ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) 鈥� If Jimmy Butler wants a trade, the Miami Heat have no plans to make him happy.
Heat President Pat Riley 鈥� in a rare move 鈥� spoke out to address rumors Thursday, saying the team has no plans to trade Butler. It's a clear sign that, if necessary, the team will be willing to let Butler leave as a free agent and get nothing in return.
鈥淲e usually don鈥檛 comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches," Riley said in a release distributed by the team. "Therefore, we will make it clear 鈥� we are not trading Jimmy Butler.鈥�
The Heat play in Orlando on Thursday. Butler did not fly with the team to Orlando on Wednesday night, and his intentions for future games seem a bit unclear as well.
Butler has not asked the Heat for a trade, but ESPN, citing sources it did not name, reported Wednesday that the six-time All-Star wants a trade by the league鈥檚 Feb. 6 deadline and is open to joining teams such as Phoenix, Golden State, Houston and Dallas.
鈥淵ou have to compartmentalize in this business,鈥� Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday at the team's morning shootaround in Orlando. 鈥淲e want Jimmy here. There鈥檚 no ifs, ands or buts about it. And it鈥檚 just unfortunate that you have to control or deal with a lot of the noise on the outside.鈥�
Butler, to be fair, has fueled some of the noise.
The primary colors of his reportedly preferred teams include orange, yellow, red and blue. Butler鈥檚 hair, perhaps not coincidentally, has been tinged in those colors at times in recent weeks.
鈥淚 actually like it,鈥� Butler said earlier this month when . 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to be talked about. I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 such a thing as bad publicity 鈥� to a point.鈥�
Miami, if it doesn鈥檛 trade Butler, would run the risk of potentially losing him for nothing as a free agent next summer. He's making $49 million this season and has a player option for $52 million next season.
Riley's statement is another development in a long-running saga involving Butler鈥檚 future with the Heat, one that began picking up steam back in May when over the summer.
Butler is eligible for an extension that would guarantee him $113 million for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. But he is 35 and misses, on average, about one out of every four games in his Heat tenure.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you have somebody who鈥檚 going to be there and available every single night,鈥� Riley said in May. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the truth.鈥�
Butler twisted an ankle in on Friday but missed the remainder of that game and the next two Heat games 鈥� at Orlando last Saturday and against Brooklyn on Monday 鈥� with illness, not the ankle, cited as the reason.
Butler has helped Miami make the NBA Finals twice in his Heat tenure. He is averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists this season.
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AP NBA:
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
