Nobody wants to see loved ones feud, especially when that friction plays out publicly.
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat don’t seem to care about those optics. The Heat suspended Butler for a second time in less than weeks, bringing Butler’s total team-imposed absences this season to nine games. On Tuesday, the Heat announced via X that they suspended Butler “for two games for continued pattern of disregard for team rules, insubordinate conduct and conduct detrimental to the team, including missing today’s team flight to Milwaukee.”
This has been a months-law saga, which has included: failed contract extension negotiations, public barbs between Butler and team president Pat Riley, Miami saying it wouldn’t trade Butler before shifting approaches about a week later, Butler stating he lost his joy for basketball while adjusting to a regressed role and Erik Spoelstra’s disinterest in publicly answering questions that could further inflame matters. The suspension validates the concerns of invested onlookers who have been disappointed by how his drama with Miami’s front office has played out.
GO DEEPER
NBA Lookahead: Why are trades around the NBA so complicated these days?
Three-time NBA champion and 2006 Finals MVP Dwyane Wade is one of those onlookers. Like Butler, Wade had his own contract dispute with Miami, which is why he left South Florida to sign with his hometown Chicago Bulls in 2016 before having a cup of coffee with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who traded him back to the Heat on Feb. 8, 2018. Butler and Wade were teammates in Chicago.
“I don’t like nasty breakups. And what I think people need to understand is these relationships are relationships,” Wade said during a podcast appearance on the Wy Network, a digital platform he owns. “And, just like the relationships we’re in, the communication sucks. And that’s one thing about the league I didn’t and don’t like, is we don’t communicate very well. So, in this space with the Heat, man, I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I don’t want to comment on the [potential] trade. But I know what Jimmy Butler has done for the Heat. And it shouldn’t have to be as ugly as it is right now. I don’t like this stain on our organization.”
Dwyane Wade shuts down narrative players won’t come to MIA anymore
“I don’t like how people say because of Jimmy Butler, because of how Pat Riley handles things, guys won’t come to MIA. Y’all can’t quit that sh*t right now. It’s not going to be a day that a basketball player… pic.twitter.com/8K9tn8HBBc
— Heat Culture (@HeatCulture13) January 15, 2025
Despite Wade’s own discord with the Heat, whose 2016 contract offer fell short of the two-year, $47 million pact he signed to play in Chicago, their eventual reunion paved the way for Wade to finish his NBA career with the team that drafted him fifth overall in 2003. Wade’s No. 3 jersey was raised to Miami’s rafters on Feb. 22, 2020, joining him, at the time, with Chris Bosh, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning. Last year, on Oct. 29, the Heat honored Wade by unveiling a statue in his likeness in front of Kaseya Center, making him the first player in franchise history with such a distinction.
GO DEEPER
Heat suspend Jimmy Butler for 2 games after missing team flight
Given Tuesday’s news, Butler and the Heat are a long way from hashing out their differences similarly. Over five-plus seasons with the Heat, Butler has led the Heat on two NBA Finals runs, set several franchise playoff records and effectively lifted Miami back to contention after the franchise had a five-year lull following LeBron James’ departure in 2014.
Sure, things have gotten ugly between Butler and Miami, but one could argue it was inevitable for two reasons, especially once contract negotiations fell through. First, Butler and Riley, who joined the franchise in 1995, have headstrong personalities. In the case of Butler, he has become a borderline Hall of Famer thanks to his success with the Heat. Riley, who recently expressed regret over Wade leaving the Heat, has won nine rings over his career and has appeared in 34 percent of the NBA Finals series during his time as a player, coach and executive. The man knows winning, even if the act of standing his ground isn’t always fun. After all, the NBA is a business.
Additionally, the league’s changing finances don’t make it easy to commit big money to stars, even if said stars still show an ability to control games. On a lesser scale, the league’s second apron has been an impediment for many teams trying to maintain roster continuity. Since winning the 2023 title, the Denver Nuggets have lost vital role players such Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency. Last summer, Klay Thompson did the seemingly unimaginable by leaving the Golden State Warriors to join the Dallas Mavericks after his own contract dispute with his longtime team. Paul George has been vocal about the LA Clippers not offering him a max-level contract to remain in his hometown, which is how he ended up with the Philadelphia 76ers. Things get especially complicated as stars reach their mid-30s.
GO DEEPER
Hollinger: As Jimmy Butler rumors swirl, Suns keep chasing short-term highs
As Butler’s drama with Miami has played out, there have been differing opinions about whether Riley, who has often recruited big names to hoop in South Florida, can maintain his touch if/when Butler moves on from the Heat.
“That whole notion that, because of the Jimmy Butler situation and how Pat Riley has handled things, that guys aren’t going to come to Miami, y’all can quit that s— right now,” Wade said last week. “It ain’t gonna be a day that a basketball player ain’t gonna make $300 million to play in Miami. Let’s quit that narrative right now.”
How Butler’s time in Miami ends remains to be seen, so predicting its effects or even looking forward to a potential reconciliation down the road is currently unwise. One need not overlook what Butler has accomplished in a Heat uniform in order to accept the likelihood that it’s time for both parties to go their separate ways, whether it’s by the NBA’s Feb. 6 trade deadline or this summer, when Butler has a $52.4 million player option for next season.
“To give Jimmy credit, man, Jimmy came in when (the Heat) were losing to become the face of the franchise,” Wade said. “That’s hard to do. He became the person that those kids wanted to buy his jersey, wear his jersey. The Heat was a soft landing spot for Jimmy, and Jimmy was exactly the star that the Heat needed. For six years, Finals (appearances), big moments that they’ve had together. … It’s ending tragically. This is a tragic way to end a relationship. So, as a former player, it’s ugly on our franchise that we continue to have the way that the relationships break up. But also too, on the other side, you don’t run that organization as a player, so you get to that space sometimes where you want to do things your way. It’s [the] Pat Riley way.”
(Top photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images )
