Interesting
1
Trades featuring NBA stars rarely come out of the blue. There is often a long process that leads up to one -- whether it unfolds publicly or privately.
Last spring, Miami Heat president Pat Riley indicated the team would wait until summer 2025 to address extending star Jimmy Butler's contract. That meant no extension before the current season. In return, Butler made it known his intention was to bypass his player option for the 2025-26 campaign.
So, here we have a star player with no contract in place after the current season, with both the team and the player passing on chances to extend.