MIAMI (AP) 鈥� The Miami Heat are listing Jimmy Butler as doubtful for their game Thursday at Orlando, saying he needs time to recondition before returning to the lineup.
Butler did not fly with the team to Orlando on Wednesday night, and his intentions for future games seem a bit unclear as well.
Butler has not asked the Heat to be moved, but ESPN, citing sources it did not name, reported Wednesday that the six-time All-Star wants a trade by the league's Feb. 6 deadline and is open to joining teams such as Phoenix, Golden State, Houston and Dallas.
The primary colors of those teams' uniforms include orange, yellow, red and blue. Butler's hair, perhaps not coincidentally, has been tinged in those colors at times in recent weeks.
鈥淚 actually like it,鈥� Butler said earlier this month when . 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to be talked about. I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 such a thing as bad publicity 鈥� to a point.鈥�
Miami, if it doesn鈥檛 trade Butler, would run the risk of potentially losing him for nothing as a free agent next summer.
It is the latest twist in a long-running saga involving Butler's future with the Heat, one that began picking up steam back in May when over the summer.
Butler is eligible for an extension that would guarantee him $113 million for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. But he is 35 and misses, on average, about one out of every four games in his Heat tenure.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you have somebody who鈥檚 going to be there and available every single night,鈥� Riley said in May. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the truth.鈥�
Riley also chided Butler after last season for saying that if he hadn't gotten hurt during the play-in tournament, teams like Boston and New York would have lost to Miami.
鈥淚 thought, 鈥業s that Jimmy trolling or is that Jimmy serious?鈥� If you鈥檙e not on the court playing against Boston or on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut on the criticism of those teams,鈥� Riley said last spring.
Butler twisted an ankle in on Friday but missed the remainder of that game and the next two Heat games 鈥� at Orlando last Saturday and against Brooklyn on Monday 鈥� with illness, not the ankle, cited as the reason.
Butler has helped Miami make the NBA Finals twice in his Heat tenure. He is averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists this season.
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AP NBA:
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
