The Miami Heat lost 128-115 to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night, and after the game, star player Jimmy Butler was brutally honest in his postgame interview.
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"Probably not."
—Jimmy Butler when asked if he could get his joy back in Miami. pic.twitter.com/5gahEJxWM7
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 3, 2025
"I'm happy here, off the court, but I want to be back to somewhat dominant. I want to hoop and I want to help this team win. right now I'm not doing that."
A reporter then asked him: "Can you get your joy back here on the court?"
And Butler candidly responded: "Probably not."
Ever since Heat President Pat Riley came out and said that they will not trade Butler, the 35-year-old has barely even tried. To note, he has taken a combined 11 shots in the last two games.
Butler finished tonight's game with 9 points (3-for-6 FG) to go with four assists and two rebounds and a whopping -27 +/- in 27 minutes of playing time.
Jimmy Butler only took 6 shots tonight and had a team worst -27 😬 pic.twitter.com/xgWbMDwUwW
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 3, 2025
That is, in the last game vs. the Pelicans, he had 9 points (3-for-5 FG) and was benched in the fourth quarter.
Jimmy Butler trying his best to get traded 😭pic.twitter.com/qCe5TuZOal
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) January 2, 2025
Reportedly, Butler's frustrations stem from the Heat declining to give him a two-year, $113 million contract extension this past summer (per Miami Herald).
With this in mind, Butler is surely not the first superstar to try and force their way off of a team in hopes of finding a new home mid-season.
this reminds me of james hardens last interview as a rocket, traded the next day
could see the same with jimmy butler pic.twitter.com/VdTJVlLxsP https://t.co/Nb8cuhNLJJ
— 🏆 - Jays Enthusiast (@gReenbean_26) January 3, 2025
Jimmy Butler’s making $48M to play basketball, yet he's still unhappy. 😳pic.twitter.com/63PKWdhRAd
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) January 3, 2025
If this truly is the end of Butler's time in Miami, the six-time All-Star has had a well-accomplished tenure, which included leading the Heat to two Finals appearances.
Jimmy Butler since joining the Miami Heat:
• 2x Finals appearances
• ECF MVP
• 2x ECF champion
• 3x ECF appearances
• 1st in triple doubles in franchise history
• 1st in 40+ point playoffs games
• Saved the franchise in 2019They will never make me hate you 22. pic.twitter.com/KgLMaVffKK
— 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 (@WadexFlash) January 3, 2025
One thing is for certain, the fans are starting to become disgruntled, as they hope the Heat front office starts to take action ahead of the trade deadline, which is one month away.
One user on X summed it all up: "Extend Jimmy Butler or trade him 50 more games of this would be wasting everyone's time."
The Heat currently have a 17-14 record and have a promising lineup even without Butler, as they are led by Tyler Herro (24.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists) and Bam Adebayo (16.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists).
The top trade destinations preferred by Butler include: the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks.
Hoping "to get his joy back," time will tell if Jimmy gets his wish.
"I want to see me get my joy back for playing basketball. And wherever that may be... we will find out here pretty soon."
X/@HeatvsHaters
Related: Miami Heat President Pat Riley Addresses Jimmy Butler Trade Rumors
