Knicks Expressed Interest in Old Enemy

New York Knicks president Leon Rose reportedly considered taking his talents to South Beach.

Per HoopsHype insider Michael Scotto, the Knicks were among the parties interested in Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler over the offseason. In recent seasons, Butler has become a bit of a public enemy in New York thanks in part to the reborn rivalry between the Knicks and Heat, including their 2023 get-together in the NBA Playoffs.

While naming top trade candidates for some of the NBA’s more prominent contenders, Scotto listed Butler and Terry Rozier as potential exports. The Knicks and several others were said to have expressed preliminary interest but Rose and Co. moved on fairly quickly.

“The New York Knicks expressed interest in Butler this past summer, sources said,” Scotto said. “However, talks didn’t go far beyond exploratory interest before the Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges from the Nets, who were much more willing to make a trade than the Heat at the time.”

Scotto also listed the Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors as potential contenders for Butler’s services but the former probably isn’t a realistic destination due to its ongoing rebuild. The Knicks had a bit of an advantage in such proceedings considering that Butler worked under head coach Tom Thibodeau for a season-plus in Minnesota.

While the Knicks may carry a certain level of buyer’s remorse over the Bridges trade (though he certainly soothed concerns, at least temporarily, with a brilliant showing on Sunday), Butler’s advanced age would’ve put them in a more desperate win-now situation if they pulled the trigger.

They already inched closer to such a scenario by landing both Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns but the Butler desperation may well have become too much to bear, especially considering Towns at least allows them to fulfill vital frontcourt needs.

Butler and the Heat have two meetings with the Knicks in March. In the meantime, they’ll take on Miami’s fellow Floridians, the Orlando Magic, on Tuesday night in Manhattan (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT).

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