Jimmy Butler suspended ‘indefinitely’ by Heat, per reports

The tension between the Heat and Jimmy Butler has reached new heights

The ongoing saga between the Miami Heat and star Jimmy Butler has reached a new level, per a report from Shams Charania.

According to the ESPN NBA Insider, the Heat have suspended Butler “indefinitely” after an incident at practice on Monday. According to Charania, Butler walked out of practice after being informed that he would not be starting for Miami, and that Haywood Highsmith would be in the starting lineup in his place moving forward.

This is the latest escalation in a string of tensions between the Heat and Butler, dating back to earlier this month. On January 3rd the team announced that Butler would be suspended for seven games, for “conduct detrimental to the team.” That suspension came in the wake of reporting that Butler had asked for a trade, and a post-game press conference from the Heat star where he declared he no longer could find “joy” playing in Miami.

“I want to see me back my joy back from playing basketball,” Butler said at the time. “Wherever that may be, we’ll find out pretty soon here. I’m happy here … off the court.”

The underlying tension between the two camps is this: Butler wants a long-term deal, but the Heat are at this point unwilling to offer such a contract with Butler now 35.

He has a player option for next season at $52 million.

This is a developing story and will be updated.