SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- For the second time in three years, wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. has requested that the San Francisco 49ers trade him. This time, the 49ers are willing to accommodate such a move.

Samuel told ESPN on Sunday that the Niners granted he and agent Tory Dandy permission to find a trade partner after Samuel first expressed his desire to move on at his exit meeting with coach Kyle Shanahan in January.

"It was a hard conversation to have with Kyle because of the relationship that we have," Samuel told ESPN's Adam Schefter. "But I have to do what's best. I'm more than thankful for the Niners giving me the opportunity of a lifetime but now I think it's best that we find another team."

Trading Samuel would come with significant salary cap ramifications for the Niners. They restructured Samuel's contract in September, a move that means if they were to trade him before June 1, they would absorb a $31.55 million dead money hit on the cap. Samuel is also due a $15.4 million option bonus on March 22, which means the Niners would almost certainly want any deal completed before then.

If a trade can't be consummated, the possibility remains that the Niners could release Samuel despite general manager John Lynch saying on Jan. 8 that such a move isn't an option. In that scenario, the 49ers could use a post-June 1 designation on the transaction after the new league year begins on March 12 and before his option bonus is due; if they do that, that cap hit would be decreased to $10,751,753 over the next two years.

"Deebo is under contract," Lynch said then. "[He's] a good player and has done a ton for this organization and we're not in the business of letting good players out of here."

But unlike Samuel's 2022 trade request, the Niners are more inclined to part ways him this time around. Samuel's previous request came when he was going through contract negotiations with the 49ers. When those discussions were slow to materialize, Samuel grew frustrated and asked to be dealt.

At the time, Samuel was coming off his best season, nearly leading the Niners to a Super Bowl appearance, and he was viewed as a key part of the team's future. San Francisco never seriously entertained offers for Samuel then and ultimately signed him to a three-year, $71.5 million extension in August 2022.

This time, Samuel, 29, is coming off arguably his worst season, with 806 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns (both career lows save for a 2020 season in which he played just seven games).

During one four-game stretch late in the season against Seattle, Green Bay, Buffalo and Chicago, Samuel had just 97 yards from scrimmage on 17 touches, finishing with 21, 21, 20 and 35 yards in those games. It was the first time Samuel failed to have at least 50 yards from scrimmage in four straight games since a five-game stretch in his rookie season of 2019.

On Dec. 9, one day after the game against the Bears, Samuel vented on social media, writing in a since-deleted post on X that he was "Not struggling at all just not getting the ball!"

When asked about the post the next day, Samuel said, "You read what you read. [I'm] a little frustrated for sure."

The 49ers selected Samuel with a second-round pick in the 2019 draft, and his versatility quickly allowed him to become a sparkplug for their offense.

Samuel's ability to play running back became prominent in 2021, when he finished with 77 receptions for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns to go with 59 carries for 365 yards and eight more scores on his way to first-team All-Pro honors. That season, Samuel became just the third player in NFL history to have 1,000 receiving yards with at least five touchdowns rushing and five more receiving.

Samuel has 334 receptions for 4,792 yards and 22 touchdowns, along with 202 carries for 1,143 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in his career. Those 20 rushing scores are the most by a wide receiver since at least 1960.

The 49ers began planning for the the real possibility that Samuel was entering his final season with the team last offseason, when they used the No. 31 pick in the draft to select receiver Ricky Pearsall. The Niners also signed receivers Brandon Aiyuk (four years, $120 million) and Jauan Jennings (two years, $15.39 million) to contract extensions.

Aiyuk is recovering from a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee, but he, Pearsall and Jennings are expected to be the team's top three options at the position if Samuel is dealt, though they also figure to be in the market to add at the position this offseason, given that Aiyuk is coming off an injury, Pearsall is still largely unproven and Jennings is entering the final year of his deal.

Samuel's trade request also adds another layer of drama to what is an important offseason in San Francisco. The 49ers will be looking to deal Samuel while working on a mega-contract extension for quarterback Brock Purdy and another deal for star tight end George Kittle.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Madison Booker had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Rori Harmon hit two critical free throws in the final seconds as the Texas women's basketball team beat No. 2 South Carolina 66-62 on Sunday, ending the Gamecocks' 57-game Southeastern Conference regular-season winning streak dating back to 2021.

Harmon converted a pair of free throws with 10.8 seconds left to extend Texas' two-point lead to the final four-point margin.

A 3-point try by South Carolina's Sania Feagin missed the mark with nine seconds left and Harmon grabbed the rebound to seal the No. 4 Longhorns' eight consecutive win and 20th straight at home dating back to January 2024.

Backup center Kyla Oldacre scored eight of her 13 points in the fourth quarter for Texas (24-2, 10-1 SEC).

MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 13 points for South Carolina (22-2, 10-1), which had its 17-game win streak this season halted. Joyce Edwards and Chloe Kitts each scored nine points.

While Oldacre had a strong second half, starting center Taylor Jones had 11 points and six rebounds in the first half.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The New York Jets-Aaron Rodgers marriage appears to be ending after two disappointing seasons, as the future Hall of Fame quarterback is unlikely to remain with the team in 2025, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Sunday.

Rodgers, 41, flew to New Jersey last week to meet with new coach Aaron Glenn and new general manager Darren Mougey, a source confirmed to ESPN. Fox Sports reported Sunday that Rodgers was informed in that meeting that the team has decided to part ways with him.

A Jets spokesman declined to confirm the report.

Glenn has been in contact with Rodgers since he was hired, as part of an evolving discussion on the quarterback's future. Glenn, at his introductory news conference on Jan. 27, was noncommittal on Rodgers. The coach said he wanted to meet with the veteran before choosing a direction at quarterback.

A formal announcement is likely in the coming days.

Rodgers said at the end of the season that he understood the circumstances, that the Jets, with a new regime, might want to start fresh at quarterback.

"Either way, I won't be upset or offended whatever they decide to do," he said.

Rodgers accounted for 18 starts, six victories, one highly publicized Achilles tear and countless headlines in his two years with the Jets. It's unclear whether he will continue his career; he has maintained that he's undecided on a 21st season.

The future Hall of Famer has one year remaining on his contract, a nonguaranteed $37.5 million. He was due to count $23.5 million on the cap.

The Jets will be left with $49 million in dead money, which can be spread over two years if he's designated a post-June 1 cut. In that case, they would have to carry his $23.5 million on the cap until June 1. At that point, he'd count $14 million in 2025, a net savings of $9.5 million.

However, in the June 1 scenario, there would be a $35 million charge in 2026.

If he opts for retirement, the same accounting applies.

Determined to end their five-decade Super Bowl drought, the Jets made the biggest trade in franchise history on April 24, 2023, acquiring the four-time MVP from the Green Bay Packers for a package of draft picks.

Expectations soared, as the Jets trumpeted Rodgers as the missing piece. His first season ended soon after it began, with a torn left Achilles on the fourth snap of the 2023 season.

Rodgers returned healthy in 2024, started every game despite some nagging leg injuries and delivered a vintage, four-touchdown game in the season finale -- a 32-20 win over the Miami Dolphins. There weren't many games like that for Rodgers, whose performance over the course of the season was uneven.

He passed for 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns, both third on the Jets' single-season list, but he also had 11 interceptions and finished with a 48.1 QBR, which ranked 25th out of 32 qualified NFL passers. The Jets underachieved on offense, finishing 24th in scoring, and went 5-12, in one of the season's biggest disappointments.

Rodgers' slow start was a big reason coach Robert Saleh was fired only five games into the season. Rodgers' closest confidant, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, was demoted at that point. Six weeks later, Joe Douglas was fired as the general manager.

Saleh, Douglas and Hackett were part of the Jets' contingent that visited Rodgers at his Malibu, California, home in March 2023, persuading the quarterback to play for the Jets. At that point, the Jets and Packers started working on a trade that took a month to finalize. By then, the Packers had decided to promote Jordan Love to the starting job.

So began five months of breathless hype for the Jets, highlighted by an appearance on HBO's "Hard Knocks." Rodgers debuted with the team Sept. 11, 2023, on "Monday Night Football." During introductions, he ran out of the MetLife Stadium tunnel carrying an American flag -- one of the greatest moments of his career, he later said.

Within minutes, he crumpled to the ground after a sack, his left Achilles ruptured.

Rodgers' expected departure will leave Tyrod Taylor, 35, as the only experienced quarterback on the roster. The Jets are likely to pursue a starting-caliber quarterback in the offseason. They also could draft a quarterback.

Rodgers' imminent departure also means they could release wide receiver Davante Adams, who will have to renegotiate his prohibitive cap charge ($38.3 million) to stay on the roster. Adams said after the season that his decision would be influenced by whether Rodgers stays or goes.

There may be no better host for Super Bowl LIX than New Orleans, a city rich in supernatural lore. Either the Chiefs will complete their mystical season with an unprecedented three-peat, or the Eagles will revisit history by avenging their Super Bowl LVII loss to Patrick Mahomes & Co.

To get here, the Chiefs survived a thriller against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game, while the Eagles steamrolled the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game. The last time these two teams met with the Lombardi Trophy on the line, Kansas City eked out a 38-35 victory.

But so much has changed in the two years since that showdown.

Philadelphia's backfield now runs through powerhouse Saquon Barkley, Mahomes has a revamped cast of wide receivers, and -- unrelated to football but very much relevant to pop culture -- Travis Kelce is dating Taylor Swift (ever heard of her?).

The teams may be familiar, but the stakes are bigger than ever. No matter the outcome, Super Bowl LIX is poised to deliver a history-making finale to the 2024 season. -- Brooke Pryor

Follow along for highlights and insights from Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome.

Hubie Brown received tributes from across the NBA community as the former coach and longtime broadcaster headed into retirement after spending more than half a century in pro basketball.

The 91-year-old Brown called his final game Sunday as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 135-127. He was awarded the game ball after the final horn sounded.

"I have so many things to be thankful for, but my family and I can never thank everyone enough," Brown said at the end of the telecast. "We just want to send them the love that I've seen today right back with a big hug. It was a fantastic ride."

Players from both teams approached him before the game to shake his hand. He received a standing ovation during the opening timeout as a video honoring him aired on the Fiserv Forum scoreboard. Brown responded by blowing kisses to the crowd and mouthing "Thank you."

Brown indicated he almost cried as that video aired.

He considered it fitting that he was in Milwaukee for his final game as a broadcaster. His first NBA coaching job was as an assistant with the Bucks on Larry Costello's staff, a two-season stint that began in 1972.

"When I came here to the Milwaukee Bucks and Larry Costello, I received a master's degree and a doctorate's degree in basketball in two years," Brown said at the start of Sunday's telecast.

That launched an illustrious career on the bench and behind a microphone.

Brown coached 15 seasons with the ABA's Kentucky Colonels (1974-76) and NBA's Atlanta Hawks (1976-81), New York Knicks (1982-87) and Memphis Grizzlies (2002-05). He won an ABA title with Kentucky in 1975 and was voted the NBA Coach of the Year in 1978 and 2004.

He spent 35 years as a national TV and radio analyst, covering 18 NBA Finals. Brown was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.

"I'm sure he's seen so much growth and so much change not only in the game of basketball but in the league," Bucks guard Damian Lillard said after the game. "It's come so far in a lot of ways, and I think that obviously you're going to have the commissioners and you're going to have players come along, but I think it's the people who love on the game and love the league and the contributions that come from people like Hubie Brown is what has allowed it to become what it is, is what makes it special."

Mike Breen, the play-by-play broadcaster for Sunday's game, called it the "ultimate honor" to have Brown as a colleague. Breen spoke for other play-by-play broadcasters who worked alongside Brown by saying "you've been like a father to many of us, our NBA father."

"Could we pause, as I have a tear here," Brown replied.

ABC started its Sunday telecast by showing footage of Brown's very first NBA broadcast, a 1981 game airing on USA Network. NBC's Mike Tirico, Brown's former broadcast partner, joined the telecast remotely to pay his respects late in the first quarter.

During breaks in the telecast, ABC showed highlights from Brown's coaching and broadcasting career along with testimonials from various NBA figures.

"You brought so much passion to every telecast," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said during one of those breaks. "You took great joy in teaching the finer points of basketball."

Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse presented Brown with a tiny replica of the Liberty Bell in the green room before the game. Bucks assistants wore T-shirts with the message "Thank You Hubie" and a heart during pregame warmups.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers said before the game that Brown remains one of the former coaches he often seeks out for advice.

"He was one of my first calls all the time and still is when things are rough or I'm trying to figure out something to me that's complicated," Rivers said.

Rivers said he often sought Brown's counsel in those situations because he figured there wasn't any kind of situation that the longtime coach and broadcaster hadn't encountered at some point in over a half-century in professional basketball.

Bucks veteran center Brook Lopez made sure to talk to Brown before the game and say how much he had meant to the NBA.

"That was one of my real first, real cool 'welcome to the league' experiences, was having him call one of my games and to see him in person, get to meet him, hearing he was a fan of me and my game, appreciated my game," Lopez said. "He's always had good tips for me. He's still coaching, even though he's commentating. It's in his DNA and in his blood, trying to help players get better."

As the Bucks prepared for Sunday's game, Rivers asked the youngest players on the roster what they knew about Brown. When they weren't aware of Brown's accomplishments, Rivers got Lopez to offer a primer.

"He gave a very impressive history run on Hubie and even knew the reason his last game was in Milwaukee is because this is where it all started, with him and Larry Costello," Rivers said.

Brown said that's what made it so appropriate to finish his career in Milwaukee.

"For me to end it here is very meaningful because I learned so much here," Brown said.

Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont acknowledged fans' frustration following the shocking decision to trade franchise superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, while still defending the move and making clear there are no plans to relocate the team from Dallas.

Speaking for the first time publicly about the trade, Dumont told The Dallas Morning News that it has been an emotional week for the franchise, which has seen its own fans protest outside the arena.

"I clearly understand that, and I really appreciate that," Dumont said about the fans' reaction to the blockbuster deal. "I'm a big Luka fan. My family are big Luka fans. I have a really deep appreciation for what he brought to this team, what he brought to Dallas, and the excitement he brings. He's an electrifying player.

"I want you to know I really sympathize with all of our fans who feel hurt. Look, as far as I'm concerned, Luka is a Mav for life, and I really wish him nothing but happiness and success in his career as he continues in L.A."

The Mavericks received 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis back in the trade, an addition the franchise thinks will help it return to the NBA Finals. Dumont said that goal was top of mind when making the move. The Mavericks had struggled this season following their Finals appearance last summer, most notably since Doncic went down with a calf strain Dec. 25.

Doncic's recent injury history has been tied to conditioning concerns the Mavericks had with their star, according to reporting from ESPN's Tim MacMahon. Dumont reiterated statements made by general manager Nico Harrison that the team was focused on bringing in players who could help build and improve the Mavericks' "culture," but he stopped short of saying Doncic didn't fit that culture.

"In my mind, the way teams win is by focus, by having the right character, by having the right culture, and having the right dedication to work as hard as possible to create a championship-winning outcome," Dumont told the Morning News. "And if you're not doing that, you're going to lose."

Dumont also addressed rumors that the trade was the first step in an attempt to move the Mavericks from Dallas to Las Vegas, where much of his family's business is based.

"The Dallas Mavericks are not moving to Las Vegas," Dumont said. "There is no question in that. That is the answer, unequivocally. The Dallas Mavericks are the Dallas Mavericks, and they will be in Dallas."

Questions have also been raised about the Mavericks' willingness to pay for a supermax contract worth nearly $350 million, which Doncic would have been eligible to sign this summer. Dumont denied that the trade was related to cutting costs.

"This is not a resource consideration," he said. "For people who understand the NBA ... the salary cap is basically the cap. So this is just a risk-allocation decision, right? No problem signing someone to the supermax. It's just a portion of your cap. So it wasn't an issue. Happy to do it if it's there, no problem."

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will be sidelined for the next week because of a left calf injury, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania on Sunday.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers confirmed that Antetokounmpo will not play in next weekend's All-Star Game.

Antetokounmpo already had been ruled out of Sunday's 135-127 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, and sources said he will also miss matchups with the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves prior to the All-Star break, marking at least six straight games out.

"We've just been monitoring it, and it just hasn't improved enough for us to play him," Rivers said. "If this was a playoff game, would he play? Probably yes. But this is not. And we want to make sure he's playing in the playoffs."

Antetokounmpo, who has been out since Feb. 2, is expected to return to action shortly after the All-Star break, sources said. Milwaukee's first game after the break is Feb. 20 against the Clippers.

"We're really hoping that when we come out of the break, we have our team," Rivers said. "That's the hope."

Commissioner Adam Silver will choose Antetokounmpo's replacement for the All-Star Game. Antetokounmpo was to play on Team Chuck, the eight-man squad drafted last week by TNT analyst Charles Barkley for the All Star Game's new four-team format.

Antetokounmpo missed one game over the past week with a right knee issue before being ruled out the last three games with the left calf injury.

Antetokounmpo, who was selected to his ninth straight All-Star Game after leading the fan vote, is averaging 31.8 points per game (second in the NBA behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) on 60.8% shooting and 12.2 rebounds.

He missed Milwaukee's first-round loss in last season's playoffs to the Indiana Pacers with a left calf strain.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS' annual celebrity poker tournament features heavy hitters from all over Silicon Valley who pay a premium to play Texas Hold 'em alongside Stephen Curry and the rest of the Warriors' players and coaches. All the proceeds go to the team's charitable foundation. No player has won the tournament, although Gary Payton II made the final table once. Usually, the winner is one of the many poker professionals who enter; a titan of venture capital or technology; or owner Joe Lacob's wife, Nicole Curran, who has won it twice.

This year, the tournament was quite the scene. Because just after 9 p.m. on Saturday, word started spreading across the floor of the Chase Center that the Dallas Mavericks had just traded 25-year-old superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. Table by table, hundreds of people all began to pull out their cell phones to see the news, and then take videos of the players reacting in real time.

Curry was stunned. Moments later, he walked to Draymond Green's table and asked whether he had seen the trade. Green hadn't, so he walked to Curry's table and inspected the post from ESPN's Shams Charania on Curry's phone.

Dozens of videos of these moments were captured by people in the Chase Center that night and posted on social media. Neither Curry nor Green could maintain a poker face -- at least as far as the Doncic trade was concerned.

But unbeknownst to almost everyone in the room, there was another poker game playing out in the Warriors' world. This one was just as high-stakes as the massive pot the Lakers and Mavericks had just played, and it involved a clandestine motive to make their own trade deadline shocker by landing Kevin Durant.

By Saturday night, as people around the world were digesting the implications of the massive Doncic trade, multiple sources told ESPN that the Warriors were already deep into negotiations with the Phoenix Suns to reunite Durant with the franchise with which he won two Finals MVPs and championships in 2017 and 2018. The teams had secretly been talking since early that week. Durant and his longtime business manager, Rich Kleiman, only learned of the stunning talks when the Suns played the Warriors on Jan. 31.

It was a lot to digest. So Durant and Curry discussed the idea the next day, hours before the poker tournament. Curry wanted a read on how Durant would feel about returning to the team he had chosen to leave after the 2019 Finals, sources said.

Durant told him it didn't "feel right" and that this "wasn't the time" to revisit their basketball partnership, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the conversations. He added he was happy in Phoenix and wasn't looking to play elsewhere.

It was a soft "no," one that discouraged the Warriors' decision-makers, but didn't fully deter them from pursuing talks with the Suns. They hoped Durant's feelings about a reunion might change once he learned the extent to which Phoenix had engaged in trade conversations with multiple teams without involving him.

For weeks, the Suns and Warriors and Miami Heat had been playing a high-stakes poker game over Durant and disgruntled Heat star Jimmy Butler. Those talks were well-known as were Suns owner Mat Ishbia's public and private statements over the past year that he wanted Durant to retire as a Sun. But with the Suns free-falling in the Western Conference picture, the Warriors saw an opportunity to play two hands at once.

This was a triangle of increasing desperation and rising stakes: one team desperate to end an exhausting, embarrassing saga with its superstar, one team desperate to upgrade its roster and appease its stars, and one team desperate to extend a flailing dynasty by acquiring a new star.

In the end, the Warriors and Heat chopped the final pot, ending the Butler drama, while the Suns will begin a new, possibly uncomfortable one with Durant.

WHILE THE TEAMS were playing poker, Butler had been playing chess. And in both, there is only one objective: to force your opponent to submit. They are zero-sum games. Butler is a zero-sum man.

He wanted out of Miami.

By now, the details of the chess game he played with the Heat are well-known: He missed 10 days in late December after leaving a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with what he and his camp described as an illness. On Christmas, Charania reported Butler's unhappiness and desire for a trade. Team president Pat Riley issued a statement meant to squash those trade rumors. But when Butler returned to the team, he engaged in what the team later called "multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season and particularly the last several weeks," and Miami suspended him for seven games on Jan. 3.

After meetings with Riley and owner Micky Arison did not resolve the situation, Butler briefly returned to the team. On Jan. 22, he angered the team when he went to a charity event and skipped the team's flight to Milwaukee. The team denied his request to fly himself to the game later in the day, but when he ignored it, Butler was suspended for another two games. Butler was slated to return from that suspension Jan. 27, but during a morning shootaround to prepare for a game that night against the Orlando Magic, he became upset after learning he lost his starting job as Heat coach Erik Spoelstra started to go over the game plan. Butler left the floor, dressed and went home. That afternoon, the Heat suspended him for the third time, this time indefinitely. Officially, that will go down as the final straw in this saga.

Miami submitted and agreed a trade was the only way out of the situation. It was yet another stormy exit, similar to his departures from the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, when those relationships soured.

What hasn't been understood is why Butler so badly wanted to leave the franchise he had led to two Finals appearances in six years.

"Read whatever you want to read, believe what you want to believe, but you're not around me every day," Butler told ESPN. "There's always two sides of every story and only one side's been told."

Asked when he would tell his side, Butler demurred. "I doubt I will. But if I do tell it, I'm going to tell it to Shaq."

Throughout this saga, Butler has often spoken publicly in riddles or coded messages. This one isn't hard to decode.

Shaquille O'Neal also had a falling-out with Riley. They famously nearly came to blows after practice one day in Miami in 2008, avoided only because Alonzo Mourning stepped in between them. This story is told often in Heat circles. As is the story of the eight-hour practice that Riley put the team through after a player complained about the drudgery of NBA life. Dwyane Wade called it the "iron fist." Others lump it all together under the umbrella of "Heat culture."

Butler's desire to be traded from Miami has been interpreted as a repudiation of Heat culture. And in many ways, that is true. But he insists he had other reasons.

"I did what I was supposed to do," Butler said. "We didn't see eye to eye on some things."

One of those was a potential extension, which Riley famously said in May the Heat weren't ready to discuss yet for a player who played in only two-thirds of the regular season. Riley also criticized Butler for saying the Heat would've beaten the New York Knicks or the Boston Celtics if he had been healthy in the playoffs.

Butler was taken aback by the criticism at the time, but he insists that's not why he soured on the franchise or Riley.

"I don't need Pat to make nothing right with me," Butler said. "I expect everybody to talk. They're still going to talk and I'm going to do what I always do and put my head down."

In his meetings with Riley and Arison in early January, Butler explained that he had grown frustrated with the Heat's inability to acquire more help for him after the 2020 and 2023 Finals runs, sources said. That frustration grew when he believed the team had deemphasized his role in the offense this season.

According to ESPN Research, Butler averaged just 56.5 touches this season and brought the ball up the floor just 11.4 possessions per game, both his lowest marks in a season since joining the Heat.

Instead of the offense running through him, Butler was used more as a spacer in either corner for 7.6 on-ball screens per game this season, his highest mark in a season since joining the Heat. His 17.0 points per game was his lowest since 2013-14, his first season as a starter.

Heat sources counter that they had to adjust the offense because Butler missed so many regular-season games. He played an average of just 58 over his first five seasons in Miami. The last time he played 65 -- the NBA's current minimum to qualify for postseason honors -- was 2018-19, when he split the season between Minnesota and Philadelphia.

While Butler was frustrated by a reduced role, Heat sources insist that Riley's message to Butler throughout the season was that he needed to be more involved with the team.

When Butler sprained an ankle Nov. 8 at Denver, he asked to rehab at his home in Southern California, where he had a facility and team in place. He didn't want to rehab in hotels for the long road trip to Minnesota, Detroit and Indianapolis. It was not an unusual request by Butler, and the Heat had previously granted him such leeway. Spoelstra initially agreed to it, but this time, team sources said Riley declined the request, insisting that it was important that he stay connected to the team while he rehabilitated.

Butler did not take it well. But he continued his strong play for the Heat once he returned -- even putting up a monstrous 35-point, 19-rebound, 10-assist game against Detroit on Dec. 16.

The next game was a fateful one against Oklahoma City that started the clock on what would become a six-week chess match. Butler played just seven minutes and didn't attempt a shot.

During their meeting Jan. 7, Riley tried to convince Butler to stay the rest of the season, sources said. The Heat walloped Butler with a stunning seven-game suspension, infuriating the players' union and leading to a filing of a grievance. But Riley had hoped to mend fences and posited that if the meeting went well, sources said, there was a chance they could end the suspension early and Butler could fly to Salt Lake City the next day and join the team. Riley has a long history of challenging players, but also moving past disputes, including interludes with players such as O'Neal and Wade.

Over the past 30 years, Arison had seen Riley work and hoped he and Butler could come to an understanding. On vacation on his yacht in the Caribbean, Arison made plans to dock in the Bahamas so Butler could fly out to meet him, sources said.

But the meeting didn't go well, sources said. Butler reiterated his trade request and said he would never sign another contract with the team. Arison tabled his discussion with Butler, who remained suspended.

There are differing accounts of exactly what transpired in the meetings between Riley and Butler and the subsequent meeting between Butler and the Arisons -- Micky and Nick -- on Jan. 16.

Everyone agrees that each meeting contained emotional, heated discussions. The Athletic earlier Friday morning reported that Butler described Riley as "unhinged" during their meeting. However, Heat sources told ESPN that the same word -- "unhinged" -- is how they described Butler's behavior in his meeting with the Arisons.

THE WARRIORS AND Suns were among the first teams to show interest in Butler once it became clear the Heat would honor his trade request in early January. Butler preferred a trade to the Suns, sources said, because they indicated a willingness to give him a long-term extension and there was an opportunity to play alongside Durant and Devin Booker. For that to happen, however, Phoenix would have to find a team willing to accept their underperforming third star, Bradley Beal, and the $110 million remaining on his contract that came with a no-trade clause. The Heat were never one of those teams.

The Suns knew trading Beal was going to be difficult. He was steadfast in his desire to use his no-trade clause to stay in Phoenix. Still, they canvassed the league.

For weeks, the Suns tried to construct multiteam trades that would land Butler in Phoenix and Beal on some other team. But when the Heat would cross-check with the teams Beal would supposedly join in these constructions, they'd get conflicting information.

What was the point of discussing specifics if Phoenix hadn't yet solved the biggest impediment to the deal: Beal's no-trade clause?

The Heat, who had discussed trading for Beal in 2023 before he landed in Phoenix, were not interested in acquiring him, in part for the same reason they stopped their initial pursuit of him. Beal had indicated that even if he'd waive his no-trade clause to facilitate a move now, he would retain it in his new home. That was a nonstarter for Miami, and for most of the NBA.

Of all the teams Phoenix canvassed, sources said only the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks would consider taking on Beal if he'd waive his no-trade clause to go there. The Suns clung to that hope for weeks, hoping that if they could improve their package to incentivize these teams to participate, and other trades the Wizards and Hawks were working on fell through, then maybe there would be a path to a deal.

Even then, there was still the matter of whether Beal would waive his no-trade clause and accept the trade.

The Heat stayed patient throughout this process but never relented on being unwilling to take back Beal -- and his no-trade clause -- in what would've been a simple 1-for-1 trade.

Butler grew frustrated, sources said, taking the Heat's refusal to make a deal with Phoenix and send him where he wanted to go as a personal affront.

All along, the Heat had been talking to other teams about "concepts" for Butler. Each of those teams had an interest in Butler, but were leery of proceeding with a formal offer if he preferred to be elsewhere.

Miami liked Golden State's concept, which centered on Andrew Wiggins and the Warriors' 2025 first-round pick, which right now would land in the lottery. Wiggins was the kind of young, athletic, small forward the Heat would need to replace Butler.

There was an irony to this. When Butler first came to the Heat in summer 2019, Butler was in Riley's office celebrating the signing of the four-year, $142 million deal that landed him in Miami. The two men cracked open a bottle of Screaming Eagle cabernet from Riley's personally curated wine cellar inside the Heat offices. Riley was telling stories, and he asked Butler who was his most talented teammate. Butler answered quickly: Wiggins, the 2014 No. 1 pick and his teammate with the Timberwolves.

Riley was surprised, those who were in the room remembered, and joked that Butler might need to be cut off from any more wine. But Butler insisted. Wiggins' talent was incredible. Five years later, they were traded for each other.

Wiggins has gone on to become an All-Star and NBA champion, though his previous two seasons left the Warriors looking for an upgrade. From the Heat's perspective, he didn't need the ball as much as Butler, which Miami believed would make for a seamless transition on a team that has been led offensively this season by first-time All-Star Tyler Herro.

Earlier this week, with the trade deadline looming Thursday, and the Suns no closer to convincing Washington or Atlanta to take Beal, the Heat engaged more seriously with Golden State.

That's when Miami learned that the Suns and Warriors were deep into negotiations for Durant.

When the Suns were first mentioned as a possible Butler destination, they made it clear they did not want to trade Durant; the intention was to pair Butler with Durant and Booker, team sources insist, building a better Big Three than the Beal-Booker-Durant trio had proven to be. But with the team still hovering near .500, and particularly after two consecutive losses to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Suns believed they had to do something, sources said. Trading Booker, the 28-year-old who became the franchise's leading scorer over the weekend, was a complete nonstarter. It would either be Beal or Durant. And because Beal was proving impossible to move, they began to explore trading Durant with the Warriors and other teams.

THERE IS NO good way to move a future Hall of Fame player who has professed a desire to stay with your franchise despite a second straight underachieving season. But there are definitely bad ways to go about it. Not telling that player or his agent, and having them find out through other sources would qualify as a bad process.

Internally, the Suns have already conceded that point.

"We should've gone through [Durant's business partner, Rich Kleiman]," one team source told ESPN.

Instead, a frantic 48 hours ensued in which, as Charania reported, Durant had to send a final word he had no desire for a reunion with the Warriors and did not want to go back to the Bay Area.

"Probably the same reasons he left," a Warriors source conceded. "It would've been a f---ing circus."

Durant, however, would have been open to playing for the Heat, sources said, so Miami debated cutting the Warriors out and dealing Butler to Phoenix for Durant, sources said.

Riley, after all, had wanted Durant for years. In 2016, Riley landed one of the famous meetings in the Hamptons where Durant took pitches from various teams and the Warriors closed by getting Curry to sell Durant on a partnership. Riley had tried again in 2019 when Durant left Golden State for the Brooklyn Nets, but Riley pulled off a shrewd sign-and-trade for Butler that summer instead.

It was there to be done, Durant to Miami, and the teams traded proposals, sources said. But Phoenix, which paid for Durant in 2023 with four first-round picks and three pick swaps to Brooklyn, was seeking significant compensation for the player, who is now 36 and under contract for just one more season. Ultimately, the Heat felt they would be mortgaging their future by going down the path with Durant, sources said, and they didn't move forward in the talks. The third attempt to land Durant would not be the charm for Riley and Heat.

The three-way talks even expanded to loop in Washington. Those talks included Butler, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas, two first-round picks (from the Warriors) and two second-round picks (one each from the Heat and Warriors), and pick swaps going to the Suns, sources said. The Warriors would've received Durant, while the Heat could've received Wiggins, Cleveland's 2025 first-round pick (via Phoenix), Dennis Schroder and Kyle Anderson.

The Heat, however, wanted the Warriors' 2025 first-round pick, not the Cavs', which is likely to be No. 29 or 30. This is one of the problems with multiteam trades -- sometimes two teams want the same piece.

The Warriors didn't like the deal, either, uneasy at the steep price Phoenix was asking for Durant. At one point, sources said, Golden State debated acquiring Butler from Miami in a standalone deal, then using him as leverage in its conversations with Phoenix for Durant. This would've effectively blocked the Suns' long-standing desire to pair Durant with Butler and given some leverage to the Warriors as they angled to get a Durant deal done.

Ultimately, with just hours to go, the three-way talks collapsed.

Eventually, Miami and Golden State iced out Phoenix and did the deal for Butler they had talked about for weeks. The Heat were comfortable with the package they had discussed with Golden State, centered on Wiggins and the Warriors' top-10-protected draft pick. The last piece was getting Butler totally on board, and that happened Wednesday morning when Golden State started discussions on a new contract for Butler. By the evening, there was an agreement, two years and $111 million and time for more Screaming Eagle.

It was simple on paper, but not in practice.

The Warriors were in Utah getting ready for a game against the Jazz when the trade was agreed upon. Curry was in the middle of his famous pregame shooting routine. Wiggins was, too. Schroder was in the shower. Kerr called his team into the locker room to inform everyone of the trade.

"It's tough," Kerr said. "You develop these relationships with guys. They give you everything and commit to the team. They got families."

In Phoenix, the phones were quiet. The Heat were no longer engaging the Suns on Durant. The Wizards, who had been in discussions about joining the deal and taking Jusuf Nurkic off the Suns' hands in a move that would save cap space, also moved on, and traded Valanciunas to the Sacramento Kings. The Warriors, having agreed to Durant's wishes to avoid a reunion, were focused on the Heat.

In the evening, word started to leak that Butler was nearing a contract agreement, a sign the Warriors would be landing him and the Suns were out. The Suns were deflated, sources said. For weeks they had exhausted themselves in discussions to find a way to turn Beal into Butler, several times thinking they might have a pathway in sight.

Then, they explored turning Durant into Butler and other pieces that could've retrofitted their roster and given them some options this season and beyond.

The Suns had scored some major transactional victories over the previous two years. They landed Durant in a blockbuster. They won an inventive bidding war for Beal. They creatively pulled in Royce O'Neale in a nice piece of business last February. Over the summer, they scored when they got Tyus Jones to come for a minimum contract.

But this time, they were left in the cold. And to make matters worse, they have a mess to clean up with Durant, who wanted to stay in Phoenix and make it work, but instead saw his name in trade rumors.

Durant was "blindsided," as Charania reported on "NBA Today," that the Suns had trade discussions about him. But ultimately, Durant did not change his mind about reuniting with the Warriors.

Despite long odds, the Suns never folded. But hampered by the realities of second apron restrictions, what was once a three-handed final table turned heads-up. Phoenix was out.

BUTLER RUSHED THROUGH Los Angeles traffic Thursday night to meet his new team. If he could make it by 6:30 p.m., the Warriors would have time to introduce him publicly before their 7 p.m. tipoff against the Lakers.

He made it with time to spare, beaming as he walked past the marquee inside Crypto.com Arena.

"I'm so happy," he told ESPN's Malika Andrews, who asked whether he was happy to be there or happy to be out of Miami.

"Both!" Butler said.

How he'll fit into the Warriors' motion offense and culture remains to be seen. Golden State was drawn to Butler for all the same reasons Miami was in 2019. The Warriors have lacked confidence and discipline in pressure situations this season. Butler has both of those in spades. The Warriors have lacked a secondary scorer to carry the team when Curry is off the floor. Butler will be the best option they've had since Durant. In the best-case scenario, Butler will fit into the Warriors like Dennis Rodman fit into the Chicago Bulls in 1995, when they acquired him to jolt their flailing dynasty. Kerr was there for that experiment. He saw how Phil Jackson managed Rodman, letting the free-spirited power forward be himself while also earning his trust and buy-in to the team's concepts.

It's not hard to imagine a worst-case scenario, however. The Warriors are tied with Sacramento for 10th in the West and the final play-in tournament slot. Butler said all the right things about his respect for the Warriors' championship pedigree, but he used to say good things about Heat culture, too.

For now, the Warriors are optimistic. The Heat are relieved. The Suns and Durant are still uncomfortably together, at least until the summer. And Butler is happy.

"You want to be wanted," Butler said. "You want somebody to want you to help you win, to let you be the player that you are capable of being. I get to be that here and I'm going to be that here for a long time. Hopefully, for the rest of my career.

"You would hope that that's what that was in Miami but it's not. That's OK. That chapter is behind me and we're going to turn the page."

MESA, Ariz. -- Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer, who has yet to make a playoff appearance as he enters the final season of his five-year contract, knows that 2025 looms large for the team and his career.

After nearly a decade-and-a-half in Chicago's front office, after working under former team executive Theo Epstein, and with a new-look roster, Hoyer knows the expectations.

"Does it feel different than it has in the past?" Hoyer asked Sunday during the Cubs' first day of spring training. "A little bit. I've been here for 14 years and sort of generally in my career, I haven't had much uncertainty. And so I think with uncertainty does come a level of anxiety. I think that would be a lie to say that it doesn't."

Hoyer was tasked with rebuilding the team after its championship core from the past decade got stale. It has been a slow progression as the organization hasn't signed any top free agents over the past few winters.

Instead, the Cubs have built through the draft while signing selected free agents such as Dansby Swanson and Seiya Suzuki. This past winter, they showed more aggression in the trade market, dealing three players for former Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker, who might be with the team for only one season. It displayed an urgency around the organization for the first time in several years.

"Wins are going to be in a premium in the National League, in particular this year," Hoyer said. "And so I think we're in a competitive window. I think we've gotten better each year. I think we're at a place where we have a chance to be really good and trying to really maximize our resources within our budget to make sure that we could do that."

Could that budget include free agent third baseman Alex Bregman? He could push the team over the 90-win total after back-to-back 83-win seasons -- and the team has an opening at that position. Hoyer was noncommittal about adding before the Cubs open the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Japan next month. But the team has a recent history of a late spring signing when it brought back Cody Bellinger in February last year.

"I think offseasons have drifted later, whether it's waiver claims, trades, free agent signings," Hoyer said. "Things happen a little bit later now, but I think given that it's Feb. 9, I think we're focused on the guys that are here."

Those guys in camp will likely determine whether Hoyer gets a contract extension. A playoff appearance would get him one -- if he isn't signed before then. But an underachieving season could also seal his fate. Hoyer didn't shy away from that conversation.

"Has it caused some introspection along the way?" Hoyer asked. "I think that's fair to say, but ... we have a great front office, we have an incredible manager and a great coaching staff. I think we put together a really good team.

"I think every arrow is sort of pointing up on this organization right now. So, I just think there's a lot more opportunity for me and for [GM] Carter [Hawkins] than there is risk, and I'm super proud of what we built with a lot of really good people. So that's kind of how I look at it."