The Miami Heat are in no way forced to part ways with veteran star Jimmy Butler at February’s trade deadline.

Still, it appears the route Miami’s front office is eager to take. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Saturday evening the Heat are looking to move the six-time All-Star forward “as soon as possible.”

“This is a clear-cut end to the Butler-Heat relationship,” Charania began on SportsCenter. “And as stunning as the seven-game suspension was around the league, more than anything, this was an avenue for the Heat to keep Jimmy Butler away from the team over these next couple of weeks. The situation around the Heat with Jimmy Butler there had become unmanageable.”

It seems the Heat partially suspended Butler in an attempt to mediate tension in the locker room. Without the 35-year-old present, the hope is the rest of the team can put their full focus on winning games.

“From my understanding, the goal right now is to move Butler as soon as possible,” Charania said. “And I’m told the Heat have spoken with teams as of Friday about Butler trades, and they will continue to engage with teams.”

Butler will finish serving his suspension when the Heat face the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 17. However, team president Pat Riley and company clearly hope a trade is completed by then.

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Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or follow him on X @AnthonyPasci.