Dunk of the Night: Kawhi Leonard

The Miami Heat have reportedly had trade talks involving Jimmy Butler with a number of teams. However, no trade is close because Miami doesn’t like the options they have.

The Heat are facing an awkward situation, with Butler’s team-issued suspension soon to expire. Butler has indicated he’s ready to return to the team and play. But Miami is seemingly reluctant to go down that path. The Heat suspended Butler because of his lack of effort in games after his trade request, not because of the trade request itself. That’s not a situation Miami wants to see repeat if Butler plays in games for them again.

After meeting with Heat president Pat Riley, Butler reissued his trade demand. He also made it clear he would not sign another contract with Miami. Butler also indicated he may use his $52.4 million player option as leverage to force a situation where he opts in to be traded this offseason.

James Harden’s upcoming free agency has been a source of speculation as far back as Christmas. At that point it was reported that Harden could pursue a reunion with the Houston Rockets. The latest is that the Philadelphia 76ers are determined to re-sign Harden in free agency.

Harden has a $35.6 million player option for next season that he’s expected to decline. Philadelphia has full Bird rights for Harden, so they can offer him up to a four-year max deal, starting at $47.6 million next season. However, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Harden may end up having to take less than the max from the Sixers.

Houston and Harden have maintained interest in reuniting, per Wojnarowski. But the Rockets have a lot of paths they can go down with a projected $60 million in cap space this summer.