening right now, for the other 28 teams watching the championship series from home, almost every player is floated around as a potential addition.
Despite the fact that Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is not expected to be traded this summer per multiple reports, there is still plenty of people wondering if the Heat are truly intent on keeping Butler. The Nets have been floated around as one of the teams that could attempt to trade for Butler given that Brooklyn could be hunting for stars as early as this offseason.
Butler, 34 is coming off a 2023-24 season in which he averaged 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 49.9% from the field and 41.4% from three-point land. Butler was relatively healthy for the Heat this season as he played in 60 games this season, but he was notably unavailable for Miami’s first-round playoff matchup against the Boston Celtics due to a knee injury.
While Pat Riley, the Heat’s president of basketball operations, said that Butler will not be traded, Miami is in an interesting situation as they may have to make a choice soon on whether Butler is the guy to lead the franchise moving forward into his mid-to-late 30’s. For a team like the Nets, Butler would instantly be the best player on the team, but the cost of trading for him could be something that keeps Brooklyn out of the running for his services.
Butler has two years left on his contract and is due to make $48.7 million in 2024-25 while having a player option for 2025-26 worth $52.4 million. Not to mention that Butler is eligible for a two-year, $112.9 million contract extension this summer and reportedly looking for the most he can get on his next deal.
That makes Brooklyn trading for Butler unlikely given that the Nets would have to give up some valuable assets for an aging Butler while also having to sacrifice future cap space to have him on the roster. As good as Butler is, the short-term outlook of such a deal just doesn’t make sense for where Brooklyn is right now.