In the six years that Jimmy Butler has been on the Miami Heat, he's led them to two NBA Finals appearances, been named Eastern Conference Finals MVP during one of those runs, been named an All-Star twice, made All-NBA teams and essentially kept the team competitive even when the roster was lacking in top-end talent alongside him and Bam Adebayo.
Butler's been one of the best guards in the league during this run with the Heat, and while injuries have handicapped him over the years, Butler, when healthy, is one of the most formidable scorers and defenders in the league. This season, Butler has averaged 19 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals, and helped the Heat to a 12-10 record, which is good for fifth in a weak Eastern Conference.
The Heat have the 12th-best net rating in the league, due to the efforts of Butler, in addition to Adebayo and the ascension of Tyler Herro. But Butler's in the last year of his contract with a $52.4 million player option next season, and without a contract extension agreed upon prior to the start of the season, there were always questions about Butler's future with the Heat.
With the NBA trade deadline two months away, we now have a clearer picture of Miami's plans. The Heat are reportedly "open to listening to offers for Butler and making a deal if the proposal is right." That doesn't mean that Butler will be traded for sure, but the All-Star guard does have a list of preferred destinations if a trade were to materialize. Butler wants to be traded to a title contender, and sees the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets as preferred landing spots, per the report.
With Butler's wish list in mind, let's breakdown all three destinations as trade season begins to heat up.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors have reportedly been looking to add another star player alongside Stephen Curry. The team tried to land Paul George in the offseason, and attempted to facilitate a trade for Lauri Markkanen. Neither worked. But that's not stopping Golden State from remaining aggressive this trade season.
On the surface, adding Butler makes sense for the Warriors. He's a proven veteran who can assimilate to any team's style of play. He can play with or without the ball in his hands, is experiencing his most efficient season from inside the arc -- 55.7% shooting to be exact -- and Butler's defense would only strengthen Golden State's fourth-ranked unit.
The caveat here, though, is that any trade for Butler would be costly and difficult. He's making $48.7 million this season, so the Warriors would need to send out several important players just to acquire him. It would probably have to start with Andrew Wiggins, who is making $26.2 million this season, and would also likely cost young guys like Jonathan Kuminga and/or Brandin Podziemski.
But the Warriors have been reluctant to trade both Kuminga and Podziemski in the past, and Kuminga specifically has been trending in the right direction. In the last six games, he's averaging 19.3 points and 4.5 rebounds, and has been given more opportunity as recently as being placed in the starting lineup instead of Green due to his downhill capabilities. Podziemski's efficiency has been down across the board this season, so perhaps the Warriors would be more willing to trade with him now than they were in the past.
Beyond the roster gymnastics the Warriors would have to do in order to acquire Butler, his age (34) and injury history should also make the Warriors hesitant to trade for him, especially since they've maintained that they want to operate on this dual-timeline with= veterans and younger players.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks did their roster reconstruction in the offseason by adding Klay Thompson, picking up Quentin Grimes and signing Naji Marshall. While Thompson's production has waxed and waned this season, Grimes and Marshall have been valuable additions on both ends of the floor. Kyrie Irving is flirting with a 50-40-90 season, and Luka Doncic has rounded into MVP form after returning from a wrist sprain.
Dallas looks every bit as solid as people expected them to be after reaching the NBA Finals a season ago, and quite frankly it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that they do nothing at the trade deadline. But players of Butler's caliber don't become available every day, and if he puts you on his list, you have to at least think about the possibility.
But similar to the Warriors, a trade to land Butler for the Mavericks wouldn't be easy. And it makes less sense for Dallas than it does for Golden State. Getting Butler would cost the Mavericks practically all the depth they spent time cultivating over the last several years, and as good as Butler is, having a top-heavy roster with zero depth typically only gets you so far.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets are perhaps the most intriguing team on this list. No one expected them to be sitting third in the Western Conference with a little over a quarter of the season in the books. But they've been the surprise team of the season due to a standout year from Jalen Green, continued emergence of Alperen Sengun and the steady guidance of veteran guard Fred VanVleet. Ime Udoka should get heavy consideration for Coach of the Year, as the Rockets are on pace to return to the playoffs after a four-year absence.
Houston has been patient in its rebuild, using the draft to select young talent with upside and bringing in quality veterans to give this team balance. This past summer they were rumored to want to trade for Kevin Durant, indicating they're ready to sit at the grown-ups table after several years of losing. Unlike the Warriors and Mavericks, the Rockets can pull off a trade for Butler without giving up too many key rotation pieces.
It's unclear what the Heat would want in return for Butler, but assuming they'd want to retool instead of full-on rebuild given the rest of the roster, perhaps someone like Jabari Smith Jr. could be on the trading block. The Rockets have a swath of young talent, and while Smith has shown promise in his three years, he's averaging a career-low 11.5 points a game while shooting just 43.1% from the field. If the Rockets plan on making the duo of Green and Sengun their core of the future, as well as second-year small forward Amen Thompson who has shown great promise this season, then parting with Smith to add Butler may be the move.
The Rockets could fill out the rest of that trade package with veterans like Steven Adams, Jeff Green and add in Dillon Brooks as well. That is, of course, if the Rockets think Butler is the right fit for this team to unload all those assets. Butler would add to the stout second-ranked defense the Rockets already have, and give Houston another weapon on offense, especially in clutch situations.
But this is one of those situations where Houston has to decide if trading for an aging All-Star right now is the move they want to make. This core has been so impressive already, and if Butler is already planning on becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer, which ESPN has already reported is his plan, then it wouldn't make sense for the Rockets -- or any other team on this list -- to give up a lot of assets when they could try to sign him outright in 2025.