Two weeks after requesting a trade and serving a seven-game suspension for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team,” Jimmy Butler, who remains with the Miami Heat, returned to the court Friday night.
Butler, who finished the 133-113 loss at home to the Denver Nuggets with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, spoke about his absence following the loss.
“I knew I was going to play,” Butler said. “That’s what they had told me, but there was a lot said by everybody, except for me, to tell you the truth. So we’ll let people keep talking, like they know everything, like they have all the answers.
“Sooner or later, the whole truth will come out, but until then, we’ll continue to let people talk. And if I’m here, I will get out there to play.”
Butler also expressed frustration with multiple reports concerning his relationship with Miami players and a rift with the front office.
“I expect for people to talk,” he said. “Half the reason is because don’t nobody ever know what I’m really doing, so you just make up stuff, which is fine. And, honestly, I really don’t pay any attention to it. But I’ve got people telling me, ‘Oh they said this, they said that.’ So I guess it’s really all good. I don’t have to clear anything up.
“So more power to you. Keep talking, and we’ll see where we end up.”
Butler, 35, has a $52.4 million player option for the 2025-26 NBA season, which he’s expected to decline and become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Phoenix Suns are reportedly among the teams that want to acquire Butler before the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline.
In the 23 games that he has appeared in this season, Butler, a five-time All-NBA honoree, is averaging 17.6 points — his lowest mark since the 2013-14 season — 5.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 54.7/35.3/79.4. Butler is also playing 30.9 minutes per game, his lowest mark since the 2012-13 season.
Miami is 20-20, good for the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Butler has spent the past six seasons with the Heat, who have made the NBA Finals twice with him (2020 and 2023). He previously spent a half season with the Philadelphia 76ers, who acquired Butler from the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he played one-plus season. Butler spent the first six seasons of his NBA career with the Chicago Bulls.
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Jimmy Butler
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