One, two, three strikes you are out in the old ball game.
The Miami Heat are digging in their heels and suspending star forward Jimmy Butler indefinitely, CBS Sports NBA insider Bill Reiter confirmed Monday. The decision came after Butler walked out of a shootaround ahead of Monday’s contest against Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic. Butler, who has been publicly doing everything he can to force a trade out of Miami for weeks, left practice after he was told that Haywood Highsmith would be replacing him in the starting lineup moving forward, according to ESPN.
The Heat said they are suspending Butler for a minimum of five games, which will take the team through the February 6 trade deadline. They also went on to say that Butler’s latest suspension comes without pay, and the Heat said the veteran star was “intentionally withholding services.”
“The Miami Heat are suspending Jimmy Butler without pay effective immediately for an indefinite period to last no fewer than five games,” the team wrote in a statement. “The suspension is due to a continued pattern of disregard of team rules, engaging in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services. This includes walking out of practice earlier today.”
This is the third suspension the Heat has handed out to Butler this month. The first, a seven-game suspension that came earlier in January, was for conduct detrimental to the team following his initial trade request. The second, which came last week, was two games for missing a team flight to Milwaukee. Butler was initially expected to return to the hardwood on Monday against the Magic.
Embed from Getty ImagesThis is not the first time Butler has found himself embroiled in a practice incident while attempting to get traded. When he was a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves during training camp in 2018, he infamously played a practice scrimmage with bench players against the starting lineup in order to prove a point. Afterward, he held a televised interview with Rachel Nichols. He was eventually dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers during the season.
Butler is still on the trade block but his path to his preferred destination, the Phoenix Suns, has a lot of moving parts. Not only would the Suns need to find a taker for Bradley Beal’s supermax contract, but they would need Beal to agree to a trade given his no-trade clause. Phoenix has been by far the most aggressive Butler suitor this season, but if a Suns deal cannot be reached in the next week and a half, both Butler and the Heat will need to look elsewhere.
Butler has a player option for next season worth $52.4 million. And given how little cap space exists on the open market this summer, he seems likely to exercise the option and stay out of unrestricted free agency. That means that if a trade does not materialize ahead of next Thursday’s trade deadline, Butler may well be forced to return to South Beach and the Heat in the summer.
Given his latest suspension, his spot on the team is seemingly growing increasingly influx. Perhaps that will make a trade more likely in the next 10 days, but for now, Butler will not be playing for anyone.
