Miami Heat icon Tim Hardaway Sr. made some interesting claims regarding Jimmy Butler during an appearance on SiriusXM Radio. Butler had missed the Heat’s game against the Orlando Magic on Dec. 21, 2024, due to a stomach illness but Hardaway claims he was told the six-time All-Star was out with friends at Prime 112.
“And you (Butler) let those guys down by not playing in Orlando, and then out kicking it somewhere,” Hardaway said. “People were calling me saying ‘Man, he not even playing in Orlando. He at Prime 112 kicking it and eating and hanging out with folks.'”
If true, this is not a good look for Butler. What is quite interesting, though, is that he had openly spoken about how unwell he was. He left the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 20 due to that illness and when he was finally set to return, he told reporters just how bad the situation was, in a practice interview.
“I was pretty bad, I was pretty messed up,” Butler said. “But I wanted to compete because I actually do want to play as many games as possible. I’m not even messing around. I came out and I felt sluggish, and then I tweaked it (ankle) a little bit but that wasn’t what it was. I was out there damn near starving, getting ready to throw up and all that stuff.”
Well, only Butler knows what’s the truth here. If we take Hardaway’s word, though, you wonder if this was one of the actions that led to his eventual suspension. Just under two weeks after that Magic game, the Heat announced a seven-game suspension for Butler on Jan. 3, over multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.
To go with this incident, Butler had also openly stated he couldn’t play with joy for the Heat anymore. A day after that, the team suspended him and stated they were willing to listen to trade offers.
On Dec. 26, 2024, Heat president Pat Riley stated the team wouldn’t be trading Butler but they changed that stance in a week. One can only wonder what went down behind the scenes to cause that.
Despite Butler’s desire to leave the Heat and the team’s willingness to part with him, it would appear there is a good chance he ends up staying. NBA insider Brian Windhorst reported that the current Butler trade offers stink. While the team wants to ship out the 35-year-old, they still desire a solid haul for him and won’t be bullied into a trade.
Team insider Barry Jackson also reported that Butler is expected to rejoin the Heat once his suspension ends. As things stand, he is set to return for the game against the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 17.
The Heat have done relatively well in Butler’s absence. They lost the first two games without him but have won three in a row since to improve to 20-17 on the season. It will be interesting to see how they play when Butler, who is averaging 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game, returns to the lineup.
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