The Miami Heat are pulling the plug on trade negotiations involving disgruntled Minnesota Timberwolves star Jimmy Butler -- at least for now.
According to multiple sources, the Heat have confirmed that president of basketball operations Pat Riley told players that the franchise is not currently pursuing a deal for the All-Star forward. However, that could change in the future:
Heat confirm that Pat Riley addressed players about Jimmy Butler trade rumors. Basically said team is "pulling the plug" for now but that's not to say something won't happen later.
— Shandel Richardson (@ShandelRich) October 18, 2018
The Heat have reportedly been the only team to show significant interest in the 29-year-old veteran. Miami has spent weeks discussing a trade with the Timberwolves, with the most notable trade offer reportedly featuring Josh Richardson, Bam Adebayo and a first-round draft pick. According to reports, however, the T-Wolves scoffed at that trade package as it seems Minnesota is expecting a blockbuster deal for their franchise star.
We're all aware that both Butler and the Timberwolves want to move on from one another as soon as possible, but the Wolves aren't going to just accept any deal on the table. It appears that the Heat have grown frustrated enough with the lack of progression on trade talks that Riley is now utilizing his own negotiation of tactic of pulling his name from the table.
Heck, the never-ending trade talk discussions between both sides have resulted in some interesting reports.
This is the full transcript from ESPN's Jorge Sedano:
"There's been a couple of different incarnations of this deal. The first one, the Heat didn't want to take back Gorgui Dieng. Then, the next incarnation of the deal was 'OK forget it, let's just do it straight up, just for Jimmy on your end.' They finally relented on Josh Richardson. They were giving them Josh Richardson, then Dion Waiters was going to be the cap filler and then a protected first-round pick.
"The medicals were exchanged, which generally in the NBA means this is a done deal. And then, Thibs called back and wanted more picks. And Pat Riley literally -- I was told - called him a motherbleeper and hung up the phone."
For what it's worth Riley immediately denied the report, saying he has too much respect for Thibodeau to ever call him a name like that.
The Timberwolves clearly want a deal that matches the value of their two-way superstar. The problem is, they may not have any takers if they continue to stand by that asking price.
