[Fischer] Among Jimmy Butler's transgressions, according to league sources, have been multiple instances of him skipping out on morning shootarounds altogether and insisting on private flights separate from Miami's charter. Even former teammate Kyle Lowry grew tired of his headstrong tendencies.
Sources say even Lowry, who remains as close away from the court as anyone to Butler, gradually grew fatigued by his teammate's headstrong tendencies on the floor. Currently in his second season with his hometown Philadelphia 76ers, Lowry declined to comment last week when an interview was requested.
Now it's Pat Riley's front office that has shown it will no longer tolerate Butler's freestyling, announcing to the world on Jan. 3 that the six-time NBA All-Star has been suspended for "conduct detrimental to the team." Among Butler's transgressions, according to league sources, have been multiple instances of Butler skipping out on morning shootarounds altogether and insisting on private flights separate from Miami's team charter. Former Heat star Tim Hardaway Sr. told Sirius XM NBA Radio over the weekend that Riley sent a 10-page letter to the players' association detailing Butler's missteps.
"You don't disrespect authority and that's what Jimmy Butler has been doing," Hardway said. "It's about accountability. If you can't take rejection, because everyone's been saying 'yes, yes, yes' to you, now the world's coming to an end." Maybe the strongest argument Butler could muster as a counter: Look to his left and right and his closest teammates from that Cinderella team in 2023 are all gone. At a time when the 33-5 Cavaliers serve as quite the poster team for the benefits of roster continuity, Butler's formerly Finals-worthy supporting cast has witnessed a flurry of departures reminiscent of the Mile High exits of Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope from the Nuggets. Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin — three starters from Miami's Game 1 Finals lineup against Denver — all left the Heat over the past two summers.
Butler is said to have viewed Strus as a brother — someone who could match the All-Star's sarcastic (some call it abrasive) sense of humor. They hatched a celebrated handshake routine, featured often in Instagram posts and punctuated by the players flipping each other off with shared tongue-in-cheek zeal. Several people who knew that edition of the Heat well cited Strus as an instrumental figure in keeping Butler steady within the greater team dynamic.
The Heat, though, openly struggled with the prospect of paying both Strus and Duncan Robinson, who has one season left after this one on a five-year, $90 million contract he has struggled to live up to. The sharpshooting Strus left Miami for Cleveland soon after 2023 free agency opened, scoring a four-year, $62 million deal with the Cavaliers via sign-and-trade after usurping Robinson in Erik Spoelstra's rotation.
That same summer, sources said, Miami set itself a $9 million annual limit in talks with Vincent. The Lakers delivered a three-year deal with an average annual value of $11 million to lure Vincent into LeBron James' supporting cast soon after those same Nuggets had just swept L.A. in the Western Conference finals.