Update: The Miami Heat have decided it best that Jimmy Butler remain away from the team, announcing on Friday that they have suspended Butler for six games for "conduct detrimental to the team."
The Heat added that they are listening to trade offers for Butler.
"We have suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games for multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season and particularly the last several weeks. Through his actions and statements, he has shown he no longer wants to be part of this team.
"Jimmy Butler and his representative have indicated that they wish to be traded, therefore, we will listen to offers."
This comes eight days after Pat Riley announced the team would not trade Butler this season.
Butler can contest the suspension and try to reclaim some or all of the $2.4 million he will lose with the suspension.
After Butler's trade request, the Heat determined that Butler's presence is too much of a distraction for the team and suspended him. The suspension will carry through Saturday's home game against the Utah Jazz and Miami's six-game, West coast trip. The next game Butler could theoretically play is Jan. 17 vs the Denver Nuggets, but it seems for now that Butler has played his last game in a Heat jersey.
If the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler cannot work out a trade soon, there could be a way for the team to move forward without the on-court distraction of Butler’s trade request.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who spent time in the Brooklyn Nets front office and serves as a cap and front office expert, says he would send Butler home until the Heat and his representation can find a resolution.
“I think the Jimmy Butler situation in Miami is a distraction,” he said Friday.
Butler was noticeably less involved in Wednesday and Thursday night’s games, when he combined to score 18 points across the two contests. After claiming that he was no longer happy playing for the Heat during his postgame news conference, it was reported that Butler issued a trade request with the team.
Sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst that Butler “is open to playing anywhere other than Miami,” but he “does plan to take part in all team activities and do whatever the Heat ask of him during this process.”
Still, the weight of Butler’s situation impacts his teammates and coaches who are forced to answer questions about Butler’s future.
“We still got to go out and play basketball, and try to win games,” Bam Adebayo said after Butler’s media session. “For us, we let Jimmy, Pat , Spo, we let them handle that situation. For the rest of us, we still got to go out there and try to compete and win games.”
The NBA's player participation policy has a workaround that allows the Heat and Butler to limit the distraction of his trade request.
The Heat cannot simply tell Butler not to show up to work. Doing that, or suspending him, would invite a potential investigation by the players association.
The NBA’s player participation policy indicates that teams cannot shut down a player for reasons outside of injury: “Teams must refrain from any long-term shutdown (or near shutdown) whereby a star player ceases participating in games or begins to play a materially reduced role in circumstances affecting the integrity of the game.”
However, there is a clause that protects the team “if a rare and unusual circumstance exists for the absence, in the judgment of the league office.”
“I think this situation falls under that unusual circumstances,” Marks said. “I think for Butler and the Heat, I think the best thing is for them to be in their separate ways and that starts with Jimmy Butler being away from this Miami Heat team.”
According to Marks, this would not qualify as a suspension. The Heat could continue to pay Butler his full salary while he’s away from the team.
“You can send him home, he could collect the rest of his $48.8 million and then when we get to this offseason, if there’s not a trade by Feb. 6,” Marks said. “We can revisit this, whether it be Butler opting in and then working out a trade, or as he’s said, becoming a free agent and looking at his options elsewhere.”
Butler has a $52.4 million player option for next season. His representation has insisted that he plans to opt out and become a free agent after the season. If that’s the case, the Heat can create cap flexibility by Butler’s walking as a free agent or facilitating a sign-and-trade to his preferred destination if the front office can’t find a suitable trade before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
This may be the best option for both parties.
For the Heat, they avoid having to work around Butler on the court and in the locker room while his trade request looms. When engaged, Butler has helped the team win. The Heat are 12-10 with Butler this season, including Thursday night’s no-show. But the version of Butler that played Wednesday and Thursday does not help the team on the court as they continue to push for the playoffs.
Miami owes a top-14 protected pick in the 2025 draft to the Oklahoma City Thunder. If the Heat miss the playoffs, they would retain the rights to that pick and owe the Thunder an unprotected pick in 2026.
For Butler, as long as he has assurances from the team that they will work toward a trade in good faith, being away from the team mitigates the risk of an injury that could complicate matters, and he still gets paid.
The Heat host the Utah Jazz on Saturday before embarking on a six-game trip on the West Coast.