NBA Rumors: The ultimate nightmare scenario for Jimmy Butler could be on the verge of playing out for the Miami Heat.

In an ideal world, the Miami Heat will be able to trade Jimmy Butler before the NBA Trade Deadline. However, we don’t live in a perfect world. Even though Jimmy clearly doesn’t want to be in Miami, it doesn’t appear as if the trade is going to come that easy. Even though the Phoenix Suns may be desperate to acquire Jimmy via trade, there’s not a natural path toward a deal – especially as long as Bradley Beal refuses to waive his NBA Trade Deadline.

Unless something drastically changes on that front, it doesn’t appear as if Jimmy is going to be traded before the February 6 deadline. In fact, at least one NBA insider believes that the most likely outcome is that Jimmy remains on the Heat roster beyond the deadline. While that would be far from ideal, it wouldn’t be all that surprising considering the current circumstances. However, there could be even worse news on the Jimmy front for the Heat.

If Jimmy is not traded before the deadline, the hope is that he will opt out to hit the free agency market. While that’s probably the second-best outcome for the Heat, that may not be how things end up playing out. ESPN’s Bobby Marks believes there’s a good chance Jimmy ends up opting into the final year of his contract after this season (if not traded at the deadline) to try and force the Heat’s hands even more during the offseason to try to get to his desired suitor.

How desperate will the Miami Heat be to trade Jimmy Butler?

As nightmarish of a scheario as it woud be for the Heat, it would make sense for Jimmy to make such a move. If he were to hit free agency, it would take a sign and trade for him to get to a team like the Suns. And even then, there would still be the same obstacles to get there.

If Jimmy wanted to prove his point even more, he could continue to take the money for the Heat and pressure them even more to take on Beal’s contract. At that point, starring down the possibility of another season of Jimmy as a distraction, it may not be worth it for Miami. Realistically speaking, if Jimmy doesn’t believe he has any other options, it’s certainly a potential path for him to take.

I’m not sure if Jimmy or the Heat would want that. But Jimmy clearly is trying to force his way to Phoenix and if the Heat isn’t willing to play along, there are other moves to apply pressure that the All-Star forward can resort to. Opting into his contract for the 2025-26 season is a possible next move that the Heat probably wouldn’t appreciate.

The Heat is in a pretty difficult spot and, if they’re not careful, they could find themselves in an even worse nightmare without an easy way out.