Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler revealed his plans on Thursday regarding his future with the franchise. According to a news article by ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst, Butler wants to be traded from Miami. According to him, he is open to playing anywhere, except the Heat franchise.
Fans’ perceptions of Butler’s desired next move in his career changed when he made his trade request. The NBA star’s latest plea to the organization was mentioned in a mural by Miami residents. One artwork of the six-time All-Star depicts him with a name tag that reads “Clearance Trade!” Another piece of work shows the star’s face with a headband that says “I quit.”
Heat fans are turning on Jimmy Butler 😳 They made a mural calling him a quitter
(🎥 @HeatCulture13) pic.twitter.com/wvIbbVRcVc
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 5, 2025
Fans on the social media platform X (previously Twitter), agree with the artwork. They asserted that when his trade request was made public, the Heat star did leave his team.
The group made a statement on its longtime star’s request on Friday. The statement indicates that the franchise has suspended Butler for seven games for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
“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,” the team stated. “Through his actions and statements, he has shown he no longer wants to be part of this team.”
According to The Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds, the five-time All-NBA will lose about $336,543 per game during his seven-game suspension. Overall, Miami’s forward will lose around $2,355,798 million, which he could appeal to lessen the potential financial loss.
The National Basketball Players Association plans to file a grievance as they see the suspension as “excessive and inappropriate.”
The 7-game suspension imposed tonight by the Miami Heat on Jimmy Butler is excessive and inappropriate, and we intend to file a grievance challenging the discipline. pic.twitter.com/IhJDVquOwc
— NBPA (@TheNBPA) January 4, 2025
NBA Insider thinks the Heat can keep Jimmy Butler for the rest of the season
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie believes that the request made by Jimmy Butler might not be a guarantee for the star to leave the franchise. He speculates the possibility of the Heat keeping Butler for the rest of the season.
“I have a healthy degree of skepticism that these deals make sense for all the teams involved largely because it’s hard to come up with a two-team deal that accomplishes everything Miami might be looking for. I also started to wonder whether Miami calls Butler’s bluff and rides out the rest of the year with him on the roster,” Vecenie reported.
Can’t remember a more complicated trade scenario than trying to find Jimmy Butler moves that make sense for Miami/teams acquiring him. I tried to come up with 4 and honestly not sure I love any.
Also a breakdown of the situation facing the Heat: https://t.co/5BAAbmKua9
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) January 5, 2025
Butler has played 35 games this season, averaging 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists. These are the lowest numbers the Heat star has averaged since joining the franchise in 2019.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
