Heat plan to suspend Jimmy Butler for two games, sources say

The Miami Heat plan to suspend star guard Jimmy Butler for two games, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Wednesday.

Butler missed a team flight Wednesday and planned to join the Heat tonight, sources said. Now Miami is keeping him at home from their two-game road trip.

Butler had just returned Friday from a seven-game team suspension for “several instances of conduct detrimental to the team.”

“Through his actions and statements, he has demonstrated that he no longer wishes to be a part of this team,” the Heat said in a statement about the initial suspension. “Jimmy Butler and his representative have indicated they want to be traded, so we will listen to offers.”

Sources told ESPN on Friday that the Heat would like to find a deal to accommodate Butler’s wishes to send him elsewhere, but for now, a deal that satisfies what Miami is looking for — a combination of players who can help the Heat now, variable short-term wages, young players and draft capital — have not materialized.

Butler is in the final guaranteed year of his contract; he has a player option worth more than $52 million for next season.

Information from ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and The Associated Press was used in this report.