Jimmy Butler returns to Heat after 7-game suspension but makes ‘no comment’ on ongoing tension

After a seven-game suspension for “harmful conduct” at the Miami Heat, and with the franchise yet to find a trade it likes, Jimmy Butler returned to the lineup Friday for the Miami Heat’s home game. team against the Denver Nuggets.

“I’m back,” Butler said in a statement to X through his agent Bernie Lee before Friday’s game.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra did not mention Butler by name during his pregame media availability, but hinted at the Heat returning to the starting lineup they used in a loss on January 2 against the Indiana Pacers – a game Butler started. The Heat officially announced Butler as the starter about 30 minutes before kickoff, and Butler was introduced mostly to cheers from the Kaseya Center crowd, who applauded his first bucket.

“👀”

-Kevin Love pic.twitter.com/tH3HRZsrgU

– HEAT on FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSN_Heat) January 18, 2025

Butler scored 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field in 33 minutes in the Heat’s 133-113 loss, adding three rebounds and two assists. He scored 10 points in the third quarter, but was scoreless after 1:58 of play.

Calm and laid back would be the best way to describe Butler’s early demeanor in his first game with the Heat, but the team-wide tension eventually showed itself. He warmed up mostly alone – both before the game and at the end of the half – and didn’t seem too keen on involving his teammates in pregame introductions, but some blocks Ice may take longer to melt than others.

“I guess it’s basketball at this point,” Butler said after his first game on Miami’s roster. “I know what I’m supposed to do while I’m here: try to do it to the best of my ability. We are where we are.

By the end of the night, Butler wore a No. 45 Michael Jordan jersey when speaking to the media, but often responded with “No comment” when asked about his ongoing tension with the Heat. And the tension was evident. Spoelstra had no interest in talking about anything related to the situation, preferring to credit Miami’s opponent for the tough night before anything else.

“We haven’t seen him in a few weeks. …I know what scenarios you are looking for. I don’t feed on it. We got kicked,” Spoelstra said after the game.

In fairness to Butler, trade chatter or not, he became more engaged as the game progressed, which is a fair development for someone who missed another two weeks of action and needed a schedule reconditioning upon his return from his 13-day layoff last month.

“Everyone said a lot of things except me, to tell you the truth,” Butler said. “So we’re going to let people continue to talk like they know everything, like they have all the answers. And then, soon, the whole truth will come out. In the meantime, we’ll let people keep talking. And if I’m there, I’ll go out and play.

“I expect people to talk. Half the reason is because no one ever knows what I do, so you just make stuff up, which is good. And honestly, I don’t pay any attention to it, but people say to me, “Oh, they said that; they said that. Everything is really good. I have nothing to clarify. So, you know, more power to you. Keep talking and we’ll see where we end up.

When discussing his performance on the court, Butler said it felt good to go out and compete while expressing an affinity for his teammates despite any perceived tension with them. For example, throughout the game he became more animated with his teammates after initially being reserved during team meetings. After the game, Butler addressed Kevin Love’s recent run on Instagram, where the veteran center posted memes hinting at Butler’s return to the team, which included a clip from “The Wolf on Wall Street.”

“Some of them responded; some of you don’t know – don’t think I don’t know,” Butler explained. “My problem is not with them and never will be – never has been. But it felt good to get out and play basketball. … My happiness off the field is at an all-time high. I have the babies. I have my friends. Lots of dominoes and coffee are involved. I like Kev, but he’s not any pettier than me, man. He gives me a run for my money.

Butler’s return to the court marks the latest step in what has been a public feud between the six-time All-Star and his franchise for more than five seasons, a feud that dates back to last May and stems from the incapacity of both parties to commit. to a long-term partnership.

The seven-game suspension, which began Jan. 3, came after Butler expressed a desire to be traded. In Butler’s two games before his suspension, which followed a 13-day layoff due to injury and illness, he totaled 18 points on 5.5 field goal attempts per game, shot 54.5 percent from the field and played an average of just under 26 minutes. He told reporters he had lost his joy for basketball and didn’t believe he would rediscover it in Miami.

When announcing his suspension, Miami’s front office said it was willing to listen to trade offers for Butler, reversing intentions stated a week earlier by team president Pat Riley that ” We won’t trade Jimmy Butler.” The NBA trade deadline this season is February 6.

The Warriors, one of Butler’s initially preferred destinations, are unlikely to move on, according to a recent report from THE Athletic. The Phoenix Suns are reportedly Butler’s current preferred destination, but Bradley Beal’s no-trade clause, two seasons remaining and more than $110 million on his contract have been obstacles to considering that preference.

As Athletics Sam Amick reiterated earlier this week the Heat won’t be forced to make a trade before they’re ready, which is consistent with the franchise’s history of patiently handling standoffs with stars.

Of Miami’s seven games in which Butler was suspended, six of them took place on a West Coast road trip. The Heat were 3-4 with Butler away from the team and sported the seventh-best defense in the league at that time. On the season, the Heat, who are now 20-20 and in 9th place in the East, are 11-12 when Butler plays. Before tonight, according to NBA.com, they had a net rating of plus-4.3 in his 678 minutes on the court, compared to a net rating of minus-0.9 in his 1,219 minutes away .

Butler’s 11 shot attempts in his two games before the suspension marked his fewest number in a two-game span, averaging at least 25 minutes since November 2013 with the Chicago Bulls. Despite the low production, Butler dismissed any notion that he doesn’t want to compete and believes he can still thrive in a higher usage role. According to NBA.com, he is on pace to follow teammates Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo for a third straight season.

“That may be my role here, but it’s not what I’m used to,” Butler said Jan. 2. “I haven’t been like that since, I don’t know, my first, second, third year in the league, where I just went out and played defense. But I competed – I kept and I tried not to let my man score. That’s what I do now.

“It’s not a difficult adjustment for me. I’m going to compete to win anyway. Whether I score nine points or 29 points, I will be competing. That’s one thing I will say. So you won’t say I don’t play hard. It may look like this because my usage is down and I’m not shooting the ball much, but we’re not going to sit here and say I’m not playing hard.

During his suspension, Butler, who worked out with the Heat’s coaches while the team was away for the six-game road trip, also spent a lot of time at his Bigface cafe and lifestyle store, which included a perceived dig at Riley on how leadership can properly communicate with employees, even when offering criticism.

Jimmy to his barista:

“See, I paid you a compliment. That’s what bosses do, they build you up, they don’t tear you down. *small smirk at camera* 😅 pic.twitter.com/pyQ0N0gNf3

– LIFER 305 HEAT (@lifer_305) January 10, 2025

In a recent interview with Miami media personality Dan Le Batard, recorded before Butler’s suspension and published last week, Riley, 79, admitted that he sometimes feels disconnected from the new generation of NBA players. The nine-time NBA champion has enjoyed success as a player, coach and executive since joining the association as a first-round selection of the San Diego Rockets with the No. 7 pick in 1967. But he said there was a challenge ahead. with maintaining positive relationships with players who have different experiences than the league he played in, likening the dynamic between team and player to that of a parent and child.

“Players who want to express themselves in a way that absolutely goes against my beliefs as a representative of an organization – whether it’s about growing a bigger brand, about making more money , to go out on the field and stand out from the pack a little bit – there’s nothing you can do about that,” Riley said.

“The league wants it. Content is king, and I’ve found that in trying to keep the media out, the commissioner doesn’t allow it. Access is what it’s all about. The personality of today’s players, the younger generation, is just different from what it was when I grew up. I think most of us my age grew up in a time when our parents were tougher, if we had them – if we had what they call the nuclear family. It was hard, but it was different.

“I would have handled things differently. There is no doubt about it.

Pat Riley talks about what he’s learned and how things are different in an NBA era of player empowerment where “content is king.”

WATCH: https://t.co/wgJgmzilwY pic.twitter.com/heMMwmoBgN

– Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) January 9, 2025

When the game ended Friday night, Miami found itself down .500 after another blowout loss at home with little interest in discussing the elephant in the room, which is normal when navigating a multi-game situation. months with no imminent end in sight. .

This summer, Butler retains a $52.4 million player option that he can exercise whether he stays in South Florida or is dealt elsewhere before the aforementioned deadline. For now, though, with Butler back in the Heat fold, the two sides may have to settle for being an odd couple until the next chapter of Butler’s basketball career seems clearer.

Required reading:

(Photo: Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)