3:51pm: Butler’s indefinite suspension is now official, according to the Heat (Twitter links).
“The suspension is due to a continued pattern of disregard of team rules, engaging in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services,” the team said in a statement. “This includes walking out of practice earlier today.”
As Marks points out (via Twitter), the “withholding services” line means Butler will lose 1/91.6th of his salary per game, which works out to $2,663,685 over the next five contests.
3:03pm: The Heat plan to suspend six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler indefinitely, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN.
According to Charania, Butler walked out of shootaround on Monday morning after he was informed that the team planned to start Haywood Highsmith over him going forward.
While Butler’s latest suspension is considered indefinite, he will miss a minimum of five more games, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. As Will Guillory of The Athletic observes, that five-game timeline isn’t a coincidence — it means he won’t suit up for the team again prior to the February 6 trade deadline (Twitter link).
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald hears Butler wasn’t pleased with the news and angrily left mid-shootaround. That gave the Heat cause to suspend him without pay while also ensuring he won’t get injured in a game before the deadline (Twitter link).
The language the Heat use in their press release will be key to determining how much money Butler could miss out on, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter links). Butler will be docked $532,737 per game if Miami calls it failure to render services, while conduct detrimental to the team would cost Butler $336,543 per contest.
As Jackson and Anthony Chiang write for The Miami Herald, the original plan had been for Butler to play on Monday following a two-game suspension, though his role going forward was a major question mark. Overall, Butler has been suspended nine games to this point; that figure will now rise to at least 14.
The first suspension, covering seven games, was referred to as conduct detrimental to the team; the second, covering two games, was for a “continued pattern of disregard of team rules, insubordinate conduct and conduct detrimental to the team, including missing… a team flight to Milwaukee.” The National Basketball Players Association plans to file a grievance to dispute the suspension, and Butler could get some of his salary back in the future.
It has been exactly eight years since Butler came off the bench, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Obviously, the 35-year-old wasn’t interested in that scenario after butting heads with management for the past several weeks.
“It kind of feels normal now at this point,” Tyler Herro said of having Butler back from a suspension again Monday morning, prior to the breaking news. “Kind of is what it is, but nothing’s guaranteed. We’ve just got to be ready to roll with whatever cards we’re dealt tonight. We’ve just got to be ready to go.”
Butler has been at odds with Miami over his contract, which pays him $48.8MM in 2024/25, with a $52.4MM player option in ’25/26. Last offseason, he was hoping to decline that option and add an additional year (and more money) onto his maximum-salary deal, but the Heat had no interest in that scenario; in fact, president Pat Riley publicly criticized Butler for his lack of availability, which reportedly caught Butler off guard.
Charania first reported that the Heat were open to listening for trade offers for Butler, who has repeatedly let it be known that he intends to decline his player option to hit free agency in the offseason. About a week after that reporting, the team announced that it wouldn’t trade Butler, but then he privately asked to be traded and Miami then said it did plan to deal him.
The Suns have reportedly been the most aggressive team in pursuit of Butler, but this news doesn’t mean there’s any progress between the two teams in trade talks, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). The major hold-up in a potential deal is that Miami has no interest in taking on Bradley Beal‘s maximum-salary contract, which covers two more seasons beyond ’24/25 and features a full no-trade clause.
Who could have seen this coming?!?!
I’m just shocked I tell you … absolutely shocked
Me, 3 weeks ago
If he is not traded, he will need more and more suspensions
His trade value gets less because he wants to ply for Suns
Act like a child, getting treated like one
Don’t insult the children!
my goodness, this is like a horrible day time soap opera.
That we can’t stop watching. Looking forward to Kevin Loves IG content.
What a joke…
The Heat will be lucky if ANY team wants this malcontent
Good on Mia, if teams had taken these steps moons ago we’d see less and less of this today
Mia will be fine in the end and they will still have their core values solely intact. Not many teams would escape this situation like that. Not a huge Heat culture Rah Rah type but there’s no denying there’s a strong culture here that can get past this BS rather quickly. Not many orgs can say the same
I honestly 1000% thought this was going to be how Tyler Herro would act, coming into this year…the fact that he has been professional has been a legit surprise to me, and has made me take notice.
The Heat are better off losing Jimmy for nothing than making another bad trade, and they’re still in position to not lose too much from this. Making a bad trade would change that
Pat Riley listening to social media is how we got here in the first place. Trading Kyle lowry and a pick somehow for rozier was to placate all the crybaby clowns online worried about scoring, and it’s been proven those people were/are wrong, so hopefully, Riley is focused more on getting back the Heat identity than worrying about anything besides WINNING, which is the literal only stat that matters; a fact that seems to escape the people that pretend to analyze the game
That Rozier trade kinda re-set the whole market moving forward for better or worse. We were both in agreement at the time that it was stupid AF
I don’t think many teams will net a first moving forward for a guy like Vucevic opps I mean Rozier
** Man I respectfully disagree with you on Ware tho dude, that guys future is super bright, I think he will be one of the best 5 prospects from last years draft here soon if not already. I think he was Laker bound if yall didnt swoop in
I think you were the only person that agreed with me on that Lowry-Rozier deal
I see zero universes where Ware plays against a team like Boston in the playoffs, in a winning effort
If Bam wasn’t here, things are different, but Bam is here. Using the 15th pick on a 5 that can’t play against most matchups, and doesn’t fit your team, with available value pieces on the board, and similar FA bigs available to potentially sign for the minimum, and the fact that being without available roster spots has cost you championships multiple times recently…none of that makes sense.
Nothing against him; again, Hassan Whiteside comp; super talented. Still a bad pick, and would be 1 of the main trade chips, if Jimmy wasn’t doing this…though not sure who would have been trading for a big either
And regardless of all of that, starting him in matchups that make no sense is also an issue. He should only play in the matchups that make sense, and mostly be depth for Kevin Love, Jovic, Jaime at the 5 behind Bam
We shall see, I can promise you tho, if you put him on the block this summer the phones would be ringing non stop
I disagree; I think it’s hard to trade bigs and guards, unless they’re of certain ilk
If anything else, the kid is of that defensive ilk ……. it will be Wemby’s league very soon, teams need trees to at least make him work for things.
Ware is a block chaser, and can’t defend pick and roll, or close out to the perimeter
He’s definitely not, most of these beanpole types will be hard-pressed to do switch hard and recover, since most are of the flat-footed kind.
But there’s value in their length ……. look at Lively, who’ll forever be a lob threat and a rim protector.
Bigs are slowly becoming fad again …… not even counting these French kids.
There’s value in length. Look no further than Bam, once he faces/posts up against someone with length, some heft, his productivity goes way down.
Have you guys not been paying attention to him even recently? I don’t see anything different than I saw before the draft.
We’re looking at it from completely different perspectives b/c my perspective os trying to win a championship with this roster, and having value going forward…f Bam is here and healthy, there is nothing I said that is wrong, and nothing has been contested b/c it’s true
^ As constructed, HEAT ain’t winning a championship this year. They can catch lightning in a bottle again, but with this Jimmy mess and without a replacement sub-tier star, they’re likely not going far in the playoffs …… might even miss it completely.
Ware isn’t a star, he’ll never be a star, but he presents value from the bench, like JJJ, HH, Jovic …….. value meaning, they’re a rotation piece or can be part of a package to be flipped for a star.
Josh was that valuable piece years ago, valuable enough to get Jimmy from the SIXERS.
Speaking of the SIXERS, everyone dumps on Morey, but one thing that he gets right – getting star players is still a good bet on winning a championship …… of course, picking the right star is another thing entirely.
I don’t see him as a full rotation player
I mean he’s only 20
The court coverage he gives you with Bam on defense is salivating, his closeouts will get better
I don’t think he even has to develop a full arsenal on offence to be a top 5 pick last year. Baby hook, avg middy, some more lower body strength , just the basics
Only works in certain lineups in certain matchups
Exactly, he ain’t getting on his spots against the better defenders ……. but let’s give him a break, he’s a rookie and a young one at that.
honest question… how many times will you be literally and factually wrong before you admit you are…. wrong? I’ve been telling you for at least 4 years that the heat would thrive with Bam at the 4 playing next to a big.. you’ve fought me tooth and nail on this point.. even after Yurtz and Robinson both proved the point in their limited ways… now they have a full blown future star… bam is suddenly playing the best he has all season.. and here you are.. still clinging to your nonsense like a cultist… I don’t get it.
You have to seriously believe your team culture is strong enough and that you are just a little short of winning it all to take on this clown. It’s not like this is the first team he’s done this with
His petulant attitude is not going to help facilitate his wish to be traded. Another cry baby athlete.
He should get hurt on purpose now so they cant trade him.
He could put on a fat suit like Harden did lol
That’s the opposite of what he wants
He not getting traded is his worst nightmare. His value in the offseason will plummet and he’ll never get a contract near a max contract. I doubt he’d get it anyways but this probably seals his doom. Pat Reilly is much smarter than Butler.
I don’t believe this is good for the heat side currently. It’s a huge distraction everyday. They need to trade him and get anything that can help cause they need more to be a factor in the playoffs again.
Don’t disagree, but other teams are surely trying to leverage that against them. Between that and the limited number of teams who could even want to match contracts for him, I think if this does get done before the deadline it won’t be until right before it. Of course, there’s a chance nothing gets done if the Heat don’t find anything remotely palatable.
Except Butler can simply opt in to one more year of his current max contract and start this saga all over.
A five-game suspension means Butler’s already lost close to 5M… and counting. It’s ironic, as this was all about money to begin with.
I think he’ll be fine … he’s already made $300+ million LOL
We would have been fine without a max extension, too.
Maybe but that’s like saying to common people who make let’s say 6 figures and you’re fining them $10,000.
But you’ve made over a million plus so far in your working career…so you won’t care right?
I doubt he is thrilled to lose 5 million bucks. (Not picking a side or saying it isn’t warranted)
He’s royally ]!$$ed about that. 1 of his issues was a clerical error causing him to get a heat paycheck 8 days late, or something…this whole thing is b/c the Heat didn’t max extend him the literal moment they could, b/c he’s worried about the over 38 rule…even though b/c of the new rules, which is the actual entire reason this is happening, this was basically impossible to do, and still have a 14 man roster, especially when they still extended Bam (which made sense this time, which it didn’t the first time)
“Maybe but that’s like saying to common people who make let’s say 6 figures and you’re fining them $10,000.
But you’ve made over a million plus so far in your working career…so you won’t care right?”
If you’re Jimmy Butler and you have $100 million on the table (about $48 million this year and $52 million next year) that you’ve decided isn’t that important, then I don’t think the $5 million is bothering him that much. It’s a calculated move to get a bigger payday over a longer period. He knew this was a possibility and proceeded with his tantrum anyway.
From both Riley’s and Butler’s perspective I think it has more to do with pride and ego than money, or at least it’s progressed to that point.
Heat Culture
Hilarious…
Total respect for Spo and Riley for making choices based on team culture…
Far too many almost stars think they have the rights to move to a different team…
No you sign a contract with a team and you are expected to play out that contract until THEY decide to move you…
So the team and player both sign the contract, but only the player is expected to honor the contract??? Riley overplayed his hand during the summer coming down on Butler in the media.
Heat culture is a joke.
Rofl he challenged Herrp exponentially harder than Jimmy. This has nothing to do with any of that. The fact people keep pretending it is is actually hilarious
Jimmy Butler is mad b/c the Heat didn’t max extend him the literal moment they could, b/c he’s worried about the over 38 rule…even though b/c of the new rules, which is the actual entire reason this is happening, this was basically impossible to do, and still have a 14 man roster, especially when they still extended Bam (which made sense this time, which it didn’t the first time)
“So the team and player both sign the contract, but only the player is expected to honor the contract???”
How is Miami not honoring the contract? This entire debacle is Butler’s fault. Miami was 100% content to let him play out this season and, if he chose, let him play out his $50+ million player option for next season. Miami didn’t start any of this, Jimmy did.
Yes only the player has to…
That’s the CBA…
Well, this explains why my ticket isn’t selling, and prices dropped so dramatically in the last couple of hours…
This is the literal total antithesis of everything Jimmy Butler ever was, and honestly, I’m actually concerned now…
I’m starting to think there’s something legit wrong. The way he’s acting, especially with so many issues with needing money at exact moments is strange…it’s almost maniacal, like he needs that money at that exact moment for some reason
Highsmith shouldnt have been benched to begin with, and should have been starting these last 4 years
Ware shouldnt be starting, and should only get minutes in matchups that make sense. Just b/c it worked against the Spurs doesn’t mean it’s going to work in other matchups, and that’s been proven the last 3 games, so this weird thing needing to placate to social media clowns and playing multiple bigs together needs to stop, unless the matchup calls for it
If this is the reason Jimmy got mad today, I agree, but it’s still extremely disappointing…this whole thing makes very little sense, and part of it is both sides being uncharacteristic. That abhorrent lowry for rozier trade started this. The Heat making poor decision they don’t usually make has been weird, even though I agree with how they’ve handled Jimmy himself
And Jimmy doing this still doesn’t make trading him, in a bad deal, better than holding and letting him walk for nothing, so if that’s his angle, he’s just costing himself even more money, by tripling and quadroupling down, out of what I can only guess is ego
He’s really gotten deep into Poker lately , and he’s not that good at it as I’ve seen him play a few times
I hope there isn’t an issue there, gambling addictions can get very strange
Doubtful he’s hemorrhaging large amounts as this guy values money a TON. Hes rich “cheap” as they say, much like LBJ
That’s what I had thought, but I’ve also seen him willingly throw money at certain stuff this last few months that he wouldn’t have ever done in the past…it could be gambling; guess he won’t be at casino night tomorrow lol…last year he played dominos all night though
It’s just weird how the late payment was even a point made…how the suspensions costing hom money is even a point made…why do you need this money so badly, jimmy?
The thing about gambling too is that it keeps you out all night, disrupts your sleep and eating habits and just makes you more irritable as your constantly going on swings mentally and financially
Hes a novice at best in poker , and he’d need a couple years playing like 5$-10$ blinds to get to a better understanding of the game….but I doubt those stakes are high enough to give him the thrill …..He’s most def probably losing if hes playing higher stakes on a consistent basis ….heard he’s a Bones aficionado tho and one of the best in the league ……. its just easier to find a poker table anywhere ya go….. MJ had this same problem
I have seen him play poker 1 time before, and believe you…he may have even talked about his thought process in a hand, and I was like…(for reference I used to play, but stopped b/c I don’t like going to the casino by myself, and then the pandemic happened, and I never got going again)
He also has been staying out to extreme hours the last several months, and his eyes always look tired…this is all speculation, but honestly, this whole thing is so clearly about money, and it’s weird how much timing seems to matter to him
Yea he’s bad ….bad bad bad bad ….but he’s probably got a coach (everyone does now) and a hype team telling him he could get better in a year (you cant, poker takes a long time) and he’s most definitely playing at a much higher stakes than he should be today
Athletes pretty much make the worst poker players ever on the table. They somehow cant grasp that physicality has no mark at the table, they are usually always just fresh road kill
I sort of remember someone telling him to stick to his other games, and him saying he’s going to learn…I think your entire thought process holds a lot of water on this
I also agree; you see a lot of people trying to use intimidation at the table. I also think playing with the mentality of not caring about the money obviously matters, but they also can take that a little too much lol, and they’re easily trappable…and that has way less chance of working on higher stake players that know what they’re doing
“and a hype team telling him he could get better in a year (you cant, poker takes a long time)”
Yep. And many of the best players in the world, particularly the younger generation, are math geniuses who can calculate odds and strategies in the moment. No offense against Jimmy but I don’t get that vibe from him. Few have that skill. Luck obviously plays a big part of poker but over the long haul, your skill is what helps you win.
This isn’t the “total antethesis of everything Jimmy Butler ever was” – in fact, this is exactly what Jimmy has always been.
He clashed with coaching in Chicago.
He clashed with coaching in Minnesota.
He clashed with coaching again in Philly – then publicly denied that he was difficult to deal with.
Now, he’s publicly being difficult to deal with in Miami, while clashing with ownership.
Jimmy goes to different places, has the same problems, then tries to convince the world that he’s not the problem.
Sounds like he’s practicing to be a politician…
Always got someone else to blame…
Honestly, I don’t think it’s terribly surprising. Sometimes you only see a person’s true colors when they’re put into a position they aren’t accustomed to being in and that’s especially true for stars who have likely been pampered for most of their lives. People will think “What changed? I never saw this before” but sometimes it’s just a buried trait bubbling to the surface through a change of circumstances.
Obviously, Jimmy does not take slights well, even relatively mild ones, whether verbal ones or monetary ones relative to what he believes he’s worth. There are plenty of people in day-to-day life like that; they take a small thing and blow it out of proportion over a toxic combination of pride, ego, and retribution. To burn down the entire town, including his own home, over something like this takes a serious personal defect, but also one that requires a particular set of circumstances. Everyone is great until they aren’t. And a particular trait can sometimes be seen as a positive in one light and as a negative in another.
Could be way off base obviously, but I find Occam’s Razor to be true more often that not. Some people just aren’t logically consistent. Heck, I’d argue most of us aren’t logically consistent all of the time, including myself. But Jimmy also has the luxury of blowing things up because worst case scenario he’ll still be super rich and just fine.
Riley again proving that his ego is more important than the Heat winning basketball games. Hey Pat, if the guy isn’t good enough to crack the starting lineup on an extremely mediocre roster then why on earth would I give you anything besides a bad contract for him?
They weren’t winning anything with Butler…
I can’t remember any player overplaying his hand as much as Jimmy has here. Player empowerment has brought us all manner of dramas, but nothing like this. Earth to Jimmy: it’s 2025 and you are 36 and making $50 M this year and next. That’s probably good enough. And nothing he is doing right now would lead anyone to conclude that this s a guy who wants to play professional basketball for the next few years.
After the NBA had to deal with Simmons, Harden, and Butler the first time, this is exactly what all 30 teams want.
Butler is being made an example of, and other stars will think twice about tarnishing their legacy & reputation (aka their market value).
I’m team Jimmy. Jimmy caused no issues (in Miami) until Pat Riley came out of nowhere to throw shade at him.
Pat isn’t getting enough blame for this drama.
Rofl Riley challenged Herro exponentially harder than Jimmy…
Jimmy is mad b/c the Heat didn’t max extend him the literal moment they could, b/c he’s worried about the over 38 rule…even though b/c of the new rules, which is the actual entire reason this is happening, this was basically impossible to do, and still have a 14 man roster, especially when they still extended Bam (which made sense this time, which it didn’t the first time)
Oh, poor Jimmy. Getting light shade thrown at him once in an otherwise long and productive relationship. Totally justifies screwing over his teammates, the fans, and the organization as a whole. If only each of us could negate a contract or refuse to do our jobs over the smallest of slights.
Being honest here, this reminds me a lot of “She was asking for it with what she was wearing/how she was acting”. What Riley did wasn’t smart in the context of who he was dealing with, but this type of reaction is 100% on Jimmy.
The truth hurts…
The Heat were never winning anything with Butler..
The East is just that weak that a lucky team can make the finals to get swept…
Jimmy, I want an extension = I want to be here.
Riley, no.
Jimmy, okay I want out I want to go somewhere where I’ll get extended. I am not okay going into next season with a lame duck contract. I want 2 more years.
**Max extension.
Details are important.
Nothing new to see here, everybody move along.
They should keep him suspended for the rest of the season and refuse to trade him
They should release him, with the understanding that he will definitely refuse his option.
Let him try to make his own deal. Good luck chump.
Still haven’t resolved the issue though Riley. You gonna trade Jimmy or you love him?
Take Beal …. get it over with.
Jimmy is not making it easy. Suns can’t get Jimmy without moving Beal. Just don’t see how this works.
Wouldn’t do it for those three picks either.
Houston should be talking to Miami. At this point Heat might take anything from Rockets……
Why don’t you take Beal and get it over with? Why should the Heat do something like that? They’re better off letting him ride the bench for 2 years at 50+ million on their cap, as though he was injured
Butler’s value is that low that taking Beal back looks good?
Nah keep the contract and keep suspending him until he realises he ain’t getting the full 52m if they pick up the player option anyway…
Then Jimmy is playing in China in 2026…
Why the hell would Houston take him?
Love jimmy but hes gonna end up out the league messing around
HeAt CuLtUrE
It’s kind of hypocritical of people to say Jimmy should honor his contract. These suspensions are sure a convenient way to get out of Butler opting in for next season. Heck it’ll save Arison quite a bit this season as well as they’re a luxury tax team.
Except for Arison saving on taxes as a result of these suspensions, everything else on your post makes no sense.
The Heat don’t want Butler or they would’ve offered him an extension. By going public and saying his extension wasn’t a priority they knew that he’d most likely ask for a trade or at the very least opt out of his player option.
They weren’t ever going to give Butler an extension. They only have Adebayo and Herro on guaranteed contracts after next season. That’s why there so adamant about not taking back any long term contracts.
Now, this has context. Your previous post didn’t.
Riley did no different as other GM’s doing their job, they don’t give out max extensions to undeserving players …… not in today’s oppressive CBA.
It’s much similar to Ingram’s situation now. Of course, that’s a small market there compared to the HEAT and Riley who’s an institution by himself.
Jimmy has some leverage here, it’s his opt in. It’s his choice after the season. The only thing is, NETS are the only team projected to have any meaningful cap space this coming offseason ……… and NETS are in a youth movement now, after their KD/Kyrie experience.
Uncle Dennis aside, RAPTORS saw a chance with Kawhi years ago, got lucky that one year….. Jimmy didn’t do himself any favors with his primadonna musings now.
A team like the GIZZLIES might see Jimmy as a possible rental, make a serious run this season …….. like the RAPTORS with Kawhi years ago.
But with Jimmy doing his shenanigans now, I won’t blame the Memphis FO if they back out from that train of thought.
It’s actually a very smart ploy from Riley if he did that extension speech just to tick off Jimmy…
As Jimmy’s value was in the toilet before the season started because he couldn’t stay on the floor and is old…
So at best he was looking at a Beal in a trade anyway… Much better to tick Jimmy off enough to get him to decline the player option as it frees up the salary cap a lot faster…
They were going to pay him after next year
The minimum?
Maybe…
He wasn’t getting the over 38 max that’s for sure…
It’s just plain ignorant…
The players association can’t fix this because Jimmy broke his contract by carry on like a child…
Walking out of practice is like walking off the job…
So Jimmy won’t get anything back even if they took it to court…
So another year of suspensions will make a contract in China more lucrative…
They should just let him walk at the end of the year. Keep him on the bench and if he doesn’t behave then suspend him further. The Heat aren’t winning it this year regardless of what they would get in a trade. I don’t think Riley and Spolestra want to feed the narrative of caving in.
Welcome to Miami, Caitlin Clark! Careful what you wish for Jimmy.