The wheels have started to fall off the wagon regarding the relationship between star forward Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat.
The situation took a turn for the worse following Thursday’s game between the Heat and Indiana Pacers. After the Heat fell in the matchup, Butler dropped some major hints in his postgame news conference.
"Probably not."
—Jimmy Butler when asked if he could get his joy back in Miami. pic.twitter.com/5gahEJxWM7
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 3, 2025
An ESPN report came out shortly thereafter which detailed that Butler wants to be traded and would be open to playing anywhere besides Miami. The report also indicated that Butler was upset by a perceived implication from team officials that he didn’t play his hardest in Wednesday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
“An issue that led to Butler’s decision, according to sources, was an implication from team officials Thursday that he hadn’t played his hardest in the Heat’s victory Wednesday over the New Orleans Pelicans,” wrote ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst. “Playing his first game in 13 days after being away because of an illness, Butler took just five shots in 25 minutes and scored nine points.”
However, it appears as though the Heat have a different version of what happened, per the Miami Herald.
“Hours before Butler’s fiery postgame news conference on Thursday, there was a conversation between Heat officials and Butler’s representation, according to league sources,” wrote Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang.
“Butler was bothered after the discussion because Butler and his agent perceived that Heat officials were implying that Butler didn’t play his hardest in the Heat’s home win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. Butler scored nine points on five shots and did not play in the fourth quarter of that contest in his first game after a five-game absence stemming from an illness.
“But the Heat contends that it was a more macro level discussion regarding the team’s concern over Butler’s behavior in recent weeks since the trade noise has grown louder.”
In another twist, Jackson shared on X that Butler’s camp has been telling people that the Heat “threatened to suspend him” following the Pelicans game. The Heat, however, have called the claim false, per Jackson.
Even though Butler camp has been telling people that Heat threatened to suspend him after Pelicans game, Heat is insistent that's BS and that never happened
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) January 3, 2025
Jackson added a little more on X.
Also a he said/he said regarding whether Heat told Butler he didn't give enough effort vs. Pelicans. Butler perceived he was told that, which has been cast as last straw. Heat indicated it said no such thing. https://t.co/buWF0QPmCB
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) January 3, 2025
It’s clear that the relationship between the Heat and Butler’s camp is extremely fractured, and there may be no way forward for the two sides to mend things.
In Wednesday’s game against the Pelicans, Butler took just five shots and scored nine points. In Thursday’s game against the Pacers, he took just six shots and again scored nine points. The Heat won against New Orleans but lost to Indiana.
Miami technically doesn’t have to grant Butler’s wish of being traded. The organization could keep him for the remainder of the season and try to make the most of it. But if he’s going to take just five or six shots per game and be an unhappy camper in the process, it may be better for the team to end the relationship before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
There are a number of scenarios to consider, as the Heat could trade Butler before the deadline, keep him and then trade him in the offseason (either via sign-and-trade or via Butler opting into his deal) or simply keep him and then let him leave on his own accord in the offseason.
The idea of the two sides working out any sort of agreement to continue their partnership in the long run doesn’t seem realistic now.
This is Butler’s sixth season with the Heat. He has had some brilliant times with the organization, helping it reach the NBA Finals twice, but now, everything appears to be crashing down.
