Despite the fact that the Heat star Jimmy Butler has made it clear he no longer wants to play for the franchise, he could suit up for Miami on Friday, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Butler is eligible to return against Denver following his team’s suspension and was not listed on Thursday’s injury report.
The six-time All-Star was scheduled to meet with Arison and the CEO Nick Arison Thursday afternoon to discuss the path forward.
As has been reported, little progress has been made regarding possible trade. The Heat would prefer to complete a trade sooner rather than later, but will only agree to a deal that helps the team both now and in the future.
We have more from the Heat:
- The Heat went 3-4 during Butler’s suspension, including three straight wins over the Warriors, Jazz and Trail Blazers. The most promising aspect of the trip, writes James Jackson of The Athletic, is the fact that all Jaime Jáquez Jr., Kel’el Ware And Nikola Jovic showed flashes. Ware continues to play a bigger role as the season goes on. Teammate Tyler Herro expressed optimism about what he saw from these players during the streak. “Ups and downs with a young player are normal,” said Herro. “I experienced it myself. I think that’s the hardest thing: finding consistency night after night. This is a challenge for any young player. I think at the end of the day, having reps every night is what kids need, to be able to continue to improve and go through ups and downs, play through mistakes. But they all play very well. You can see how good they can be and I’m really excited for them.“
- Ware and Jovic looked particularly good coming off the bench for Miami, often helping each other out, Chiang observed in a separate article. On the other hand, Bam Adebayo And Terry Rozier continued to be irrelevant offensively, with Adebayo shooting a career-low from the field and Rozier shooting his lowest since the 2018/19 season.
- Although it was active earlier this month and looks set to return soon, Josh Richardson returned early from the team’s west coast road trip for an MRI on his heel. Richardson was ruled out due to his heel, according to the team (Twitter link). It is unclear at this time when Richardson will be able to return or what the MRI results were.
