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With the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler drama reaching new points every day, new details emerge about the star's frustration with his recent role on the team. With the Heat facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, Butler is eligible to come back from his seven-game suspension on Friday when the Denver Nuggets come into town.
However, if Butler does play, he seems to go back to a system that he didn't totally love as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald says that one of the forward's “biggest issues” was his role with the team. Butler would even say this publically on Jan. 2 after Miami lost to the Indiana Pacers.
“Sources close to Butler insist that one of his biggest issues with the Heat has become his role in the offense this season,” Chiang wrote. “Butler vocalized that frustration after the last game he played before the Heat suspended him on Jan. 3 for seven games “for multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season.”
On that Jan. 2 night, Butler would say that he lost his “joy” of playing basketball and responded “probably not” when asked if it could be regained in Miami.
Heat's reasoning for diminished role of Jimmy Butler
According to Chiang, Butler's camp would say via the Miami Herald that the team's reasoning was because of the star's “inconsistent regular-season availability.”
“After inquiring about Butler’s apparent diminished role in the Heat’s offense,” Chiang wrote. “Butler’s camp says it was told by the Heat that some changes were made because his inconsistent regular-season availability made it challenging to build the offense around him. Butler missed 22 regular-season games last season and 18 regular-season games in 2022-23.”
“Some with the Heat would say Butler has made his role in the offense look smaller than it actually is by making it a point in some games to run to the corner and play without the ball in his hands,” Chiang continued.
After being away from the team for 13 days due to Butler having a stomach illness, he had two straight games scoring nine points and had a clearly diminished role. Especially in the Jan. 2 game against the Pacers, there were many times when Butler would just stand in the corner with little activity level which he spoke about after the game which implied that “it can be my role here” as some frustration.
“I felt like I did my job, or at least what my job is now,” Butler said.
“It can be my role here,” Butler continued. “But I mean that’s not what I’m used to being. I haven’t been that since my first, second, third year in the league, where I just went out there and played defense, I competed, I guarded. I tried not to let my man score. But that’s what I’m doing now.”
Jimmy Butler's usage rate has been down
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke before Butler that night and when asked if Butler can be more of a point guard to activate hum, he would be open to it. However, Butler was straightforward in his thoughts towards that idea.
“Whatever we got to do,” Spoelstra said. “If we got to get him activated, put the ball in his hands and play point. He’s done it before. We know how to get him going, he knows how to get going. These are not two strangers.”
“That ain’t gonna fix it,” Butler said to that idea.
The Heat's offense has changed this season with an emphasis on shots from beyond the arc and in the paint, straying away from a volume of mid-range shots, especially long ones, which is a part of Butler's arsenal. His usage rate has been down at 20.3 percent his lowest since the 2013-2014 season.
“It’s not a tough adjustment to me,” Butler said. “I’m going out there to compete to win, either way — whether I score or not. I will compete. That’s one thing that I will say. So you won’t say that I’m out there not playing hard. It may look like that because my usage is down and I don’t shoot the ball a lot.”
As he would mention, there shouldn't be questions about the star playing hard as Butler's effort level was questioned by the Heat per Chris Haynes. Butler is set to return from his suspension for Friday's game but will meet with team owner Mickey Arison on Thursday to discuss the future per The Miami Herald.
