The seemingly never-ending Jimmy Butler saga took another turn on Thursday, with Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra revealing to reporters his message to the rest of the players amid the star forward’s second team-imposed suspension in three weeks.
Spoelstra told media members following Thursday morning shootaround that the team should “get used to it” and “get over it,” as Butler is set to miss the Heat’s upcoming two-game road trip against the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets. Miami announced the six-time All-Star’s suspension on Wednesday due to a “continued pattern of disregard of team rules, insubordinate conduct and conduct detrimental to the team, including missing Wednesday’s team flight to Milwaukee.”
“The point that I made to our team is get used to it,” Spoelstra said, according to a report by ESPN’s Jamal Collier. “Get over it. This is the NBA life; this is the life we chose. If you think it’s going to be predictable, you’re really mistaken.”
Now in his sixth season with the Heat, the 35-year-old Butler has appeared in just 25 of the team’s first 42 games. Miami has missed Butler dearly, as Spoelstra’s group enters Thursday in ninth place in the Eastern Conference at 21-21.
The Marquette product served a seven-game suspension earlier in January for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team” after requesting a trade out of South Beach.
Butler returned from the layoff on Friday and played in three contests — posting 13.0 points per game in 29.3 minutes per tilt — before his latest suspension.
“It takes a mental fortitude and commitment in terms of the task at hand,” Spoelstra said, per Collier’s report. “Nothing changes in terms of the task at hand. We have a game tonight, we have enough continuity, we know what our identity is at this point. You can make any excuse you want to, but we get to do what we love.”
Shams: Heat, Butler Relationship ‘Over’
Spoelstra’s latest comments come just 14 days ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Butler has been at the center of a flurry of trade rumors this winter.
ESPN’s Shams Charania said during a Thursday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” that there was no chance at a reconciliation between the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals MVP and the Heat.
“This relationship is over with as far as where they’re at, I don’t think you’re gonna put the genie back in the bottle,” the senior NBA insider said.
Butler’s Star Teammate Admits Difficulty of Situation, Still Says ‘I Love Jimmy’
Butler and shooting guard Tyler Herro joined Miami within weeks of each other during the offseason heading into the 2019-2020 campaign.
Herro was selected by the Heat with the 13th overall pick during the 2019 NBA Draft on June 20, 2019, and Butler was traded to the squad on July 6.
They’ve experienced exhilarating highs, including conference championships in 2020 and 2023, but are now facing perhaps their lowest of lows.
“It’s probably not the easiest to work with someone who’s going to be in and out in any job,” the former Sixth Man of the Year said, according to Collier. “We love Jimmy; we’d love for him to be here. I love Jimmy.”
Even when on the court this season, Butler (who’s slated to hit unrestricted free agency this summer) hasn’t been as productive as in the past.
While he’s shooting a career-high 54.0% from the field, his 17.0 points per game are his lowest since the 2013-14 campaign and his 4.8 assists are his worst since 2018-19. Durability has also been an issue for Butler for years now, as he hasn’t played more than 65 games in a season since the 2016-17 campaign, a streak he’s set to extend this year.
