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Source: Jimmy Butler expected to meet with Heat at start of NBA free agency, Sixers considering a sign-and-trade

Butler has some baggage, and while the Sixers downplay it, teams are concerned about his well-publicized verbal altercation with coach Brett Brown.

The Sixers' Jimmy Butler in action against the Miami Heat's Dion Waiters and Bam Adebayo in Philadelphia on Feb. 21, 2019.
The Sixers' Jimmy Butler in action against the Miami Heat's Dion Waiters and Bam Adebayo in Philadelphia on Feb. 21, 2019.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

An NBA source confirmed on Saturday that 76ers swingman Jimmy Butler is scheduled to meet on Sunday with the Miami Heat in Florida. Butler is then expected to meet with the Houston Rockets in Los Angeles sometime in the next few days. ESPN was first to report the news.

The Sixers are considering shipping the 29-year-old to the Rockets or Heat in a sign-and-trade.

Butler would become an unrestricted free agent if he opts out of the final year of his contract on Sunday, and he is garnering interest throughout the league. The Los Angeles Clippers have also emerged as a possible destination for Butler, according to the New York Times. The team is considering pairing Butler with Raptors free agent Kawhi Leonard.

Butler does have some baggage. He didn’t get along with younger players in his previous stops in Chicago and Minnesota. And, while the Sixers downplayed it, teams are concerned about his well-publicized verbal altercation with coach Brett Brown.

But he’s proven to be a valuable member for a team making a postseason push.

NBA free agency starts Sunday at 6 p.m.