The Miami Heat have suspended Jimmy Butler for the second time in three weeks, a move that adds to the possibility he has already played his final game for the franchise.
Butler drew the latest suspension – this one will last two games – for what the team called a “continued pattern of disregard of team rules, insubordinate conduct and conduct detrimental to the team,” including missing the Heat’s flight to Milwaukee on Wednesday. The Heat were scheduled to play the Bucks on Thursday and in Brooklyn on Saturday.
The earliest Butler could play for the Heat again is Monday, at home against Orlando, but that would hinge on him still being on the roster, which seems far from guaranteed.
Butler told the Heat in recent weeks that he wants a trade, a demand he has not made publicly because league rules do not allow players to do so. Any player who makes such a demand known risks a fine of up to $150,000. But the Heat revealed that request when suspending him in early January for what they called conduct detrimental to the team, and said at that time that they will work to accommodate his trade request.
The NBA’s trade deadline is 6 February.
Butler was banished for seven games earlier this month, costing him about $2.4m in salary. Butler returned last week and has played in each of the last three Miami games, averaging 13.0 points in 29.3 minutes.
The Heat left for Milwaukee around 2.15pm on Wednesday. That departure time is earlier than Miami leave for most of their trips, and it’s unclear if that was a factor in Butler missing the flight.
The dates for the scheduled games on this Heat road trip coincide with a padel tournament in Miami, one that lists Butler as an honorary chairman and co-captain. Butler’s coffee company, Big Face, is also involved with the event. But it is unclear if the padel tournament played a part in his absence from the road trip.
Butler’s expected breakup with the Heat has been brewing for several weeks, if not months. The primary issue is money; he’s eligible for a two-year, $113m extension and the Heat have not offered such a deal, largely because he has missed about 25% of the team’s games since he arrived in 2019.
There were other factors. Butler has made no secret that he’s not happy with what he says is his new role within the Heat offense. He didn’t participate in his usual way during the introduction of the Heat starters for the last three games, and he has sat by himself at times during timeouts while not engaging in the huddle around the bench.
“There was a lot said by everybody, except for me, to tell you the truth,” Butler said after his first game back following the suspension. “We’ll let people keep talking … The whole truth will come out.”
The latest chapter of the Butler-Heat saga comes a day after Phoenix swung a deal with Utah to acquire three first-round draft picks that the Suns are expected to use as pieces in another trade – presumably one that would bring Butler to Arizona. Such a deal for Butler would be complicated for the Suns, and most likely involve at least three teams to make all the pieces fit.
The Butler trade watch has gone on for weeks, and his hair color for some December games just happened to match the primary colors of Phoenix, Dallas, Golden State and Houston – the four teams that were most prominently mentioned as possible trade partners for Miami. For Tuesday’s game against Portland, Butler wore shoes tinged in orange – perfectly matching the Suns’ color scheme.
