Rumors of Jimmy Butler: Pat Riley, the most aggressive heat in pursuit of Star | Bleacher's report

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If the team's president, Pat Riley, made his way, Jimmy Butler could play in a Miami Heat jersey for the 2018-19 season.

according to Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN, Riley's Heat "has been as aggressive as any team in pursuit of a trade with Jimmy Butler" with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wojnarowski noted that the Minnesota property was hoping to reach an agreement early next week, so Riley and the Heat may not have to wait long.

This comes after Shams Charania from The Athletic indicated that Butler requested an exchange, and Adrian Wojnarowski ESPN reported that he preferred the Brooklyn Nets, the Los Angeles Clippers and the New York Knicks.

While reports led to social media beef with Butler, Andrew Wiggins, Nick Wiggins' brother and even Stephen Jackson, this also means that one of the best players in the NBA is readily available.

according to WojnarowskiTimberwolves, president of basketball operations and head coach Tom Thibodeau does not want to trade Butler but this owner, Glen Taylor, has insisted because he does not want that he "threatens a bigger circus than what already exists in the franchise".

This is good news for the Heat and other interested teams, since Butler can take over from one side or the other of the field. He is four times All-Star, twice All-NBA and four times All-Defensive.

Miami played in the playoffs last season as the No. 6 seed of the Eastern Conference, but lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round.

The Eastern Conference is fairly open after LeBron James' departure to join the Los Angeles Lakers, and trading for Butler could make the Heat a realistic candidate. He could defend the likes of Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Kawhi Leonard or Victor Oladipo, among others, in a series of potential playoffs and would also take some of the offensive pressure off Goran Dragic's shoulders.