The Miami Heat are suspending Jimmy Butler for two games, per multiple reports, including ESPN. Butler missed the team’s flight on Wednesday for Thursday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, but had plans to join the team Wednesday evening. However, the team decided instead to suspend him from the upcoming two-game road trip, which also includes a game against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
This is the second time Butler has been suspended this month, and the latest twist in a weekslong saga about Butler’s future in Miami. The previous suspension was a seven-game ban for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.” It ended last Friday, and Butler had appeared in the Heat’s last three games. If he’s still on the Heat roster by next week, Butler would be eligible to play again on Jan. 27 against the Magic.
In December, rumors started swirling about Butler possibly wanting a trade out of Miami. Heat exec Pat Riley said on Dec. 26 that the team would not be trading Butler. Butler then publicly made comments in early January saying he had no interest in being part of the Heat organization, and in the Heat’s formal announcement of his first suspension they said “Through his actions and statements, [Butler] has shown he no longer wants to be part of the team.”
The Phoenix Suns are seen as the leading candidate to land Butler in a trade ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline and his reported preferred destination. Though a deal with the Suns would be difficult as they lack the assets Miami wants in return for Butler. As of right now there haven’t been any other reported teams interested in taking on Butler, who has played in just 25 games and is averaging 17 points, his lowest point total since the 2018-19 season.
Ironically, that was when Butler requested a trade from Minnesota to Philadelphia in a situation where he made headlines for, in part, leading the third-string Timberwolves players to a win in practice over the starters. That came after Butler was away from the team for three weeks after requesting a trade, which eventually came to his preferred destination of the Sixers.
While Butler isn’t using the same antics with the Heat as he did in Minnesota, he’s still causing enough of a headache for Miami to want to suspend him. For Butler’s part, this could be seen as a tactic to try and pressure the Heat into getting a deal done quickly, though there’s no reason for Miami to rush this process.
The Heat have maintained that they want players who can help the team win right now, and given the team’s history they’re unlikely to budge on that. If Phoenix is where Butler wants to go, the Suns will need to do all the heavy lifting to get a trade package put together that will undoubtedly require the help from at least a third, possibly fourth or fifth team to get a deal done.
The Suns, for what it’s worth, acquired multiple first-round picks in a deal with the Jazz on Tuesday night.
