Jimmy Butler is back. Officially. His seven-game suspension is over and he was not listed on the injury report heading into Friday’s game between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets. Less than two hours before the denunciation and shortly after Chris Haynes reported that Butler is expected to be in the starting lineup, Butler’s agent Bernie Lee took a page from Michael Jordan’s book:
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra began Friday night’s pregame press conference with a statement on the situation, asking that all questions revolve around the game, rather than any “drama” surrounding Butler.
“We’re operating in a league of complexity. We’re in an unusual situation right now, but in reality this is all complex, and we fully anticipate operating in that complexity,” Spoelstra said before the tipoff with the Nuggets. “It’s my job to prepare this team, to prepare them to play at a high level, and that’s what I do. That’s what the plan is. My methods of getting there are really none of your business , okay? You’re all looking for drama. I can’t wait to prepare this team to play at a high level.
“…In terms of stupid questions about the temperature of the room or how everyone is feeling, it seems so dramatic. We’re professionals. We’re fine. We’re ready for tonight’s game. That’s the only thing that matters.”
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported earlier that the Heat expected him to play. ESPN also reported that there is a “palpable dread at what he could do and the environment the current chaos could create.” The butler would have reiterated its commercial request during a meeting with team president Pat Riley last week, and sources close to him told ESPN he was furious about the length of his suspension. (If the NBPA’s grievance fails, he will lose more than $2.3 million in salary.)
It’s not just that Butler doesn’t want to be on the team anymore. This is because, at least according to sources close to the team, she no longer wants him either.
“We don’t want him to come back,” a source told ESPN.
“I don’t know how he can get back into that locker room,” added another source.
Pat Riley would be wise to follow his own advice with Heat’s Jimmy Butler saga unresolved as suspension ends
Bill Reiter
ESPN reported that the organization viewed Butler’s recent social media activity “as an affront” and that players, coaches and staff were “tired” of Butler. Butler, meanwhile, is reportedly tired of seeing Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo take on more offensive responsibilities, as he believes it has come at his expense. On January 2, after the last game Butler played, he told reporters that he wanted to “regain my joy of playing basketball,” that it “probably couldn’t” happen in Miami and that his role was simply to play defense.
“If they make that transition to Bam and Tyler, Jimmy says, ‘All right, make your transition,'” a source close to Butler told ESPN. “If he has to be the second or third wheel, he will be in Phoenix ahead of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.”
The Phoenix Suns would love to trade for Butler, but they have no way to acquire him without trading Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause and has a contract that will pay him $57.1 million in 2026-27. In theory, they could trade their 2031 first-round pick to the Heat in a Butler deal, but they would have to find a third team to take on Beal’s huge contract, and Beal would have to approve the trade. It is unlikely, and It’s not like Miami has an abundance of attractive offers on the tableeither.
This impasse comes at an inopportune time: Trades, especially those involving big salaries – Butler is listed for $48.8 million this season, with a $52.4 million player option for 2025-26 – are difficult to achieve due to the restrictions in force. the new collective bargaining agreement, and teams can’t just cut star players because of the Player Participation Policy (PPP).
There may be some wiggle room on that last part, however: The PPP states that the league office can make exceptions for “rare and unusual circumstances.” If Butler doesn’t do anything else that warrants a suspension, the team can’t come up with a suitable trade, and both sides simply want to move on, it could be argued that the circumstances are rare and unusual.
