Jimmy Butler’s absence from Heat is team’s new normal: ‘That’s what it is right now’

MIAMI — When you ask anyone around the Miami Heat (23-22), they’re accustomed to each layer of Jimmy Butler’s drama with the front office, including the most obvious part of him being suspended several times in the last month: his absence. For myriad reasons, Butler has missed 19 games this season, but his trade drama with Miami has been the reason that count has reached double digits for January alone. 

After Butler was suspended for seven games on Jan. 3, team captain Bam Adebayo understood the world’s interest in knowing more. Still, he wanted to leave the issue to between Butler and management. On Monday, after Butler participated in shootaround prior to walking out and being suspended a third time, Tyler Herro said lineup adjustments “kind of feels normal now, at this point” and that “nothing changes for me” whether Butler plays or misses another window of time. 

Ultimately, Butler’s teammates do have to play basketball with or without him on the court, so it makes sense for their focus to remain there. To borrow some executive-friendly phrasing, it is fair to describe any individual element of the situation as “fluid.” After all, how often does a player get suspended three times in roughly a month’s time? In that span, Butler has gone from publicly stating he doesn’t care whether he’s traded to reassuring the public he has no beef with his teammates.

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Depending on how you process any recent Heat news, that latter point feels correct, given some of Butler’s relationships with players on Miami’s roster. That is especially true of younger contributors who have grown to see Butler as a mentor no matter his team-related drama or level of candor. 

Third-year forward Nikola Jović, for example, often credits Butler for aiding his transition to the NBA by being honest with him during stretches when the 2022 first-round pick (27th overall) has either not played well or at all. Jović has learned the finer points of training from Butler. That includes how to maintain his body as well as managing the rigors of NBA business. He has spoken to Butler away from the court, no matter Butler’s status with the Heat. When Butler was first suspended early in the month, Jović likened Butler’s frankness to that of his parents because of his honesty.

“I’m happy that he’s real with me because, since I came here, not a lot of people are really real with you,” Jović told The Athletic on Monday. “Everybody wanna tap you on the shoulder, tell you that everything is going good, even though maybe things are not. 

“So, last year, at one point, I didn’t play at all. I think he was injured, and he just called me up to come to practice with him. During those times, he told me that I’m not good enough, I’m not locked in and I’m not putting in enough effort. I wasn’t really happy to hear that, but it was the truth. That was the honest truth. I was happy that he told me, so we practiced a few times. I got a chance. I think I played really good that game. And from that point, I think I was just getting better and better. Even after that, if I was bulls—ing, he would always tell me. It’s simple stuff. He’s just honest and a good friend.”

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Butler has certainly strained a few relationships over his 14-year NBA career, but that can come with the territory of a player who has overachieved with each team he has played on while raising each squad’s ceiling. At each stop, Butler has enjoyed wonderful starts before moving on once matters become strained. Still, he maintains solid relationships with former teammates, whether those teammates have reached MVP-level status (Joel Embiid of the 76ers) or have been role players who trotted onto their own greener pastures (Max Strus of the Cavaliers).

That doesn’t negate Butler ruffling the feathers of other NBAers during his time in the league, with Karl-Anthony Towns understandably topping that list, given the intense practice involving himself, Butler and the Timberwolves shortly before Butler’s Minnesota tenure ended. But even Towns has verbalized that he and Butler have grown to be “in a cool spot” since that time. That probably says more about ice being able to thaw than any presumed warmth between the two. Progress is progress, right?

Butler has some friends and confidantes around the league, and he also has some detractors. That is relevant as he hopes to move on to a new franchise by the NBA’s Feb. 6 trade deadline. Even after abruptly leaving Monday’s Heat practice, not every bridge Butler has built in Miami has been burned, no matter how his time with the team could end.

Rookie guard Pelle Larsson has played spot minutes for the Heat throughout his first season.

“He’s been in Sweden a couple times. He was there this summer. We just had regular-people conversations,” Larsson said of Butler. “That’s what it’s all about, getting to know each other. At the end of the day, we’re all humans. We just got to have grace for each other. Whatever someone is going through, they’re going through, so just have to be a professional.

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“I have a lot of respect for that dude, just what he’s done, his whole journey and what he can do as a player. So, there’s definitely a lot I can learn from him as far as the long career he’s had and the impact he’s had. From what guys [have] been telling me, it’s crazy being involved in the business, so when they try to blow up things as much as possible, you got to stay level-headed and focus on the next 24 hours, what we’re doing with the team. So that’s what I’ve been doing.”

How Butler’s time in Miami ends remains to be seen, but his suspensions or potential departure don’t change the fact the Heat have a schedule to play out. Jović, who has been averaging 13.3 points and shooting 41.1 percent from deep over his last nine games, remains appreciative of Butler’s influence but also focused on what the Heat can accomplish in his absence, especially as the team sits three games behind the Milwaukee Bucks (26-19) for fourth in the East despite an undoubtedly challenging season.

“He’s my good friend and my teammate,” Jović said. “It’s hard to not play with your best player — one of the best players in the world. But that’s what it is right now, and we just got to compete without him. Of course, I talk to him. Of course, he’s frustrated. Things are not working as he would want them right now. If he’s, at the moment, not here right now, we’ve just got to play without him. Even though we’re young, we’ve got some talent. I feel like maybe we can show the world we’re good enough without him.”

(Top photo: Issac Baldizon / Getty Images )