All-Star guard Jimmy Butler is returning to Miami on a multimillion-dollar deal that will keep him with the Heat through the 2025-26 season.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Saturday that Butler has signed a four-year, $184 million contract extension.
The deal includes a player option for $37.6 million in the 2022-23 season. The Houston native will now have had seven years and $287 million guaranteed to him by Miami since joining via a sign-and-trade in 2019.
Butler, 31, will anchor a Heat roster that is quickly taking shape in an attempt to return to the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons. Miami concluded a sign-and-trade deal with the Toronto Raptors to acquire guard Kyle Lowry and have young All-Star center Bam Adebayo already in place. Adebayo has just won an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo as a starter with Team USA.
"Jimmy is the anchor and face of our franchise along with Bam and Kyle," Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement.
"With Jimmy, we get an All-NBA player, an All-NBA Defensive player, tough as nails and a complete player across the board. He's very deserving of this contract as he continually puts himself at the top of the league at his position. Having him in the Heat organisation has been a great, great coup for us."
A five-time All-Star, Butler has spent the past two seasons with the Heat. In 10 NBA seasons, he has career averages of 17.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists but exceeded them in 2020-21 with 21.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists. He also led the league in steals with 2.1 per game.
"I'm excited about this upcoming season," Butler said in a statement issued by the team. "Good players find a way to play good basketball. We have a lot of those types of guys on this team."
"This is the place for me… It's a blessing to be able to represent this organisation, to play alongside these guys and for Coach Spo [Erik Spoelstra] and Coach Pat."
Butler is not the only Miami player to be re-signed to a mammoth new contract. Duncan Robinson, the team's sharpshooting wing player, also agreed to an extension with the franchise. Robinson signed for five years and $90 million, the most expensive contract ever given to an undrafted player.
To round out an impressive-looking starting five, Riley has also added P.J. Tucker on a two-year, $15 million deal during free agency. Tucker was an integral part of the Milwaukee Bucks' championship run last season after his mid-season trade from the Houston Rockets and will add to the strong defensive identity the Heat appear to be building behind Butler, Lowry, and Adebayo.
Under highly-regarded head coach Erik Spoelstra, a two-time champion in 2012 and 2013, they are certainly a team to watch out for next season.
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