Heat suspend Jimmy Butler for two games after missed flight

The Miami Heat on Wednesday night suspended star guard Jimmy Butler for two games.

“We have suspended Jimmy Butler for two games for [a] continued pattern of disregard of team rules, insubordinate conduct and conduct detrimental to the team, including missing today’s team flight to Milwaukee,” the team said in a statement.

Butler had plans to join the Heat on Wednesday night after missing the flight, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania. Now, Miami will be playing without him during its two-game road trip — Thursday at the Milwaukee Bucks and Saturday at the Brooklyn Nets.

Butler had just returned Friday from a seven-game team suspension for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.”

“Through his actions and statements, he has shown he no longer wants to be part of this team,” the Heat said in a statement when Butler was first suspended Jan. 3. “Jimmy Butler and his representative have indicated that they wish to be traded, therefore, we will listen to offers.”

Sources told ESPN on Friday that the Heat want to find a deal to accommodate Butler’s wishes. But the Heat seek a trade that brings back some combination of players who can help Miami win now, draft capital, movable short-term salary and young talent.

To this point, that deal hasn’t materialized, and it is far from certain one will before the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline.

For his part, Butler said Friday night that he and the franchise “are where we are” regarding their relationship less than three weeks from the deadline.

“I guess it’s basketball at this point,” Butler said after his return to the court in Friday’s loss to the visiting Denver Nuggets. “I know what I’m expected to do while I’m here and try to do that to the best of my ability, but we are where we are.”

When Butler was asked what would happen if he was still on the team Feb. 7, he smiled.

“We’re playing a lot of ‘what-ifs,’ ain’t we?” Butler said. “I’m going to hoop.”

Butler played in each of the past three Miami games, averaging 13.0 points in 29.3 minutes. He didn’t participate in his usual way during the introduction of the Heat starters for those games, and he sat by himself at times during timeouts while not engaging in the huddle going on around the bench.

Last month, sources told Charania that Butler’s list of preferred trade destinations included the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors.

Butler’s hair color for some December games just happened to match the primary colors of Phoenix, Dallas, Houston and Golden State. And for Tuesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Butler wore shoes tinged in orange that matched the Suns’ color scheme.

Butler is in the last guaranteed year of his contract; he has a player option worth more than $52 million for next season.

Among the issues that caused the fracture in his relationship with the Heat is money; he is eligible for a two-year, $113 million extension, and the Heat never offered such a deal, largely because he has missed about 25% of the team’s games since he arrived in 2019. He also has made it no secret that he is not happy with what he says is his new role within the Heat offense.

Information from ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and The Associated Press was used in this report.