Warriors rumors: Pat Riley says Heat will not trade Jimmy Butler

If the Warriors season hinges on acquiring Jimmy Butler, it might be over.

The Golden State Warriors are reportedly scouring the NBA trade market looking for another star to pair with Steph Curry and Draymond Green in pursuit of another championship. Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler has been someone fans and analysts have circled as a potential target. However, top Heat exec Pat Riley released a public statement through Twitter on Thursday directly aimed at shooting down any rumors surrounding Miami’s best player.

“Statement from Pat Riley// ‘We usually don’t comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches. Therefore, we will make it clear - We are not trading Jimmy Butler.’”

While this would be far from the first time an executive has said a player would not be traded before a move was made, Riley does not seem like someone interested in engaging in that kind of public jostling for leverage. Speculation about a Butler trade always seemed a little confusing given the continued weakness of the Eastern Conference. While Miami is 14-13 so far this season, they are currently the sixth-seed.

Granted, the decision may not be entirely in the Heat’s hands. Butler has a player option after this season and could conceivably opt-out in search of a new deal elsewhere. Riley and the Heat may be willing to consider offers for Butler if he were to try and use that leverage to request a trade prior to the deadline and warn Miami that he will not re-sign. Still, any acquiring team, like the Warriors would still probably need to make the Heat an enticing enough offer for them to forego a potential playoff run this summer. That seems highly unlikely, especially given the Warriors limited flexibility.