Sources -- Jimmy Butler indicates to Heat he wants trade - ESPN
Six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler has indicated to the Miami Heat he wants the team to trade him, league sources told ESPN.
Butler does not plan to furnish the Heat with a list of favored destinations, sources told ESPN. He is open to playing anywhere other than Miami and feels he can make any team a contender — no matter where he is moved, sources said. He does plan to take part in all team activities and will plan to do whatever the Heat ask of him during this process, sources said.
Heat officials did not immediately return messages Thursday night.
Butler scored just nine points in the Heat's 128-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night and then said after the game that he'd lost his joy playing in Miami.
«I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we'll find out here pretty soon,» Butler said. «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, and right now I'm not doing it.»
When asked if he can get his joy back on the court with the Heat, Butler responded: «Probably not.»
An issue that led to Butler's decision was an implication from team officials Thursday that he hadn't played his hardest in the Heat's victory Wednesday over the New Orleans Pelicans. Playing his first game in 13 days after being away with an illness, Butler took just five shots in 25 games and scored nine points in that game.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra did not play Butler in the fourth quarter of either game this week.
«I'm going out there to compete either way; whether I score nine points or 29 points I will compete,» Butler said Thursday night. «You won't say I'm not out there playing hard. It may look like that because my usage is


