Pat Riley went public with the same message that the Miami Heat had been sending privately: "We are not trading Jimmy Butler." One week later, Butler said he wanted to "get my joy back from playing basketball,

The Miami Heat find themselves at a crossroads with forward Jimmy Butler. Late Thursday night, ESPN's Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst reported that Butler had signaled to the Heat that he wanted a trade. That followed a press conference where Butler said he probably would not be able to rediscover his joy for basketball with Miami.

The tipping point apparently came in the wake of Wednesday’s victory over the New Orleans Pelicans when it came to Jimmy Butler’s souring relationship with the Miami Heat turning toxic.