Jimmy Butler is back. Officially. His seven-game suspension is over, and he was not listed on the injury report in advance of Friday’s game between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets. Less than two hours before tip-off, and shortly after Chris Haynes reported that Butler is expected to be in the starting lineup, Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, took a page out of Michael Jordan’s book:
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra began Friday night’s pregame press conference with a statement about the situation, requesting that any questions revolve around the matchup, rather than any “drama” surrounding Butler.
“We work in a league of complexity. We’re in an unusual place right now, but really, all it is is complex, and we fully plan on operating within this complexity,” Spoelstra said prior to tipoff with the Nuggets. “It’s my job to prepare this team, get them ready to play at a high level, and that’s what I’m doing. That’s what the plan is. My methods for doing it are really none of your business, alright? You’re all looking for drama. I’m looking forward to getting this team ready to play at a high level.
” … In terms of silly questions about like, what’s the temperature of the room, or how everybody’s feeling, that just sounds 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 might do and the environment the ongoing chaos might create.” Butler reportedly reiterated his trade demand in a meeting with team president Pat Riley last week, and sources close to him told ESPN that he was infuriated by the length of his suspension. (If the NBPA’s grievance is unsuccessful, 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. It’s that, at least according to sources close to the team, it doesn’t want him around anymore, either.
“We don’t want him back,” one source told ESPN.
“I don’t know how he can come back to this locker room,” another source added.
Pat Riley would be wise to take his own advice with Heat’s Jimmy Butler saga unresolved as suspension ends
Bill Reiter
ESPN reported the organization has seen Butler’s recent activity on social media “as an affront,” and that players, coaches and staffers have “grown weary” of Butler. Butler, meanwhile, has reportedly grown weary of watching Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo take on more offensive responsibility, as he believes it has come at his expense. On Jan. 2, after the last game in which Butler played, he told reporters that he wanted to “get my joy back for playing basketball,” that this could “probably not” happen in Miami and that his role was simply to play defense.
“If they’re doing this transition to Bam and Tyler, Jimmy’s like, ‘Fine, do your transition,'” a source close to Butler told ESPN. “If [he’s] going to be the second or third wheel, [he’ll] be that in Phoenix to Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.”
The Phoenix Suns would reportedly love to trade for Butler, but there is no way for them to acquire him without trading Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause and is on 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’d have to find a third team to take Beal’s massive contract, and Beal would have to approve the trade.
The situation is not looking promising, and Miami doesn’t have a lot of attractive options on the table. This current impasse is particularly inconvenient due to the complexities involved in making trades, especially those involving high salaries like Butler’s. The new collective bargaining agreement has added restrictions, and star players cannot be sidelined easily under the Player Participation Policy (PPP).
However, there might be some flexibility in this situation. The PPP does allow for exceptions in “rare and unusual circumstances.” If Butler doesn’t engage in any behavior warranting a suspension, if a suitable trade cannot be found, and if both parties are eager to move forward, one could argue that these circumstances are indeed rare and unusual.