Did Heat’s Jimmy Butler leave trade destination hint at shoe choice vs. Blazers?

Surrounding noise Jimmy Butler and his potential departure following his trade request to Miami Heat it’s never been louder. Butler’s most prominent suitor, The Phoenix Suns have already prepared for a bigger trade for the Heat starand it looks like the 35-year-old wing is looking forward to a potential team-up with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker himself, if his shoe choice during Miami’s 116-107 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers was anything to go by.

As pointed out by Bleacher Report on X (formerly known as Twitter), Butler was wearing The Suns colorway of his signature Li Ning JB3 shoe, which may be as strong a hint as he’s willing to give the public to urge the Heat to trade him to his preferred destination as soon as possible.

Butler has a history of either going all in on his team or going all out. Back in 2018, when he was unhappy with the Minnesota Timberwolves and demanded a tradehe also pulled such stunts, most notably talking trash during scrimmages while leading the bench players to victories over the starting units, as well as conducting an interview with Rachel Nichols, who was then on ESPN.

With Butler made his stance on the Heat trade crystal clearit was only a matter of time before his other actions reflected his desire to leave the team. Nothing is a coincidence when it comes to the 35-year-old star forward, so as much as he would play this decision to wear the Suns colors on his signature shoes as a coincidence, all signs point to an eventual move to the Valley for him.

The Heat and Suns are about to build a complex trade just to bring Jimmy Butler to the Valley

Because the Suns are above the second tax bracket, they are subject to several trade restrictions. They can’t take more salary than they give out, and they also can’t aggregate multiple pieces to land a single salary-matching player in any potential trade. A third or fourth team is necessary for Jimmy Butler to get his wish, especially when he is The heat allegedly did not show readiness whatever he takes on Bradley Beal and his hefty contract that includes a no-trade clause.

Insiders suggest that it is The Milwaukee Bucks could be the team to pick up Beal’s contractalthough the Bucks, like the Suns, are above the second tax bracket, which further complicates matters.