With the 2025 NBA trade deadline rapidly approaching, the most eventful off-court time of the regular season has officially arrived. Former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Pat Riley has unfortunately found himself at the heart of that reality, with a disgruntled franchise player looking to force their way out of Miami.
This would typically result in the Lakers emerging as one of the most heavily rumored destinations for said superstar, but the times seem to be changing in Los Angeles—or at least they need to.
For those out of the loop, Jimmy Butler made a shockingly public request to be traded by the Miami Heat. Miami has since responded by suspending Butler and making an all-but-unprecedented statement revealing that they're willing to trade their franchise player.
The inevitable result in previous seasons would be for the Lakers to become a rumored destination based on the franchise's proclivity for prioritizing star power above all else.
Current general manager Rob Pelinka is as guilty of such actions as any Lakers executive who predated him. He is, after all, the individual responsible for trading for Anthony Davis, as well as the likes of All-Star point guard D'Angelo Russell and future Hall of Fame inductee Russell Westbrook.
The Davis trade is one of the most beneficial in Lakers history, but Pelinka must learn from the Russell and Westbrook deals by remaining focused on building a sustainable future.
Lakers can't afford to go all-in on Jimmy Butler
It's certainly within the realm of possibility that the Lakers could reach out and kick the tires to begin exploring a trade for Butler. Based on the opportunity cost and the direction of the franchise, however, it simply doesn't make sense to go down this path.
The challenging reality is: That says nothing about the quality that Butler provides on the court as a five-time All-NBA and five-time All-Defense honoree who has led the Heat to two NBA Finals.
On paper, a trio of Butler, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James would be among the most imposing in the NBA. Butler and Davis are two of the best defensive players in the NBA, while Butler and James have a proven track record of thriving as perimeter scorers and shot creators late in playoff games.
As such, one can't help but feel intrigued by what that trio could provide, especially if the Lakers were able to retain key players like Dorian Finney-Smith and Austin Reaves.
The reason a Butler trade isn't worth considering, however, is the simple fact that too much would need to go into acquiring him. Miami is more interested in clearing a path toward a noteworthy future than taking back undesirable salaries to simply move Butler.
As such, the Lakers would likely need to offer Reaves if Miami were to even begin to consider an offer—and whoever the better player is today, the age factor comes into play.
While Reaves is 26 and just now beginning to enter his prime, Butler is 35—with more than 30,000 minutes of wear and tear between the regular season and the playoffs. Even before the topic of what else Los Angeles would have to include comes up, that alone makes this an easy trade to walk away from.
Perhaps the Heat will wake up willing to gift Butler to the Lakers for their less desirable contracts and no first-round draft picks, but until that unlikely day arrives, there's no reason to even consider a trade.