Miami Heat star forward Jimmy Butler decided to wear Phoenix Suns-themed sneakers for Tuesday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, as trade rumors continue to mount leading up to the Feb. 6 deadline.
Heat Trade Rumors: Jimmy Butler Has Been Linked To The Suns
Butler has been consistently linked to the Suns during said trade discussions. The shoes he wore feature the same yellow, black, and orange color scheme that Phoenix is well-known for. Was it just a coincidence?
Jimmy Butler’s shoes tonight, must be a coincidence! pic.twitter.com/W8Xd9dNZmc
— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) January 22, 2025
“Jimmy’s No. 1 focus is getting traded, preferably, to the Phoenix Suns. Everything else is secondary,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said in Monday’s episode of his Hoop Collective podcast. “Not getting traded to ‘Team X,’ not getting traded to ‘Team Y,’ getting traded to the Phoenix Suns. And so, anything that you want to bring that’s rational, if it doesn’t mean getting traded to the Suns, Jimmy Butler is not going to be interested in it right now.
“That’s one thing you got to remember out of all of that. And that is the way he is operating. The second thing is that what [ESPN’s Tim Bontemps] has been saying for months as well, is that Butler’s best move is to just focus on playing. I think that is on the table but not until after the trade deadline. And so that’s one of the things that the Heat have in the back of their mind.”
Butler Wore Those Shoes On The Same Night The Suns Traded Their 2031 First-Round Pick For Three First-Rounders
Jimmy Butler also decided to wear these particular shoes on the same night that Phoenix traded its unprotected 2031 first-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for first-round picks in 2025, 2027, and 2029, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The Suns are acquiring the least favorable firsts in 2025 of Cleveland/Minnesota, 2027 of Cleveland/Minnesota/Utah, and 2029 of Cleveland/Minnesota/Utah, per Charania.
Regarding the Butler trade rumors, Charania then reported Tuesday that Butler “tripled down on his trade request. He did it to Pat Riley’s face, and last week he did it to Micky Arison, the team owner and CEO. I’m told the Heat have had some productive conversations on a potential Butler trade this week.”
Before Tuesday’s trade with the Jazz, the Suns had only their own 2031 first-round pick and the Denver Nuggets’ 2025 second-round pick for a future deal.
It would appear that both the Suns and Heat are preparing for a major trade.
