NBA rumors: Latest Jimmy Butler update will concern Heat fans before return
01/17/2025 12:18 PM
With Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler possibly making a return Friday night when the team hosts the Denver Nuggets, a recent report from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne indicates that the drama will amplify like never before. As Butler is off the injury report for Friday’s game, he comes off a seven-game suspension due to “conduct detrimental to the team” which according to sources from Shelburne, that continued behavior is feared.
“Teammates, coaches, and staffers have already grown weary, sources said,” Shelburne wrote Friday morning.
There were always expectations that during the suspension, the Heat expected Butler to rejoin the team and even “play in games” if a trade weren’t made before then according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. However, ESPN writes that “there remains a palpable dread” and that there are team sources that blatantly said, “We don’t want him back.”
“While Heat sources say they expect Butler to return Friday against the Nuggets and are fully prepared for him to play, there remains a palpable dread at what he might do and the environment the ongoing chaos might create,” Shelburne said. “‘I don’t know how he can come back to this locker room,’ one source close to the team said. Said another, ‘We don’t want him back.'”
In terms of a source close to Butler, they told ESPN that “Jimmy hasn’t even really started” which would imply that more drama is heading the team’s way as he returns to the team and possibly the court. The fractured relationship between the Heat and Butler has been a disheartening one to witness for fans as they enjoyed a handful of productive seasons with him at the helm as he led the team to two NBA Finals appearances.
Jimmy Butler’s suspension timing was for Heat to go away from “chaos”
It started when Butler was seeking a contract extension this past offseason which Pat Riley and the front office were non-committal publically. Along with Riley telling Butler to “keep your mouth shut” as he was boasting about beating the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks in the playoffs if he were healthy, the star player was “caught off guard” by the comments.
The situation culminated on Jan. 2 when Butler said he lost his “joy” of playing basketball and responded “probably not” when asked if it could be regained with Miami. The Heat would suspend Butler for seven games the next day which besides using it as an avenue to explore trade options, which the deals haven’t been ideal for the team, Shelburne says it was to “create space for the team” to move away from the “chaos.”
“The point of timing the seven-game suspension with the six-game road trip, team sources said,” Shelburne wrote, “was to create space for the team to get out of Miami and away from the chaos the situation had created, while Butler, Heat president Pat Riley and Heat owner Micky Arison met to talk through their differences.”
It remains to be seen what happens on Friday as Butler has had meetings with Riley and even owner Mickey Arison on Thursday to determine the best course of action. At the moment, Butler will rejoin the team and possibly play in Fridya’s game against the Nuggets.
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