Star forward Jimmy Butler is still making headlines for his dramatic and ugly exit from the Miami Heat near the midway point of last season. He’s been a member of the Golden State Warriors for over eight months now, yet folks will be reminded of how messy the end of his Heat stint was thanks to a recent report.
Butler racked up around $6 million in fines and withheld salary last season, but an agreement has been reached that will cut that number in half.
“The Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler’s representation have come to an agreement on the roughly $6 million in fines/withheld salary assessed last season, with a compromise reached at half that amount,” Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel wrote.
“According to multiple parties familiar with the process that began with an appeal as soon as the penalties were enacted last season by the Heat, the agreement was being finalized with the NBA, the Sun Sentinel confirmed.
“A source familiar with the negotiations said the agreement satisfied both parties, with the Heat found within their rights to assess the penalties, but with Butler also reasonable in questioning the degree of the sanctions ahead of his February trade to the Golden State Warriors. Along the way, one game of Butler’s suspensions was rescinded this summer.
“The NBA’s appeals process with the National Basketball Players Association typically is adjudicated through arbitration during the offseason, with the agreement coming in advance of the Heat’s Wednesday night season opener against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center.”
Butler was suspended three times by the Heat in the month of January alone leading up to him getting dealt to the Warriors. He got suspended for a third and final time after he apparently left a shootaround following news that he wouldn’t be a member of Miami’s opening lineup for its game that night.
After Butler made his infamous comments on Jan. 2 that he had lost his joy for the game of basketball with the Heat, he played just three more games with the team because of all the suspensions he served.
The drama clearly impacted Butler’s wallet to some degree, but if his mission was to make enough of a mess that Miami had no choice but to trade him, he succeeded.
Hopefully, the settlement between Butler and the Heat will ease tensions between the two sides, allowing the former to look back on his tenure with the team at least somewhat fondly.
Butler’s performance with the Warriors in Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers on opening night suggests he isn’t too hung up on the past. He led his team in scoring with 31 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, and Golden State beat a Lakers team that was missing star forward LeBron James by 10 points.
The next chance for Butler to suit up and lead the Warriors to a victory will come when they take on the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. The Nuggets are easily one of the best teams in the Western Conference on paper, so they should prove to be a good test for Butler and company.
