According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Jimmy Butler intends to test the market in 2025.
“Butler originally wanted an extension from the Heat this summer, but then changed his mind after Miami did not offer one,” Jackson reported. “He now intends to play out this season and not sign an extension with any team and will become a free agent in the summer of 2025. The Heat is not shopping Butler, according to a source.”
Butler, 34, has a player option for the 2025-26 season worth $52.4 million, which he is expected to decline. Should there be sufficient interest in his services, Butler could test free agency and potentially sign the last big contract of his career.
Miami would shed significant salary off its cap sheet, giving the team additional flexibility to retool its roster around Bam Adebayo. Most importantly, Butler will be incentivized to play his best basketball throughout the upcoming regular season. In recent years, he has become known for not taking the regular season as seriously, often leaving the Heat to fight an uphill battle at the start of the playoffs.
At his best, Butler is still a force of nature. He can control the tempo of a game and will his team to a win, as we saw throughout the 2023 NBA playoffs. Nevertheless, he has begun to show signs of aging and must pick his spots more cautiously. Miami’s roster has been hamstrung by Butler’s deal in recent years. He is letting them off the hook with his decision to look around the NBA before making his next decision.
As such, Miami will likely get the best version of Butler for the upcoming season before shedding an albatross salary in the summer. That should give fans on South Beach a lot to look forward to, regardless of how the season plays out for the franchise.
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