REPORT: Jimmy Butler receives severe warning: ‘They will surely trade your a-s…if you don’t start playin’ basketball games.’

It’s entirely likely that Jimmy Butler may not conclude his NBA career with the Miami Heat, as Bill Simmons has warned the franchise player that Pat Riley will not hesitate to move him, possibly as soon as this offseason.

“Jimmy, I hate to tell ya, they will absolutely trade your a- at some point over the next six months if you don’t start playin’ basketball games and showin’ up every day,” Simmons stated. “They’ll trade your a-.” “You have two years remaining — $48 million or $52 million — then they will trade you. Pat Riley would trade anyone from his squad or his family. That guy is willing to do anything. He is 79 years old. You think he’ll say, ‘Oh, I’ll wait until I’m 81 to see if this Jimmy Butler thing works.’

“He’ll f—— trade you. I would not be surprised if he trades him this summer. Jimmy, don’t become too comfy.”

The Heat undoubtedly are looking for ways to improve after being knocked out of the 2024 NBA Playoffs in just five games by the Boston Celtics. Butler did not play in the series after he injured his knee during the play-in round. That was after the 34-year-old appeared in just 60 regular season games during the 2023-24 campaign, the fourth time in his five seasons with Miami that he played in fewer than 64 games.

His statistics of 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game were slightly lower than the previous season, when he helped the Heat to the 2023 NBA Finals before being defeated by the Denver Nuggets. Butler will turn 35 before the start of next season, and Simmons hypothesized that the Heat may use him in a convoluted trade to obtain Paul George, who may be leaving the Los Angeles Clippers. The recently turned 34-year-old has a player option for next season, which he could decline to become an unrestricted free agency this offseason. He might also sign a contract extension before June 30.

Riley, the Heat’s president, recently was noncommittal about a contract extension for Butler, and Butler and George have been linked to the Philadelphia 76ers.

“I keep eyeing the Paul George piece of all of this wondering if that could be a Miami basically doing that weird Miami voodoo they do where they started out with Jimmy Butler and somehow end up with Paul George on a new contract,” Simmons said. “And you’re like, ‘Wait, how’d they do that?’

“Whether it’s like a sign, a double trade where they trade Butler to Paul George and he moves into the Butler spot. Or they trade Butler to Philly to create this big trade exception.”

The Clippers were likewise eliminated in the first round of this postseason, falling to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. George has advanced to the conference finals three times in his NBA career, most recently in 2021. Butler has helped the Heat go to the NBA Finals three times in his five seasons in Miami, including another trip in 2020. However, the Heat have had to advance to the play-in round the past two seasons, in part because their regular season records have fallen short due to Butler’s occasional absence.

For his part, George appeared in 74 games this season but never played in more than 56 games in any of his four prior seasons in L.A.

The exchange of the two veteran stars would certainly shake up the NBA, something Riley certainly has been known to do in the past.

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