Jimmy Butler, the main star of the Miami Heat, has fallen from grace. The team has decided to suspend him for seven games due to his lack of commitment and his desire to be traded, the NBA franchise announced on Friday. The Miami Heat put the player on the market and are open to receiving offers for him, in what could be one of the most talked about signings of the winter window, which closes on February 6.
“We have suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games for multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season and, in particular, in recent weeks,” the club said in a statement. “Through his actions and statements, he has shown that he no longer wants to be part of this team. Jimmy Butler and his agent have indicated that they wish to be traded. Therefore, we will listen to offers.
Butler, who can play both shooting guard and small forward, has scored just nine points in two games, a very low figure for him and that after missing five games due to an alleged illness. His averages this season are the worst in a decade. This Thursday, in the game in which the Miami Heat were defeated by the Indiana Pacers, he was only the fifth scorer for the Heat and in the press conference afterwards he made his frustration and his desire to leave the team very clear.
“What do I want to happen? I want to see how I get the joy of playing basketball back and, wherever that is, we will know very soon. I want to get my joy back. I am happy here off the court, but I want to be dominant again, I want to score and I want to help this team win. Right now, I am not doing that.” The reporters then asked him if he thought he could get that joy back in Miami and he replied briefly: “Probably not.”
Butler led his team in 2022 and 2023 to the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. The Miami Heat lost the first one, but they pulled off a surprise in the second, with Butler as MVP. They played the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets, the 2023 Western Conference champions, but were defeated by Nikola Jokić’s team. In the last playoffs, the team fell in the first matchup, again against the Celtics, with Butler injured for the entire series. This year, Miami is sixth in the Eastern Conference standings, but, at 35 years old, Butler feels that the possibility of winning a championship ring is slipping away from him. Added to this is the fact that his relationship with team president Pat Riley has been deteriorating for months.
This is Butler’s sixth season with the Miami Heat. During that period, the team reached two NBA Finals, in 2020 against the Lakers and in 2023 against the Nuggets, but lost both. Before arriving in Miami, the 6-foot-10 player played six seasons with the Chicago Bulls – who selected him 30th overall in the 2011 draft – a little over one with the Minnesota Timberwolves and less than one with the Philadelphia 76ers.
