Heat Insider Explains How Team Decided on Jimmy Butler Suspension

Jake Elman | 8 Hours Ago

Dec 7, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) is introduced during pregame ceremonies before a game against the Phoenix Suns at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

When the Miami Heat suspended Jimmy Butler last week, the punishment included two essential pieces.

First, the suspension is unpaid for conduct detrimental to the team. The NBPA intends to file a grievance to recoup the $2.35 million (over $346,000 per game) Butler will reportedly lose during his unpaid seven-game suspension. 

Secondly, the suspension isn’t indefinite. Instead, it’s a seven-game banishment that, barring a trade or anything unexpected, will end ahead of a Jan. 17 showdown with the Denver Nuggets.

One might be the loneliest number, but you’re not alone in thinking a seven-game suspension was an odd choice. If teams don’t opt for a one- or two-game suspension, they might instead keep a player away indefinitely if conduct—or a trade request—is the cause. 

On the Jan. 6 episode of Five On The Floor, Heat insider Ethan Skolnick explained how and why the team chose seven games. Unsurprisingly, the Heat wanted to avoid any off-court drama while on their West Coast road trip. 

“You don’t want a situation where, say, you’re in Los Angeles, and Jimmy Butler is playing dominoes on the beach in San Diego and putting it on his Instagram,” Skolnick said, “and it’s on your dime.”

The Heat’s road trip—and Butler’s suspension—ends after a Jan. 15 showdown with the Lakers. 

In that case, a seven-game suspension definitely makes sense. The Butler trade saga has featured enough drama, especially since the calendar turned to 2025.

Butler remains in Miami and recently posted pictures on Instagram of him training at the Heat facility. He’s expected to suit up and rejoin the Heat rotation when his suspension ends.

MIROTIĆ DEFENDS BUTLER’S EFFORT

Former NBA big man Nikola Mirotić doesn’t like what he’s hearing about embattled Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler.

Mirotić, who spent three seasons with Butler on the Chicago Bulls, disputed the recent accusations about his former teammate ’quiet quitting’ on the Heat. Critics called out Butler’s effort before the Heat suspended him last week for conduct detrimental to the team.

“Jimmy Butler is probably the hardest-working player I’ve ever seen,” Mirotić told the Best in Class podcast.

Mirotić recalled Butler’s “crazy routines” during their time together. According to Mirotić, Butler showed up to the Bulls’s practice facility at 3 a.m. with his personal coach and spend two hours lifting weights. 

Butler switched to basketball drills at 5 a.m., hours before Mirotić and the rest of the Bulls arrived for their practice.

“There were days when Jimmy would show up at practice, take off his shoes, and just sit on the side watching us practice,” Mirotić remembered. “I’d wonder, ‘Why isn’t Jimmy practicing?’ Then someone would tell me, ‘Jimmy already got his workout in with his coach earlier.’” 

“It was his own routine, and it worked for him,” Mirotić added. “He had his own rhythm, and after a while, I understood it.”

HERRO TALKS NEARLY BEING DRAFTED BY HEAT

Here’s a nightmare scenario for Heat fans: imagine if the rival Boston Celtics drafted Tyler Herro in 2019.

On the Jan. 7 episode of The OGs podcast, Herro shared that the 18-time NBA champions intended on adding him to an already-loaded roster several years ago. Boston entered the 2019 draft having reached the Eastern Conference Finals in two of the previous three seasons.

“They had already guaranteed me the pick for the most part,” Herro said. “And then Miami took me right before at 13. So it was a blessing.”

One might think Herro prepared for the draft with no ideal team in mind. Not necessarily, especially when the league finalized the draft order that spring. 

“When I [saw] the numbers on the teams of where they were drafting and I see Miami was 13, I was set on Miami months prior before they even [drafted],” Herro recalled. 

“It was just like a dream to go to Miami.”

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Jake Elman works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jakeelman97@gmail.com or follow him on X @JakeElman97.