The Jimmy Butler situation with the Miami Heat took another acrimonious turn when they suspended him for two games after he missed a team flight. Butler had planned to fly privately and join the Heat in Milwaukee, something he has done at various times in the past.
“This has turned into, really, an ugly, bitter, any word you want to use, end, a divorce to a relationship that overall has been pretty successful,” said Shams Charania. “You think about the last five years for Jimmy Butler: three appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals, two of which were NBA Finals runs and right now this is a situation where the Heat are putting their foot down on a lot of the stuff…
“Jimmy Butler has traveled separately away from the team in the past before at times and he was planning to do the same thing yesterday, joining the team in Milwaukee last night instead of going on the team flight. So he tells the team that he’s going to fly separately on a on private charter and he will join the team of Milwaukee, but before he even got a chance to do so, I’m told, the Heat called him and informed him to stay home. That they don’t want him there and they were suspending him for two games on this quick two game road trip that they have. And they’ll play again in Miami next week. But where the situation is at is it’s untenable.”
The Heat have discussed various trades involving Butler, but no deal appears imminent at this point.
“Both sides have the same goals,” added Charania. “But how do you get there? And getting to the asking price.”
Butler would like a trade to the Phoenix Suns, but that will require multiple teams to facilitate.