What Channing Frye heard about Jimmy Butler’s missed flight shows why Miami Heat are so angry
Both the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat had flight drama ahead of their upcoming NBA game.
The Milwaukee Bucks were stranded in a New Orleans snowstorm after their game against the Pelicans was postponed.
They have made it back to Milwaukee to face the Miami Heat, with a slightly delayed tip-off time.
Miami’s trip to Milwaukee was not without incident either. Star player Jimmy Butler missed the flight, and has been suspended by the team – again.
Jimmy Butler missed flight
Jimmy Butler’s two-game suspension comes after he returned to play in three home games in Miami.
Butler had previously been banned seven games for his conduct – amid his desperation to force a trade.
The Heat’s decision to fine and suspend Butler again speaks to their exasperation, and according to one former NBA player, they had good reason to be frustrated.
Former Knicks draft pick Channing Frye told the Road Trippin’ podcast that he heard the Heat were left waiting on the tarmac but Butler due to a lack of communication, and delayed out of Miami.
Frye explained: “”This time, Jimmy held up the whole plane. Because he didn’t want to communicate.”
Elaborating, he added: “Let’s say a vet goes ‘I gotta take care of some business here, I’ll be on a jet tomorrow morning’, you communicate that to the team, so the team isn’t on the tarmac waiting for you.
“From what I heard, the team was waiting for him for a couple of hours on the tarmac, and they were like ‘where is this guy?’”
Frye’s comments highlight why the Heat were annoyed with Butler’s conduct – simple communication would have avoided it escalating – the story of the whole saga.
Missing a flight is one thing. Causing it to be delayed impacts every Heat player and non-player on the plane.
Frye considers Heat and Butler battle
The Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler are at odds, with Pat Riley previously putting out a statement saying the star would not be traded, causing the already flammable situation to ignite.
Frye considered that the information he had been told serves to benefit Miami, even though he was comfortable relaying it.
He expressed: “If I’m Miami, that’s what I want to put out to the media, because it justifies you fining him more, keeping him at home. You are creating leverage, to say get in line, for us to trade you where you going to get traded, you not going to disrupt what we got going on.”
The Heat players have been trying to avoid the distractions and just get on with their business. It’s hard to do that when they are kept waiting for a plane to take off, due to Butler’s lateness or non-attendance.
Butler has been criticized in the media and warned other NBA teams may not like his conduct, amid difficulty to find a trade partner.
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