If the Sixers’ cap-space dreams do not come true, they may try to trade for Jimmy Butler. If they did, a fresh report claims they might be willing to extend the 34-year-old’s contract.
Sixers are willing to extending Jimmy Butler’s deal if they acquire him through trade.
Jimmy Butler was a Sixer. After a Philadelphia minute, the ball bounced four times, went in, and he was gone.
In the seasons following 2019, the six-time All-Star carried the Miami Heat to two NBA Finals appearances and three Eastern Conference Finals. The five-time All-NBA and five-time All-Defensive teamer will turn 35 in September, but the latest news suggests that 76ers President Daryl Morey will not be discouraged from potentially extending the superstar’s deal if he is acquired in a trade.
The latest, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer:
“It’s no secret that the 76ers are keenly watching Jimmy Butler’s contract issue with the Miami Heat.
The Sixers see him as a backup plan if they are unable to pursue Paul George in free agency.
According to insiders, the Sixers are willing to offer Butler a maximum-salary extension if circumstances align and he forces a trade out of Miami.
When this nugget, in particular, passes through the social media aggregation engine, it will most likely come across as a slight to Jimmy Buckets.
And has JB not been much more successful than PG in the last five or so postseasons?
However, you’d have to immerse oneself in Sixers caponomics to understand why the organisation would considerably prefer PG (even if he wasn’t necessarily listed higher on their figurative board than former Marquette Golden Eagle Jimmy Buckets).
In summary, trading for Butler would almost surely result in Morey being sucked dry by Pat Riley, reducing the 76ers’ five first-round pick haul, and Morey would even have to make a few trades to compensate.
On the other hand, if they signed Paul George for cash, they could keep that huge pick haul and pursue another complimentary piece or three!
So Butler is a fallback choice, albeit one with significant Finals MVP potential.
Pompey continues:
“The former Sixer is seeking a two-year maximum deal at $113 million. There have been suggestions that Miami may attempt to move the small forward rather than extend his contract.
However, Heat president Pat Riley informed reporters on May 6 that Miami will not trade the six-time All-Star.
Butler is slated to make $48.7 million this season. Next summer, he will have a player option worth $52.4 million, which he may refuse, opt out of, and become an unrestricted free agency in the summer 2025.
If Miami refuses to commit to their franchise cornerstone beyond the 2026 season with the extension Butler’s camp is seeking, they will inevitably have to consider trading Butler before he leaves them empty-handed one year later; to avoid that risk, Miami would need to settle that aspect of The Jimmy Butler Business before the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline next February.
So, Mr. Pat Riley, what is it going to be? Go for No. 2 or get out of the bowl? Because if we’ve learned anything from Butler’s time in Minnesota, it’s that if he’s not happy, he burns everything down in a Tour de Force blaze of practice session glory.
Morey is no stranger to telegraphing extreme interest in any and all superstars, whether dissatisfied, pre-disgruntled, or completely content. Butler appears to fall into the pre-disgruntled category here.
Recently, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer wrote that “at this juncture, however, league executives are of the mind Butler will most likely remain with the Heat,” but Fischer also described the situation as “murky.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst phrased it this way last month:
“There will be a number of names mentioned, but I’ll start with two: both feature players who are eligible for extensions with their teams but will not do so for a variety of reasons.
Jimmy Butler, of the Miami Heat, is the first name to watch. He has two years remaining on his deal. He is interested in extending…. If Jimmy Butler wants to extend but the Heat are unwilling to do so due to high luxury tax fines, is there a way to bring Butler back to Philadelphia?
So, take a second look at Windy’s final phrase in the first paragraph… Butler will not receive an extension from Miami… for a variety of reasons.
So… if that’s true, it’s only a matter of time before he’s wearing a new uniform, right?
If Butler wants an extension from Riley (as he effectively stated in a recent GQ interview), but Miami refuses, could JB request a trade to Philadelphia, where he knows he’ll get the same dollar figure he’s looking for? It’s a town where he believes he has a chance to capture the title he’s been chasing his entire career. Can you image how a title would elevate his already great legacy? You’d think he’d outperform James Harden and a few other Hall of Famers in terms of jewellery, right? Does he believe Philadelphia, with his former teammate Joel Embiid and now All-Star Tyrese Maxey, can offer a better path than Miami, as well as a lot more money?
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor made it sound as if Butler would have to demand that he wanted to play for Philly and only Philly in order to make it happen.
“Aside from the pipe dream that Kevin Durant or Jimmy Butler would ask to be dealt directly to Philly, sources familiar with the Sixers’ thinking say that Brandon Ingram is the primary fallback plan.”
I recently argued that if the Sixers are unable to acquire Paul George, they should consider trading for Butler.
If Butler could be acquired on draft day, the Sixers would still have up to $17.3 million in cap room to play with, plus a $8 million Room exception, before extending Maxey — allowing them to cover the rest of the team with veteran minimum contracts, which Morey specialises in.
If nothing else, this report confirms Daryl Morey’s desire to bring Jimmy Butler back to Philadelphia, even if it is not his first priority this summer.
