Jimmy Butler recently said that he wants to once again feel joy when playing basketball and doesn’t think that’s possible with the Miami Heat.
He apparently also doesn’t think that’s possible with the Memphis Grizzlies.
On Tuesday, Chris Haynes reported, per NBACentral, that Butler is not interested in playing for the Grizzlies.
This is somewhat surprising because Memphis sounds like the sort of team Butler wanted to head to.
Jimmy Butler is not interested in playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, per @ChrisBHaynes pic.twitter.com/3iQEVVe2Zl
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 7, 2025
Reports have said that Butler wishes to play for a squad that can be in contention now and win a lot of games.
Most Memphis fans would agree that the Grizzlies can do that.
They are currently the third-best team in the West with a 24-13 record.
The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder are ahead of them, but it doesn’t get a lot better than Memphis.
Plus, many analysts have already said that Butler could take the Grizzlies to the next level, especially if he was able to find good chemistry with Ja Morant.
A Memphis team with Butler could do many great things, so it’s not entirely clear why Butler doesn’t want to play there.
Other reports have said he has his heart set on moving to the Phoenix Suns, so perhaps he isn’t interested in any other team unless it’s Phoenix.
It’s important to remember that Butler doesn’t have much control in this situation.
He can state where he does and does not want to play, but the Heat have all the power and they will send him to the team that offers them the best deal.
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