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Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler asked for a trade without explicitly asking for a trade in his post-game press conference following the team’s Thursday loss to the Indiana Pacers.

For the past several weeks, Butler has been one of the top names mentioned in NBA trade rumors. Despite repeated denials from Butler’s agent — and even the agent directly calling out ESPN insider Shams Charania — those rumors have persisted.

On Thursday, the Heat lost 128-115 to the Pacers. Butler shot 3 of 6 from the field for nine points in just 27 minutes of action. He was also a team-low -27, meaning the Pacers outscored the Heat by 27 points when Butler was in the game. Coupled with the ongoing trade rumors, the unusually quiet night for Butler raised eyebrows.

When he finally got a chance to speak with the media, it became clear there was something going on. Butler told reporters that he had lost joy for the game of basketball and that he hoped to rediscover it somewhere else.

“I want to see

me get my joy back from playing basketball,” Butler said, “and wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon; but I want to get my joy back. I’m happy here off the court, but I want to be back to somewhere dominant. I want to hoop, and I want to help this team win. Right now, I’m not doing that.”

When asked if he thought he could find his joy with the Miami Heat, Butler replied, “Probably not,” before leaving the conference.

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Tags: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat, NBA