Jimmy Butler Suspended Seven Games By Miami Heat

The Miami Heat have suspended forward Jimmy Butler for seven games following comments he has made expressing his desire for a trade from the franchise. The Heat made an statement announcing the suspension from their official account on X (formerly Twitter):

Miami HEAT statement on Jimmy Butler:

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.

ESPN’s Shams Charania also reported on social media that the Players’ Association will file a grievance about the suspension, but it will probably not prevent it from taking place.

The National Basketball Players Association will soon file a grievance to dispute the Miami Heat’s seven-game suspension of Jimmy Butler, sources tell me and [Brian Windhorst]. The grievance process is lengthy, however, and will likely not stop suspension.

The Heat also posted a follow-up statement saying that they will explore trades for the star forward:

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.

There had been a number of rumors that surfaced in the last few weeks regarding potential trades for Butler, but Miami maintained that Butler would not be moved.

However, this suspension comes right after Butler made a statement saying that he will likely not get his enjoyment from playing basketball back with Miami after the Heat’s 128-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.

Butler has averaged 17.6 points, 4.7 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game through 22 appearances so far this season.