When the Miami Heat, his team for the past six seasons, slapped 14-year veteran forward Jimmy Butler with an unpaid, seven-game suspension on January 3, the team was somewhat cryptic about the reasons. Butler had been publicly feuding with Miami management over the previous weeks, and even issued a trade demand. But a statement put out by the Heat said only that the suspension came in response to “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.”
Now, specific examples of what the Heat called Butler’s “detrimental” conduct have become public. According to a report by the Florida Sun-Sentinel they include what the team described as a lack of effort by Butler in certain games. The team cites the January 1 and January 2 contests in which the Heat faced the New Orleans Pelicans and Indiana Pacers, respectively. Both games took place at Kaseya Center in Downtown Miami, in front of the Heat’s home fans.
Alleged Lack of Effort in Cited as Cause for Suspension
After the Pacers game, which ended in a 128-115 Miami defeat, Butler requested that the team trade him and that he did not care where. He simply wanted out of Miami. Among his reasons, according to a report by ESPN NBA insiders Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst, were the team’s accusation that he did not give adequate effort in the New Year’s Day game against the New Orleans.
The game marked Butler’s return after an illness that lasted 13 days. He scored just nine points on five field goal attempts and two free throws. Miami won that game 119-108. In the next night’s game against Indiana he again tallied only nine points, taking six shots and two free throws. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra benched Butler for the entire fourth quarter of each game.
Following that game Butler told the media “I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon.”
Butler also insisted that his effort level remained high, regardless of his box score line.
“I’m going out there to compete either way, whether I score nine points or 29 points, I will compete,” Butler told the media. “You won’t say I’m not out there playing hard.”
Butler Sets Himself Apart From Teammates
But the Heat’s complaints against Butler went beyond issues with his perceived effort level on the court, according to a report Monday by former Yahoo! Sports NBA senior reporter Jake Fischer.
Butler also made a practice of skipping the team’s morning shootarounds, and booking private flights to and from road games rather than flying with his teammates and coaches on the team charter, according to the report.
The final game of Butler’s suspension is Wednesday night against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Butler is set to return to the Miami active roster for Friday’s home game against the Denver Nuggets. But in the interim, Heat team owner Micky Arison has called a meeting with Butler.
Arison Wants Butler With Team as he Collects Salary
Arison is the Israeli-born billionaire chair of Carnival Corporation, parent company of Carnival Cruise Lines which was founded by Arison’s father Ted, who was also a co-founder of the Heat in 1988. Micky Arison bought controlling interest in the team in 1995 and it continues as a family business. Arison’s son Nick Arison is the Heat CEO.
According to the Sun-Sentinel report, Micky Arison does not approve of Butler’s remaining apart from the team while he continues to collect paychecks on his $48.8 million salary for the 2024-2025 season. Butler’s seven-game suspension was unpaid, but his withheld payments have been placed in an interest-bearing escrow account. Butler could go to an arbitration hearing after the season in an attempt to retrieve those funds.
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Real Reasons For Jimmy Butler Suspension Revealed, Miami Heat Owner Sets Meeting