Miami Heat
Proposed draft compensation: Khris Middleton, Pat Connaughton
The Miami Heat have been at the center of this NBA Trade Deadline season for all the wrong reasons. In the past, if the Heat were in the mix heading into the trade deadline, it was largely because there was an expectation that they were going to be the ones on the right side of a blockbuster deal. However, this time around, the roles have shifted and it's the Heat that is having to deal with the headache of a disgruntled player on their roster. While there's no guarantee that Miami will trade Jimmy Butler, it's in the best interest that they do.
In this hypothetical deal, that's the goal for the Heat - to get Jimmy off the roster. If Miami would move forward with this type of deal, it's because the team has grown tired of the narrative and is somewhat willing to accept a trade that may not bring the best return. But, for the sake of the rest of the players on their roster, they must move forward and pull the trigger. At the very least, this type of trade would bring the Heat some much-needed versatility heading into the 2026 offseason.
In this proposed deal, the Heat would send Jimmy to his preferred landing spot in Phoenix, and in return, Miami would get Khris Middleton (who has a player option for next season) and Pat Connaughton (who also has a player option for next season). At worst, the Heat would be able to clear both players off their cap sheet after next season. That would set them up to have a tremendous amount of salary cap space heading into the 2026 offseason. That's reportedly one of their goals in pursuing a trade of Jimmy.
Maybe there's some draft compensation that also comes the Heat's way in this deal but either way, this is not going to be a great look for Miami. At this point, it's pretty clear that the Heat is going to be taking a loss on this trade. For the Heat, the big question revolves around how big of an "L" this will end up being. But, at this point, this has become one of those situations where the Heat has to be willing to live with what happens - Jimmy has become that much of a problem for the team.