Miami (AFP) – Six-time NBA All-Star forward Jimmy Butler was suspended by the Miami Heat for seven games on Friday for conduct detrimental to the team, which said it would now entertain trade offers.
A night after Butler said he had lost the joy of playing in the NBA and was “probably not” going to find it by staying with the Heat, the team took action for weeks of critical comments and talk of a trade. “We have suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games for multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season and particularly the last several weeks,” the Heat said in a statement. “Through his actions and statements, he has shown he no longer wants to be part of this team. Jimmy Butler and his representative have indicated that they wish to be traded, therefore, we will listen to offers.”
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Butler, who scored only nine points in a Thursday loss to Indiana, would not return until a January 17 home game against Denver, missing Saturday’s home game against Utah and a six-game west coast road trip. It’s quite possible, however, that the Heat will have found a trade deal for the 35-year-old playmaker by then.
“I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon,” Butler said Thursday. Butler is averaging 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists a game this season for the Heat, who are sixth in the Eastern Conference at 17-15.
Butler, in his 15th career NBA campaign, sparked the Heat into the 2020 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the 2023 finals, where Miami was beaten by Denver.
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