The majority of the flights that Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler took separate from the team were to see his ill father, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Haynes revealed that four of the flights that Butler took that weren’t with the team were during the 2023 NBA Finals when his father was sick.
“I was told in the last 5 years, Jimmy [Butler] took less than 5 separate flights from the team and 4 of them were in the Finals against Denver when his father was sick.”@ChrisBHaynes shares insight from Jimmy Butler’s camp in reponse to a report about Butler taking private… pic.twitter.com/krqMtWpLNy
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) January 14, 2025
Haynes’ report comes on the heels of a report from another NBA insider in Jake Fischer, who shared that Butler had skipped shootarounds and flown separately from the team.
“Now it’s Pat Riley’s front office that has shown it will no longer tolerate Butler’s freestyling, announcing to the world on Jan. 3 that the six-time NBA All-Star has been suspended for ‘conduct detrimental to the team,’” Fischer wrote. “Among Butler’s transgressions, according to league sources, have been multiple instances of Butler skipping out on morning shootarounds altogether and insisting on private flights separate from Miami’s team charter. Former Heat star Tim Hardaway Sr. told Sirius XM NBA Radio over the weekend that Riley sent a 10-page letter to the players’ association detailing Butler’s missteps.”
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Butler had a face-to-face meeting last week with Riley and told him that he wants to be traded.
“Butler told Riley that he will not sign a new deal in Miami and that he intends to use his $52 million player option for 2025-26 in the offseason only as a trade maneuver, sources said,” Charania wrote.
The Heat recently suspended Butler for seven games due to conduct detrimental to the team, and he hasn’t appeared in a game for Miami since Jan. 2 against the Indiana Pacers.
“Heat officials will meet later this week to discuss the best route with Butler, who requested a trade earlier this month, league sources said,” Charania wrote. “Owner Micky Arison is expected to also sit down with Butler later this week, league sources added.”
Butler joined the Heat prior to the 2019-20 season, but it appears that his relationship with the franchise has gone south. The six-time All-Star led the Heat to the NBA Finals in the 2019-20 season and the 2022-23 season.
While Miami didn’t win a title in either of those seasons, Butler put together some impressive playoff performances, including leading the Heat from the No. 8 seed in the East to the Finals in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
This season, Butler is averaging just 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. He’s posted his lowest scoring average in a season since the 2013-14 campaign when he was a member of the Chicago Bulls.
On top of that, Butler has also struggled to be available for the Heat, playing in just 22 games this season. He’s never appeared in more than 64 games in a single season for Miami.
It seems that the Heat and Butler are frustrated with each other, so it’s possible that the best way forward would be to deal the star forward.
Miami is currently 20-18 in the 2024-25 season and holds the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.
