NBA Champion Says The Miami Heat Should Trade Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat entered Wednesday's matchup with the Sacramento Kings as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a 24-23 record in their first 47 games.
They have been struggling as of late, and are in the middle of a seven-game losing streak.
On Tuesday, NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins (via ESPN's NBA Today) shared that he thinks Miami should trade Butler.
Perkins: "It's time for the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler to go their separate ways. I believe that the Miami Heat need to do right by Jimmy and trade him to a team that actually could compete for a title this season, and Jimmy needs to accept that."
The Heat have made the NBA Finals in two out of Butler's first four seasons with the franchise.
However, Perkins made a good point that their roster features young players such as Bam Adebayo (26) and Tyler Herro (24), who are much younger than Butler (34).
Butler has an additional two years on his contract, but the final season has a player option, so he could be a free agent as soon as 2025.
That said, if a team acquired the six-time NBA All-Star, they would be guaranteed to have him for the 2024-25 season.
Butler is currently averaging 21.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting 49.1% from the field and 42.6% from the three-point range in 32 games.
Following the Kings, the Heat will visit the Washington Wizards on Friday evening.
