The Jimmy Butler-Miami Heat Feud has lingered long enough for us to finally weigh in on the issues as we see them. Let’s quickly sort out the issues as we see them, FAQ-style…
A Review of Jimmy Butler, Master Negotiator
Making any conclusions about how to allot blame, both legally and karma-wise, really starts with a common understanding of the underlying facts. So, let’s briefly run through the facts as we understand them:
-Butler signed with Miami in 2019 for four years and $141 million. Since signing, he has been excellent overall (24.5 PER, .349 WS48, 6.4 BPM). He has been even better in the playoffs (24.5 PER, .206 WS48, 7.2 BPM) and been the driving force on three deep playoff runs by the Heat during that time.
-In 2023, Butler signed an extension, his current deal, which is worth $146 million, if he opts in for 2025-26. Butler is 35 and is set to make about $48.8 million this season (if he doesn’t lose any money from suspensions). His option for 2024-25 is for about $52.4 million but Butler clearly wants a long-term extension.
-Last summer, Butler was reported to want a two-year maximum extension of about $113 million for 2025-26 and 2026-27. That would be about $56.5 million per season, which would be a small raise over the 2025-26 option (assuming the payments were structured equally per annum).
-Butler has missed about 20-30 games per season with nagging injuries each season. He missed last year’s first-round loss to Boston with injuries. At the time, Butler loudly asserted that Miami would’ve won that series had he been healthy. This prompted an annoyed Pat Riley to tell reporters that: “If you’re not on the court playing, you should keep your mouth shut.” This is not the type of bunt assessment that most team presidents make publicly about their best player, even if true.
At the same presser, when asked by reporters about Butler getting another extension, Riley called him “an incredible player” but said the following: “We have to look at making that kind of commitment and when do we do it. We don’t have to do it until 2025, actually. But we’ll see. We haven’t made a decision on it, and we haven’t really in earnest discussed it. That’s a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you have somebody who’s going to be there and available every single night. That’s the truth.” Pardon my skepticism, but I’m pretty sure Riley had discussed the extension internally.
-Butler has a well-dccumented history of complaining and hardball negotiation tactics when he is at an impasse with ownership. First, he had a very rocky end to his time in Chicago, where he repeatedly complained about that team’s commitment to winning. He did not seek a trade but Chicago preemptively did so, sending him to Minnesota before the 2017-18 season. Butler’s complaints about management and teammates did not hurt his value, as Minnesota sent significant young assets to get the deal done (Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine, and Lauri Markkanen).
Things went south in Minnesota pretty quickly too. Butler played great down the stretch of the 2017-18 season to make the playoffs but, during the middle the Wolves’ first-round series against the Rockets, he publicly called out his teammates: “I put so much into this game and I only play to win. I don’t play for stats or accolades. And at times I get lost in how everybody is not built the way I’m built….Sometimes I just look around and I don’t understand how or why you all don’t love to get better the way that I do.” When Minnesota lost the series, Butler refused to fly home with the team or participate in the usual off-season examinations or formally contact the team.
Shortly afterwards, an article reported that Butler was “fed up” with his teammates lack of intensity, particularly Karl-Anthony Towns. The Wolves, despite the hullabaloo, offered Butler a four-year maximum extension a few days later (Minnesota could offer a five-year extension if Butler played out the 2018-19 season). Butler then rejected the max offer and demanded a trade. Minnesota told Butler that it wasn’t interested in trading him at that time.
Faced with this impasse, Butler first feuded on-line with the brother of his teammate Andrew Wiggins. Butler returned to practice shortly before the regular season and immediately caused problems. He famously cursec out his teammates and management during an intense scrimmage. Adrian Wojnarowski reported that “At one point in a scrimmage, sources said, Butler turned to GM Scott Layden and screamed, ‘You (bleeping) need me. You can’t win without me.’ Butler left teammates and coaches largely speechless. He dominated the gym in every way. Jimmy’s back.”
This is the part I totally forgot….the practice incident did not lead to Jimmy’s immediate trade. Minnesota still tried to keep him around and make it work. Butler’s stats during that time were consistent with prior efforts but the team went 4-9 and were on a five-game losing streak when the Wolves threw in the towel and traded him to Philadelphia for medium value (Jerryd Bayless, Robert Covington, Dario Saric, and a 2022 second-round pick swap, which ended up being 50th overall and was used to draft Italian Matteo Spagnolo, who has not yet played in the NBA).
-Seven years have passed and we are back to another Bulter showdown with management. This time, Butler hasn’t cursed out Riley directly but has made oblique references to being unhappy: “I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon. I’m happy here off the court, but I want to be back to somewhat dominant, I want to hoop and I want to help this team win, and right now I’m not doing it.”
On the court, Butler is playing less (30.9 mpg, his lowest since 2012-13) and scoring less (17.6 ppg, his lowest since 2013-14). Interestingly, his advanced stats are the same or slightly higher levels than last season. Despite the overall adequacy of the stats, there are suggestions that Butler may have had some effort issues.
On December 20, 2024, Butler tweaked his ankle against OKC but left the game early with an illness. He missed the next five games with stomach illness. With rumors swirling about Butler possibly malingering, on December 26, 2024, Riley publicly proclaimed that he wasn’t trading Butler (in a clear attempt to keep leverage with potential trade partners). Butler returned to the court on January 1, 2025 and played two tepid games where he scored only 9 points each time and appeared to be passive on the court.
It was after the second tepid game, a 13-point loss, Butler stated that he had lost his enthusiasm with the Heat. Shortly after this proclamation of loss of joy, the Heat suspended Butler for seven games for lack of effort, which was reportedly documented by Riley in a 10-page notice letter to the NBPA. Butler returned to the team this week but is still not happy. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that a Heat source said “We don’t want him back.” She further quoted a Butler ally saying that “Jimmy hasn’t ever really started” his resistance to the current status quo.
So now the Heat are essentially in the same position that the Wolves were in 2018. Minnesota found that playing with Angry Jimmy was untenable and threw in the towel and traded him for whatever they could to clear the clubhouse.
Having gone through the history/facts, let’s examine the burning questions…
Who needs a deal more, the Heat or Jimmy?
Clearly, Butler. The Heat are a .500ish team with or without him. If Miami cannot get decent value for Butler, they seem content to let Butler play out the contract on the bench as a sunk cost. Meanwhile, without a trade, Butler cannot get to a preferred destination because so much of the NBA is over the salary cap aprons. With a weak trade market, Butler has two options: (a) play out the year and play well enough to entice more suitors in the off-season or (b) become such a pain that the Heat will accede to his trade demand. Butler has chosen the second route.
What is the line between sharp negotiation tactics and breach of contract?
Continuing to push the envelope to force a trade is not without risk. Obviously, an ugly dispute does not make Butler more valuable to other teams. The other risk comes from the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”), which, on paper, gives teams broad authority to suspend players. Specifically, with respect to player conduct, section 5(b) states as follows: “The Player agrees: (i) to give his best services, as well as his loyalty, to the Team, and to play basketball only for the Team and its assignees; (ii) to be neatly and fully attired in public; (iii) to conduct himself on and off the court according to the highest standards of honesty, citizenship, and sportsmanship; and (iv) not to do anything that is materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the best interests of the Team or the League.”
The only limitation to these obligations, is that any fine or suspension must be “reasonably imposed” and that the player “hall be given notice in writing (with a copy to the Players Association), stating the amount of the fine or the duration of the suspension and the reasons therefor.”
A significant breach of contract noted in CBA section 12 titled “Disputes with Respect to Players Under Contract Who Withhold Playing Service” also permits that “a Team may recover damages in a proceeding before the Grievance Arbitrator when a player who is party to a currently effective Player Contract fails or refuses to render the services called for under the Player Contract.”
So, Miami has some hammers to drop if Butler ramps up his hardball negotiations. How broad are these powers? The answer is we don’t really know because the conduct clause hasn’t really been tested so extensively with a long suspension or attempt to void a guaranteed contract. The closest we came to finding out was Ben Simmons’ 2022 grievance with the 76ers over $20 million in lost salary. The case was settled confidentially thereafter but it was clear Simmons was spooked enough about his exposure to compromise.
The reason these powers haven’t been tested much is because most teams don’t have the stomach to fight with players who can’t emotionally process the concept that they have to play out their contracts without the security of a new deal or at the destination of their choice. When Kyrie Irving and James Harden started rumbling, management just immediately traded them to avoid this mutually assured destruction. Here, the Heat are wired to be a little tougher and there is no deal on the table that makes apparent sense anyway. Faced with a crappy trade market and an obstinate player, the Heat’s best financial outcome is to save salary by suspending Butler every time he pops off and accept that the relationship is only going to get worse.
If Miami doesn’t budge, what can Butler do?
Butler is entitled to be unhappy and try to leverage his unhappiness to force a deal but his best option is still to come back and play hard to rebuild his market value. Of course, that’s unlikely to happen. Butler, if he cannot bring himself to continue his relationship with Miami, must walk the fine line between legitimate protest and behavior that arguably constitutes breach of the CBA. Given his current trade market and off-season cap options, Butler probably would make more money exercising his current option on his contract than he would on the open market. Accordingly, Butler’s best financial play is to convince Miami to buy him out or to keep him away from the team while still being paid until a trade is made.
A little perspective….
To sum up, this isn’t 2018. An older Butler just doesn’t have the value he did then to behave similarly. In the end, though, it’s hard to get too worked up about this ugly end to the tenure. Miami got three deep playoff runs from Butler and Butler has been paid $200 million. There is little doubt that either side has too many regrets, other than that the breakup couldn’t be more pleasant.