[ad_1]
The Miami Heat have suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team” and announced they are “listening to offers” for the All-Star forward eight days after team president Pat Riley publicly said the team “will not trade” Butler.
“Through his actions and statements, he has shown he no longer wants to be part of this team,” the Heat wrote in a team statement on Friday. “Jimmy Butler and his representative have indicated that they wish to be traded, therefore, we will listen to offers.”
The decision marks the latest turning point in an obviously eroding relationship. Following Miami’s 128-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 2, mere days after returning to the Heat after a five-game absence, Butler said he lost his joy for playing basketball and was willing to restore it “wherever that will be.” When asked if that joy could be restored in Miami, Butler said “probably not.”
Shortly afterward, a league source confirmed an ESPN report that Butler informed the Heat of his desire to be traded to any other NBA team by the league’s Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Miami HEAT statement on Jimmy Butler:
We have suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games for multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season and particularly the last several weeks.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 4, 2025
In the two games preceding Butler’s suspension, he totaled 11 shot attempts while averaging nine points in a little more than 25 minutes per game. He did not log a single minute in the fourth quarter of either outing. The 35-year-old forward is on pace to finish behind teammates Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo in usage rate for the second straight season, marking a continued shift in his place in Miami’s hierarchy as the Heat have trusted the latter two to carry more offensive responsibility.
“It can be my role here, but that’s not what I’m used to.” Butler said Thursday of his decreased usage. “I haven’t been that since, I don’t know, my first, second, third year in the league, where I just went out and played defense. But I competed — I guarded and tried to not let my man score. That’s what I’m doing now.”
The two sides were unable to negotiate a contract extension after last season, prompting the 2023 Eastern Conference finals MVP to decide to play out the 2024-25 season and convey a desire to opt out of the final year of his current contract, which would pay him $52.4 million. Butler has until this summer to decide on that option, which would allow him to become an unrestricted free agent and sign with the Heat or a new team.
Butler has appeared in 22 of the Heat’s 32 games this season, meaning he’s missed at least 10 games in each of his five-plus seasons with the Heat. When Butler has played, Miami has a 12-10 record compared to a 5-3 mark when he’s sat out. With the five-time All-NBA selection on the court this season, the team sports a plus-4.3 net rating, according to NBA.com. When he’s been either on the bench or outright unavailable to play, Miami is being outscored by 0.4 points per 100 possessions.
This story will be updated.
Required reading
(Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)
[ad_2]
Source link