The Nets have been linked to Jimmy Butler in the past, and Miami has reportedly started to listen to trade offers for their aging All-Star.
Just don’t expect one to be coming from Brooklyn.
Butler has shown interest in coming to the Nets in the past, and a source close to the situation told The Post that is still very much the case.
But after diving headfirst into a rebuild, Nets general manager Sean Marks isn’t believed to be interested in giving up assets he so assiduously collected.
Could the offseason be a different story? Signing Butler as an unrestricted free agent? Perhaps.
But it’s unclear if the 35-year-old Butler — whose age doesn’t seem to match Brooklyn’s timeline — would be willing to take a pay cut or a shorter-term deal.
Or if the Nets will have an appetite for that in the summer.
What is clear is 1) they aren’t currently a trade partner, and 2) having his name linked in trade rumors isn’t a big deal to Butler.
“I actually like it,” Butler said Wednesday. “It’s good to be talked about. I don’t think there’s [such a] thing as bad publicity — to a point. But somebody talks about me getting traded; it’s a lot.”
The most prominent somebody was ESPN’s Shams Charania, with Tuesday’s report that Miami was taking calls on Butler and that the All-Star wants to play for the Rockets, Mavericks or Warriors.
On Wednesday Charania added the Suns to his list, which conspicuously omitted the Nets.
But ESPN co-worker Bobby Marks pointed out Phoenix is a second apron team that can’t combine salaries in any deal, while Bradley Beal has a trade clause.
More to the point, Butler’s agent Bernie Lee vociferously denied the report while Heat owner Mickey Arison retweeted Lee’s statement.
Meanwhile, a source close to Butler said, “Brooklyn is and would remain his first choice to the extent that he’s fine with playing out the year opting out and signing there as a free agent.” But the important caveat there is “free agent.”
Marks has cobbled together a horde of tradeable picks, including 12 first-rounders and 11 more second-rounders.
While Giannis Antetokounmpo is believed to be the White Whale for the Nets (and just about every other team), Butler is older, becoming injury prone and beginning to exhibit signs of decline.
Now, Butler can decline his player option of $52.2 million for next season and hit unrestricted free agency.
But even Nets interest in the summer would have to be at the right price and on the right terms.
Butler claimed earlier this season that money didn’t matter to him at this stage in his career.
He was asked again Wednesday if that still stood. Doesn’t money always matter?
“Not really,” Butler insisted. “My kids matter. My happiness matters. My well-being matters, and my family matters. Right now, it’s all about staying healthy and playing basketball. I think I’ve done that so far, so let’s see what happens.”
The same can be said of Brooklyn.
The Nets’ plans haven’t changed, even if the top lottery seed seems unlikely.
At 10-14 they’re actually sitting eighth in the East and squarely in the play-in — drafting 15th based on Wednesday’s standings — they’re just a half game better than a tie for the eighth-worst record and three games ahead of Charlotte in the Bottom 5.
“The way the Brooklyn season is panning out and with how truly awful the bottom of the league is, Brooklyn would have to play their G League team to catch them at the bottom,” a league source told The Post. “Which they very well might do to end the season but they will still not end up at the bottom.”
As a result, the Nets will lean into not just their four first-round picks in the 2025 draft, but using their trove of cap space.
They’re set to have $60 million to spend in the summer, and while Marks values flexibility above all else and could punt the space into 2026 free agency if need be, the preference is to keep the rebuild short.
“Their reset will be around signing a max free agent and draft picks,” said the league source. “They for sure won’t tank multiple years. It’s going to be a one-year reset.”
