Jan 17, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) looks on against the Denver Nuggets during the third quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images The Miami Heat have suspended star forward Jimmy Butler for a third time, and it’s growing insanely clear that they just need to trade him.
After informing Butler that he was being benched for Haywood Highsmith, the Heat superstar stormed out of shootaround and was suspended indefinitely.
It’s a saga that just seemingly will not end. Butler clearly wants to be traded. For whatever reason, the Heat are not honoring that and are continuing to suspend him for every single incident.
It almost feels like the Heat are egging Butler on at this point. It’s like they are torturing him. He gets fed up quickly when losing starts, and as the team hovers around .500, they keep pissing off Butler; he keeps reacting and they keep suspending him.
“Heat Culture” is something that Miami fans rest their laurels on. But here’s the thing. In an age dominated by player empowerment, that culture alone can only take you so far. The Heat were never going to make serious noise in the Eastern Conference playoffs this year, but this Butler saga has turned into a major distraction.
Pat Riley needs to let it go. For whatever reason, his heels are dug in and Butler has not been traded. It sure seems like there are suitors, with the Phoenix Suns loading up on picks and being ready to roll. But Butler remains hostage, and that is not how the NBA operates anymore. Unfortunately, when a player wants to move, you need to let him go.
While this feels like a completely lost season for Miami, even if Butler is traded before February 6th’s deadline, the stench of this drama could linger much longer than this year. It’s setting a bad precedent for pending free agents and other players around the league who are observing how Butler is being treated.
And again, Butler has a reputation for causing a stir whenever he’s unhappy. It happened in Philadelphia. It happened in Minnesota. It’ll probably happen with his next team as well.
But that’s the cost of doing business in today’s NBA. It’s an issue that’s beyond solving, so the Heat need to understand that they better embrace their current situation, let Butler free and start their rebuild process now.
At the end of the day, if there’s anything that “Heat Culture” is still good at, it’s drafting and developing sleeper players that others around the league cannot find.
Flip him for picks and younger players, put this all behind you, and let’s just move on from one of the most bizarre eras in Heat history.
