Sources - Heat's Jimmy Butler prefers trade out of Miami - ESPN

Six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler prefers a trade out of Miami ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline, league sources told ESPN.

ESPN reported in the Inside Pass on Dec. 10 that the Heat are willing to listen to trade offers for Butler, and that Butler wants a win-now contender in any deal. Butler has not formally requested a trade with the Heat, sources said, but is believed to be ready for his exit.

Butler has $49 million on his contract with the Heat for this season and a $52 million player option for 2025-26 after the two sides failed to reach an extension last summer. Both sides appear ready to move on from this Butler-led era — as the Heat lean into a rising core of All-Star center Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, who is in the midst of a career season — and Butler's player option for next season has given the parties their own vantage point of leverage.

Teams have been informed that Butler intends to decline his 2025-26 player option and become a free agent in July, sources said.

Butler is open to trade destinations such as the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, league sources said. Multiple teams have called the Heat to express interest in Butler in the last two weeks, but Miami has not shown urgency in talks as the franchise monitors the first half of the season, those sources said.

The Heat, currently in sixth place in the East, could simply play out the season and view whether Butler opts in or opts out. However, to reach a new home via trade, Butler needs the Heat's help — a test of balance in how the franchise handles doing right by its cornerstone over the last half decade.

The Heat signed Adebayo to a three-year, $166 million maximum extension last offseason, but elected not to