Members of the Heat organization, including players, coaches and staffers, have grown weary of Jimmy Butler‘s feud with the front office and it’s feared that the situation could get even worse, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reports.
With his team-imposed seven-game suspension over, Butler could return to action against the Nuggets on Friday. However, there’s a sense of dread in the organization that Butler could become even more of a distraction.
One unnamed source within the organization told Shelburne “I don’t know how he can come back to this locker room” and another informed her “We don’t want him back.”
Butler reiterated his demand to be traded to president of basketball operations Pat Riley during the suspension while the team was away on a six-game road trip. Butler was furious at the length of the suspension and the potential $2.3MM in lost salary. The possibility of a reduction waned because Butler failed to show enough contrition.
Here’s more from Shelburne’s story:
- Butler was stunned when Riley publicly criticized him after last season for missing playoff games. Butler also felt the organization had prioritized Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro over him, especially when Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra essentially anointed Adebayo as the team leader when Udonis Haslem retired.
- Butler’s preferential treatment during his years with the Heat is detailed, including staying in his mansion in Boulder, Colorado during the 2023 Finals. He’s also been allowed to fly privately or stay at a different location than the team on road trips.
- During the first half of a game against Oklahoma City on Dec. 20, Butler went to the locker room because of a sprained ankle, then left the arena because he told the team’s medical staff that he was feeling sick. He didn’t play the next three games and some team officials began to regard Butler as somewhat AWOL. On the last of those absences, Butler posted a video of himself playing soccer.
And people wonder why the Warriors have no interest in this sideshow…
And people wonder why *every other team has no interest in this sideshow.
ftfy
Remembering Jimmy’s time in Chicago not so fondly, I can practically guarantee that if he’s not happy things will most assuredly get much worse. He’s like a 3 year old on a sugar rush. It’ll be soul sucking bad.
Butler is a perpetually unhappy misanthrope. He’s done this exact song and dance three times already. Nobody should be surprised.
Mike, I’m so glad that we got rid of him before he went CTE on everyone. He was not a team player and only played for money and you can sense he never changed about that.
The league would probably be ok without Butler… it survived the last 7 games.
Wolves fans: “Told ya!”
Add the Bulls and the 76’er fans as well!
“Could” get even worse?!?! It definitely will
Jimmy has 50 million reasons to fake it.
The Heat need to figure it out because Butler is going to accept his player option and be a 50 million dollar brick on the cap sheet for next year as well.
You’re absolutely right. It’s funny and I don’t know if this is legal or not but even if the heat offered to buy him out for 30 million, who’s going to give him 20 million to make up the difference?
This is an ugly situation and Butler probably gets paid and the Heat are left holding the bag.
As ugly as this is getting you either have Jimmy sitting at home the rest of this year and next, collecting the rest of the contract, or you have a new teammate named Bradley Beal lol. Or as another guy suggested here this week, Ben Simmons lol.
He’s ruining the relationship with the one team that will retire his jersey when he retires.
*would.
I don’t think the Heat will be that desperate to do so…
He hasn’t won anything meaningful in his time there…
Really ??????
Heat needs to accept the fact they will not get anything worth while back in a trade and get rid of the contract just for cap space.
arc, yes, in theory that’s the goal but who has 50 million in cap space? Miami must take back 50 million in contract(s) to get rid of him. That’s the holdup that’s why we’re here in this predicament today.
It’s crazy how one bad decision can ruin a franchise for two entire years, three if you are so fed up and take Bradley Beal.
i read they wanted at least a 1st rounder out of any trade for Butler. Every team knows that they are stuck and can’t demand anything. They should just seek out expiring contract and take back a player with a little amount for next year. the option years is a bitter pill for them to swallow because unless Butler suddenly doesn’t care about money he will pick up the option.
Right exactly. Good point. Now it’s about dumping the guy for nothing to get out of the contract. Miami will receive zero in return.
They could only hope it’s an expiring deal, but even that could be beyond expectation with this dumpster fire.
Even uglier? Is Riley gonna bite a live chicken’s head off during a presser to get his point across? Or does it involve archived NTSC footage of obese women wrestling in canola oil?
To expound on the path of this thinking, it looks like Riles will have to hire both Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper to swallow bats and crap on the stage lol (or was that GG Allin?)
Its was Ozzy and he thought it was a toy bat…
I thibk you both have it wrong though… Clearly Butler is the insane ego here. .
The only way to resolve this is to let Jimmy talk with other teams and have that other team buy his crappy sales pitch. The Heat gave him that contract and now the have to live with it. I think it is time for the next CBA to address this. If players are “hurt” then they should be required to sign autographs at a table during games. Make them wear official team clothing while doing autographs picked by the team and have every team have an “alternate” team jersey that is totally ridiculous (maybe a clown costume or some bellbottom double-nit reversible slacks).
What a joke. He makes about $100 million in two years and he can’t be happy.
Jimmy having the same outcome as Ben Simmons is hilarious. Huge contracts that dont play at all
#HEATCULTURE
Yup, and sometimes it’s even too tough for a prima donna who claims to be a dog to handle.
The sign on the wall says heat culture, not Jimmy culture.
This is all on Miami and Pat Riley. He didn’t perform enough due diligence on the nature of this guy and gambled that his performance on the floor would make up for all of that which they did already know about.
Listen, I hate Jimmy’s actions, and I’m not a Heat fan, but there has to be some context to the due diligence comment.
The guy had already played five years in Miami and lead them to two NBA Finals before he decided to go all Minny Jimmy. Due diligence was not the issue, criticism and not paying him (both justified by the Heat) after five seasons is what got them here in season #6.
Yes, that added context definitely applies but the underlying foundation still remained.
Jimmy became Minnesota Jimmy eventually when things didn’t go his way.
Miami should’ve known that you can’t “criticize him” and MORE IMPORTANTLY, he wanted to be “paid” again as soon as he was eligible. And that eligibility came while under this current contract.
The point remains the same. The Heat gambled that floor performance would out weigh locker room performance. I don’t think two finals appearances is worth it unless you bring home the ring.
Good gamble? Definitely but wow the cost is two years of your franchise in shambles. Just like Chicago, just like Minnesota, and just like Philadelphia.
The criticism wasn’t a problem. That’s just stuff the media has been pretending since it happened, so it gives Butler’s camp an easy thing to point to in his pr gaslighting attempts
Herro also got crucified wayyy harder, multiple years…
The issue was Jimmy wanted to be paid max amount and years immediately as he was eligible, b/c the Heat extended Bam early, even though neither should have happened, but Bam’s was the one that made some sort of sense for multiple reasons…Jimmy was still going to get paid, until he decided to do this
Honestly, I think it started when they traded Kyle Lowry in that abhorrent Rozier trade, and if so, I wouldn’t blame him for that. The rest though..bro, jimmy…just show up and play the way everyone knows you can, and we move past it like it didn’t even happen. Heat fans would ignore this stuff and let it go if you let the pride slip for a secpnd…the Heat will retire his jersey…just be normal about this…
That’s why it’s so hard to follow and root for the NBA. Let alone watch the mostly poor quality of play.
These players have no respect for the ludicri ously absurd exorbitant contracts they sign and have no honor or loyalty to anyone but themselves.
it happens in all sports so you must watch amateur sports. It happens in football, baseball, hockey, and soccer.
I’m actually enjoying the drama for once. Hope Jimmy gets what’s coming to him. As it is he’s likely already cost himself a good chunk of future money so this isn’t exactly winning.
I hope the NBA steps in and voids his player option…
The drama after that will be golden…
MIA may be priming the pump to reverse course and not play him. It’s not just the game result they put at risk, but the locker room as well. Professionals or not, supporting a teammate or not, I can’t believe any player on any team wants to play with a guy that not only has asked for a trade, but has indicated he doesn’t want to ever again play for the team. I understand they don’t want to pay him to sit at home, but just ignoring these circumstances has a price as well.
Man, some of these prima-donna athletes and the money/prefer treatment they make/have!! bless them all!!
Some of this reporting screams as speculation to anyone that has followed the Heat at all over their existence…Jimmy Butler was one of the people that proclaimed Bam the captain…also, the herro stuff is hilarious b/c Jimmy has been his biggest champion, and herro was literally in the dog house as this season started
The charter flights thing I think was like 2 times b/c of legit reasons, unless that’s been cleared up since I was last aware
He said he was really sick for a while, but instead of being with the team against Orlando, he was at prime 112 drinking and hanging out and eating with people, which Riley obviously knew about…then Jimmy tried to blame his actions on the game afterwards, which the Heat won, and he played well, to gaslight everyone into thinking it’s b/c the Heat criticized his effort in the game, when in reality, they were questioning why he was at prime 112…
Remember when he was like the quintessential non controversial superstar? Just a shut up and win guy and he’s gone the route of Kawhi
Actually no I don’t…
This never happened, lmao
Could??? This is Jimmy Butler. Look at his history. This WILL get uglier
It was always going to end this way and Riley and Butler are both at fault.
Yeah Butler’s easy to blame because he has a lot of history and baggage. He wore out his welcome in Chicago then got fed up with the B.S. in Minnesota and Philly. He’s stubborn and demands respect.
Just like Butler Riley himself is stubborn and demands respect. If a player doesn’t do things his way then it’s the highway. He butted heads with Shaq and LeBron. He even ran D. Wade out of town for a time. Haslem said he was so intimidated by Riley he didn’t talk to talk to his head coach for two seasons.
Taco, when you want to establish a culture that is different from the norm, you’ve got adhere rigorously to a different set of rules.
Yes, Riley was inflexible, possibly unreasonable, by normal standards. But he believes the Heats uncommon standards have brought more good than bad. All of that is lost if he compromises.
The issue was Jimmy claimed he was sick, and instead of being in Orlando with the team, he was at prime 112 hanging out with people and drinking and eating, which Riley would know immediately
The new Orleans game rhetoric is probably gaslighting from Jimmy, b/c we won that game, he played well, had a positive plus/minus, and nobody in the Heat organization cares about points per game, and he knows that, but knows that people use scoring total to determine effort, so it would be plausible to believe the Heat questioned his from that game…when in reality, they’re questioning the game before that, on the road, where he didn’t show up
Everything is pr now… also these writers that question the offense are really, really ignorant to how basketball works, all of them…none of them know how this team works at all, how any team wins…
Holding made the most sense for everyone, including Jimmy, who would have been paid eventually…I see no trade scenario that makes sense for multiple reasons
If Memphis wants to send over Jaren Jackson jr, Marcus Smart, GG Jackson, 2028 1st and 2030 1st, go ahead lol…you’re not doing that either, and where does that leave you anyway?
Financially, it would be impossible to do with Moody or without Schroder, which is annoying, but how would you feel about Draymond Green, Gary Payton, Schroder, Gui Santos, and 2025 1st, 2027 1st, 2026 Atlanta 2nd, and possibly another 2nd in there, b/c of certain factors…I tried to do something with moody or possibly Burks going back to GS too, but it’s just barely short financially…
Jonathan Isaac, Anthony Black, Jett Howard, Corey Joseph, and picks for Butler…
Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker, Aaron Nesmith, James Johnson, Isaiah Jackson, James Wiseman, TJ McConnell, 2025 Heat 2nd, 2028 Indiana 1st, 2030 1st for Jimmy…Heat dump Jackson, Wiseman, and Johnson or McConnell
Hardaway jr, Ausar Thompson, Wendell Moore, Marcus Sasser, Jaden Ivey 2027 1st, 2029 1st, 2028 Charlotte or Clippers 2nd for Jimmy Butler and Alec Burks…Heat dump Ivey and hardaway/sasser
I can’t really think of many other 2 team options, and those already are…I don’t know maybe New Orleans or Toronto could make some sense…
the thing is, I don’t even know what those teams i mentioned situations are against the hard cap, so I don’t even know if they’d be able to sign the players they’d need to fill out their roster to even make those deals…and in all of them, the Heat are basically just cutting multiple people
The Heat are arguably better off letting him leave for nothing than making another terrible trade, on top of the Rozier deal from last year
I don’t care either way, but if I were him, I would apologize and say I realize you were going to pay me anyway, and we won that game, so I know there was a miscommunication in my feeling it was insinuated I wasn’t trying when I was a positive +/-…let’s just sign the new deal, and realize sometimes families fight, which is what we’re built on, and move forward the way the Heat always eventually come back to….
Because that’s his best bet to get fully paid the way he would have…
If not I don’t care if he walks for nothing
This is a Latrell Sprewell in the making.
So trade him and move on! They knew they wouldn’t keep him longer!
To who? It was difficult enough before the new rules, but especially with those new rules, it’s almost impossible
You really don’t know anything about how NBA trades and trade rules work, Panther.
Suns would do it in an hour. If they too Beal or a third team takes him. There’s moves out there. Just not getting what you want. Time to get what you can.
Still say Rockets are best bet ……
Fred V V, Cam Whitmore, and a pick gets it done …..
Jimmy is from Houston. Can retire there while trying to get Rockets back to Finals ……..
Love Jimmy as a player. But I’m done with Heat drama. Miami move on. This is not good for the other players.
Wish Knicks would persue Cam Whitmore. Another Villanova guy….. he’s perfect off the bench. And has a future.
Both sides look bad if this gets uglier. I think jimmy to the clippers makes sense
Get ya popcorn…
The openings credits have just finished…
In his mind Jimmy Butler thinks he’s winning this cold was with Miami….but what he’s actually showing his whole A$$ to any NBA that had interest in him. He may have been able to pull this in Minnesota and Philly when he was younger but at 35, he’s a walking red flag and I doubt any team outside of Phoenix whose desperate would want him now.