Miami Heat suspend Jimmy Butler again after star misses team flight
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The Miami Heat have suspended Jimmy Butler for the second time in three weeks, a move that adds to the possibility he has already played his final game for the franchise. Butler drew the latest suspension – this one will last two games – for what the team called a “continued pattern of disregard of team rules, insubordinate conduct and conduct detrimental to the team,” including missing the Heat’s flight to Milwaukee on Wednesday. The Heat were scheduled to play the Bucks on Thursday and in Brooklyn on Saturday.
The earliest Butler could play for the Heat again is Monday, at home against Orlando, but that would hinge on him still being on the roster, which seems far from guaranteed. Butler told the Heat in recent weeks that he wants a trade, a demand he has not made publicly because league rules do not allow players to do so. Any player who makes such a demand known risks a fine of up to $150,000. But the Heat revealed that request when suspending him in early January for what they called conduct detrimental to the team, and said at that time that they will work to accommodate his trade request.
The NBA’s trade deadline is 6 February. Butler was banished for seven games earlier this month, costing him about $2.4m in salary. Butler returned last week and has played in each of the last three Miami games, averaging 13.0 points in 29.3 minutes. The Heat left for Milwaukee around 2.15pm on Wednesday. That departure time is earlier than Miami leave for most of their trips, and it’s unclear if that was a factor in Butler missing the flight.
