Jimmy Butler's Next Team? How About His Next Contract

With Jimmy Butler in the process of finding a new home, I analyze what his next contract could look like and find a historical template that might fit his unique situation.

The Jimmy Butler era in Miami appears to be coming to an end after he publicly expressed his loss of joy in playing for the organization. The Heat subsequently suspended him for seven games for multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team. They followed that up with a statement saying that they will listen to trade offers for him, just one week after Heat executive Pat Riley announced they would not trade him.

Now the NBA world is hard at work on trade machines trying to find deals that make sense. If you follow the league enough you should know by now how difficult finding a Butler deal is. His high salary, the new apron rules, and teams coming to their senses are all factors limiting his suitors.

A deal will come one way or another. But where he goes and what the framework looks like is all secondary compared to the next step — negotiating his next contract.