Heat Suspends Butler for 7 Games with a Loss of $2.35 Million! Famous Criticizes Riley for Overstepping, Warriors Have Discussed Trades
On January 4th, Beijing time, the drama surrounding Butler's departure from the Heat has escalated. In response to Butler's trade request, the Heat officially announced his suspension without pay for seven games and stated that they will consider offers for him. The Warriors, previously mentioned by Butler as a team he was interested in joining, have already engaged in preliminary trade discussions with the Heat.
Heat Suspends Butler for 7 Games
In the face of Butler's clear demand for a trade, even publicly stating his willingness to go anywhere but Miami, Pat Riley of the Heat has shown a tough stance. After confirming the authenticity of the news, the team began to formally listen to trade offers for Butler. The Heat then quickly issued a statement, citing unfavorable behavior since the start of the season, especially in recent weeks, as the reason for suspending Butler without pay for seven games. According to the labor agreement, Butler will lose 1/145 of his annual salary per game, which is 346,543,totaling2.35 million for seven games. Since it is a team suspension rather than a league suspension, only Butler's salary is affected, not the Heat's luxury tax. More importantly, including these seven suspended games, Butler will miss 17 games this season. This means he cannot miss any remaining games to meet the "65-game" rule and retain eligibility for regular-season awards. Whether or not he can win awards such as the All-NBA team will directly determine the size of his future contract. It must be said that as an 80-year-old management veteran, every move Riley makes makes Butler extremely uncomfortable.
Riley's Retaliatory Suspension Sparks Controversy
As players and teams are in an equal cooperative relationship, Riley's decision to suspend Butler without pay after his trade request has a retaliatory flavor. This has caused great dissatisfaction among the Players Association, which quickly voiced its concerns upon the announcement. Famous reporter Shams reported that the Players Association will file a complaint against the Heat's suspension of Butler, but the process may be lengthy and unlikely to stop Butler's suspension. A number of industry insiders, including commentator Perkins, are also dissatisfied with Riley's actions. Perkins openly stated, "Seven games? What is this? Pat Riley has overstepped." He then continued to post, "Maybe it's time for Pat Riley to let someone else take that seat!" Veteran Pierce also criticized Riley, saying, "Riley built the Heat culture, but he is also destroying it because the new generation of players is different. The Heat culture started with O'Neal, Mourning, Haslem, and Wade, but Riley drove away O'Neal, then James, and also drove away Wade. He drove away those who were selected by the team and won the championship for the team. Now he treats Butler like this, stubbornly insisting on his own way and being stingy. I think the Heat culture will disappear."
Warriors Have Discussed Trades
Due to Shams' first revelation, where the Rockets, Warriors, Mavericks, and Suns were considered Butler's preferred destinations, these four teams have become the focus of attention after the fallout between both sides. American journalist Brett Siegel quickly revealed that the Mavericks are not interested in breaking up their current lineup to acquire Butler, nor does the Rockets show any interest in getting Butler. The Suns are indeed interested in Butler, but they must send out Beal, who holds a trade veto power and does not want to join the Heat, and the Heat do not want him either. The Warriors are the only team among the four that is interested in acquiring Butler and capable of completing a trade, and both sides have already conducted preliminary trade negotiations. However, in any trade, the Warriors need to send out Wiggins, but the Golden State management is not willing to part with Wiggins for the time being. The Heat's goal is even more extravagant, as they explicitly stated in the negotiation that any trade framework must include Kuminga. ESPN reporter Tim Bontemps also pointed out in subsequent reports that the Heat are not eager to trade away Butler. If they cannot get satisfactory chips, they would rather follow the Clippers' example of letting George go for free to increase salary flexibility and avoid the super luxury tax penalty.
