As Jimmy Butler awaits resolution on his desire to be traded from the Miami Heat, he’s been tough for the team to deal with despite taking on a leadership role.
“You’d have to say Jimmy’s been good for Miami overall, but he’s also been very difficult,” a league source told Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “I think it’s just reached an end. It’s like he’s in charge; he doesn’t play all the time, and he’s had injuries that always seem to come up. He’s not as good as it was.”
“He got a lot of mileage out of being a leader, a go-to guy, a big game player, but he wasn’t there night in and night out,” the source added.
ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst reported on Jan. 2 that Butler indicated to Miami that he wanted to be moved before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Charania and Windhorst noted that an “issue” that led to the star forward’s decision was an implication from team officials that he hadn’t played his hardest during a Jan. 1 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Following Butler’s trade request, he was suspended for seven games by the Heat due to “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season and particularly the last several weeks.”
The 35-year-old’s overall tenure with Miami has undoubtedly been successful, making two of his six career All-Star appearances as a member of the team. Butler also routinely stepped up in the playoffs, leading the Heat to a pair of NBA Finals appearances and averaging 24.7 points per game in the postseason with the organization.
Availability has been an issue, as he only appeared in at least 60 regular-season games during two of his first five years with the team and has never exceeded 64 appearances.
Butler has averaged 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game on 55.2/37.5/78.8 shooting splits this season.
