The rift between the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler just doesn’t seem to end. If anything, it is growing worse with each passing day. As it was already known, Butler publicly asked for a trade ahead of the February deadline. However, the authorities did not take that in good light and slapped Butler with a seven match suspension. Now, new reports have emerged stating that the Heat might opt for a more stiffer punishment for Butler.
As per the reports by Chris Haynes, the Heat are considering changing Butler’s penalty to ‘refusing to provide services.’ For the uninitiated, with the ongoing ban, the NBA icon will lose out on approximately $2.5 million. But if the penalty is changed to the said designation, then Butler will have to fill in a double fine.
“Sources: Inside Miami considering changing designation of Jimmy Butler’s suspension to a stiffer, more expensive penalty,” Chris Haynes wrote in X.
Sources: Inside Miami considering changing designation of Jimmy Butler’s suspension to a stiffer, more expensive penalty. #haynesbriefs https://t.co/AixmhuvbwY pic.twitter.com/oCbQcUIBIb
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 15, 2025
Meanwhile, if the latest penalties are in effect, the player’s association will likely submit a grievance with the NBA. However, there is no confirmed news of the same happening as of last Sunday, as per Five Reasons Sports’ Ethan Skolnick. Chiming in on the topic, an anonymous NBA executive had some bold predictions to make.
Jimmy Butler Might Not Get A Lot Of Trade Options: Anonymous NBA Executive
By now, it is quite clear that Jimmy Butler does not want to stay with the Miami Heat. However, despite his urge to don a new jersey in the upcoming season, Butler’s choices are pretty much limited. In a recent interview with Heavy Sports, an anonymous NBA executive pointed out that Butler is ageing. Thus, not many teams would like to jump in for him.
“First of all, Jimmy’s 35 and doesn’t have much value. And then the team that would like him the most is probably Phoenix. Other than that, I don’t know of any teams that would want to take on Jimmy Butler. Other than teams that just want to dump contracts,” the NBA executive stated.
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The Phoenix Suns reportedly want Jimmy Butler ‘bad,’ per @TheSteinLine
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 12, 2025
“Phoenix wants Butler and Butler wants Phoenix — ‘I've heard they want him bad,’ one league source says of the Suns — but the obstacles preventing such a swap continue to be considerable. Before Bradley… pic.twitter.com/gouo5gqNkx
Thus, with the latest reports coming in from Chris Haynes, things are looking quite gloomy for Jimmy Butler. It will now be interesting to see how things pan out for the NBA star in the future.
