NBA Rumors: Jimmy Butler ‘Expected to Seek’ $113M Max Heat Contract Extension

Tyler Conway@@jtylerconwayFeatured Columnist IVMay 2, 2024

David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Miami Heat guard Jimmy Butler will reportedly seek a two-year, $113 million contract extension this summer.

Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reported Butler will look to land the max extension possible under the terms of his current contract.

Butler has two seasons remaining on the three-year, $146.4 million extension that began this season. He originally inked a four-year, $140.8 million contract with Miami in 2019.

The Heat have had playoff success with Butler on the roster, even if they’ve been inconsistent in the regular season. They reached the 2020 and 2023 NBA Finals and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022. Miami was eliminated in five games by the Boston Celtics this season, but Butler suffered an MCL sprain in the Heat’s first play-in tournament game and was unable to play in that series.

Injuries are par for the course for Butler, who has played at least 70 games in a season only twice in his career. As he’s reached his 30s, Butler has also been far more judicious in deciding when to take over regular-season games when he’s been in the lineup.

It’s been more than a half-decade since Butler has attempted even 15 shots per game in the regular season. To put that into perspective, Butler ranked 57th in the NBA in shot attempts in 2023-24 at 13.2 per game. He finished behind players like Bogdan Bogdanović, Franz Wagner and Devin Vassell. That’s not exactly the platonic ideal of what you’d want from a superstar.

Butler has consistently blossomed into one of the best players in the world in the playoffs, but the 82-game regular season does matter. It’s fair to wonder how much longer Butler can turn a switch as he approaches age 35.

The Heat have long taken a ruthless approach in negotiations with aging players. Dwyane Wade’s sojourn to Chicago and Cleveland before finding his way home might be the best evidence of that organizational philosophy.

With that said, we’ve seen an unhappy Butler disrupt teams in the past. If the Heat want to move forward harmoniously, they’ll give him an extension—even if it’s not the best long-term call.