MIAMI _ When free-agent negotiations are allowed to begin Sunday at 6 p.m., Jimmy Butler will reportedly be in South Florida.
Butler, a four-time All-Star forward who will be a free agent, is expected to meet with the Heat in South Florida on Sunday, according to ESPN. A league source confirmed that Butler was expected to meet with the Heat early in free agency.
The Heat currently has no cap space and would need to acquire Butler through a sign-and-trade deal from the 76ers unless it's able to shed $60-plus million to create the necessary space needed to sign him.
Miami currently has 13 players under contract for 2019-20 who are due about $141 million. That puts the Heat above the projected $109 million salary cap and even above the projected $132 million luxury tax line for next season.
The 76ers reportedly plan to be aggressive in trying to sign Butler to a new deal, too. Philadelphia can offer him a full five-year, $190 million max deal.
That's more than the four-year, $141 million contract that the Heat, and every other team in the league, is eligible to offer Butler this offseason.
Butler, 29, is also expected to meet with the Rockets early in the week in Los Angeles, according to ESPN. Houston would also need to acquire Butler through a sign-and-trade agreement.
With a sign-and-trade deal comes challenges.
First, the Heat would need to convince the 76ers that it's in their best interest to cooperate and agree to a trade rather than losing Butler for nothing and just opening cap space. That means Miami would probably need to include quality assets, like draft picks or part of its young core of Bam Adebayo, Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow.
Second, a sign-and-trade deal would leave the Heat hard-capped for the rest of the season at the projected $138.3 million apron, which could be an issue considering the team's current cap situation.
Word of the Heat-Butler meeting came just hours after Dwyane Wade seemed to joke on Twitter that he would consider coming out of retirement if the Heat landed Butler.
"Nah bro. Let's kill that rumor now," Wade tweeted, dismissing the notion that he would return to the NBA to join LeBron James with the Lakers. "It would only be for the HEAT! @JimmyButler what's good."
Butler retweeted Wade with a response of, "hey big head."
Butler and Wade are close friends. They both played at Marquette, and the two played together on the Bulls during the 2016-17 season.
Back in September, Butler named the Heat as his preferred destination while trying to push for a trade from the Timberwolves. The Heat tried to trade for Butler then, but team president Pat Riley eventually broke off trade negotiations with the Timberwolves to avoid them from lingering into the season.
Butler was later traded in November to the 76ers, where he averaged 18.2 points on 46.1% shooting from the field and 33.8% shooting on 3s, 5.3 rebounds and four assists in 55 games this past season.
