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The three favorite teams to land Jimmy Butler

The Miami Heat guard is determined to find a new team before the trade deadline. Where could he go? Let’s take a look.

The Miami Heat guard is determined to find a new team before the trade deadline. Where could he go? Let’s take a look.
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Jimmy Butler’s time in Miami is at an end. The guard repeated his wish to leave the franchise in another meeting with Heat president Pat Riley. Butler’s plan is to leave before the NBA trade deadline.

Jimmy Butler’s contract situation

Butler is in the final year of a three-year contract, with a player option for next season which would see him earn $52.4 million. But he has no plans to sign another extension - instead, he will seek the last big contract of his career.

Butler was hit with a seven-game suspension for publicly stating that he wants to leave the team - which the franchise deemed “conduct detrimental to the team”. Once he completes the suspension we will see whether he is reincorporated into the team or if the Heat decide to trade him before the market closes at 3 p.m. ET on 6 February.

In the meantime, the Heat have prospered without Butler - stringing together wins against the Warriors, Jazz and Trail Blazers. That winning streak came to an end in Inglewood last night with a 98-109 defeat to the Clippers.

Tyler Herro admitted that the team “wanted to get back on the road and get away from all the chaos” that surrounds the Butler case and to “compete and get back to who we are and get to our identity.”

Possible destinations for Butler

So where could Butlers end up if the Heat trade him? Before he handed in a transfer request, the 35-year-old’s option were Golden State, Phoenix, Dallas and Houston, according to ESPN.

The Rockets are not interested in Butler, while Phoenix and Dallas both have cap issues, as does

The Memphis Grizzlies, who missed out on signing Dorian Finney-Smith last week (the forward was traded to the Lakers with Shake Milton), have joined the list of teams who are tipped to take Butler.

According to some commentators, Butler is very selective about where he wants to play and Memphis is not on his list of possible destinations.

The big favorites remain the Phoenix Suns, according to Oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook. However, the Suns would have to include a player in any deal. Bradley Beal, who has been put forward as a makeshift in the deal has stated he will not waive his no-trade clause.

“Phoenix wants Butler and Butler wants Phoenix. I’ve heard they want him bad,” a source claims. First they would need to find a taker for Jusuf Nurkic, after that, they would need to include three tradeable second-round picks in the package.

Faced with such a complicated scenario, and with Butler being choosy about where he wants and doesn’t want to play, there is also the possibility that he could remain in Miami - even against his wishes. in the meantime the franchise will listen to offers.

According to FOX Sports, the Suns are the favorites at +175, the Heat are +225 to keep Butler, the Grizzlies are +300 and the Warriors are +450. In the next couple of weeks we will see how the situations develops.

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