Miami Heat suspend Jimmy Butler for "conduct detrimental to the team"
MIAMI - The Miami Heat suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games on Friday and said they will seek to trade him.
The Heat said the suspension was for "conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season and particularly the last several weeks."
"Through his actions and statements, he has shown he no longer wants to be part of this team," the Heat said in a statement, one day after Butler said in a postgame press conference that he does not believe he can be happy playing in Miami going forward.
Butler will lose about $336,543 per game during the suspension, or about $2,355,798 in all. He has the right to an appeal, which could lessen the financial hit.
Butler will not be with the team for its home game Saturday against Utah and then the totality of a six-game road trip to Sacramento, Golden State, Utah, Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers.
In theory, the earliest that Butler could play again for the Heat is Jan. 17 at home against Denver. But he has likely played for Miami for the final time.
"Jimmy Butler and his representative have indicated that they wish to be traded, therefore, we will listen to offers," the Heat said.
It's a turnaround from a week ago, when Heat President Pat Riley said that the team would not trade Butler.
But now, the relationship between Butler and the Heat - a talking point for weeks - appears to be well past the breaking point.
The Heat lost to Indiana 128-115 on Thursday night, with Butler scoring exactly nine points and sitting out the fourth quarter for the second consecutive game. It also happened Wednesday in a win over New Orleans.
"What do I want to see happen? I want to see me get my joy back from playing basketball, wherever that may be - we'll find out here pretty soon," Butler said. "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."
He was then asked if he can find that joy in Miami. "Probably not," Butler said, and with that, his postgame news conference ended.
The 35-year-old Butler became eligible last summer for a two-year, $113 million extension. The Heat did not offer one, and Riley expressed reservations about how giving such a deal to any player who misses a big number of games.
Butler has missed about one of every four Heat contests since he joined the team. He said at media day this fall he believed his play this season would have the extension decision "take care of itself."
"I guess I've got to go and hoop. ... I've got to prove that I am a major part of winning and rightfully so. I've done it before. This is no different," Butler said then.
But now, the sides are on their way to a bad breakup. It won't be the first for the Heat - LeBron James left in 2014, Dwyane Wade left before eventually returning, Shaquille O'Neal got traded - and won't be the first for Butler, either.
There are parallels to what's happening in Miami now and the end of Butler's time in Minnesota.
In 2018, Butler was months away from potentially becoming a free agent (as is the case now) and was unhappy with the Timberwolves (as is the case now, just with the Heat). He said in an interview with ESPN - after an infamous practice where he shredded teammates with his play and his words - that he wanted to hear the Wolves saying, "We need you. We want you here. We can't do this without you."
His words from Tuesday suggested the same, that he's not feeling the level of love that he wanted from the Heat. "It's good to be talked about. Even better to be wanted, though. Remember that," Butler said after a practice session.
Eventually, Butler got his way. Minnesota traded him to Philadelphia - and then he got his way again less than a year later, when he agreed to join the Heat after a sign-and-trade. He said he wanted to be in Miami to finish his career.
Both sides were rewarded along the way. Butler has made about $200 million in salary in his 5 1/2 Heat seasons (with another $25 million still coming this season), and the Heat got to enjoy two runs to the NBA Finals.
It worked. Until it didn't.
