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MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler walked out of the Miami Heat locker room on Friday night wearing a Michael Jordan jersey.
It wasn't a No. 23 jersey. It was a No. 45 — the one Jordan briefly wore when he returned to the Chicago Bulls after coming out of retirement in March 1995.
The message was clear: “I'm back.”
Temporarily, perhaps.
Butler's seven-game suspension by the Heat for conduct they deemed to be detrimental to the team is now over and he returned to the Heat lineup for the first time in two weeks, scoring 18 points in Miami's 133-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
“This is basketball at this point," Butler said. “I know what I'm expected to do while I'm here.”
And that is the question — how much longer will Butler be in Miami?
The team said, when it suspended him earlier this month, that he wants a trade and that it will try to accommodate him. Butler has not made such a demand publicly; by league rule, he can't do so, unless he's willing to risk being fined up to $150,000.
“There was a lot said by everybody, except for me, to tell you the truth,” Butler said. “We'll let people keep talking. ... The whole truth will come out. Until then, if I'm here, I will get out there and play."
Not everyone seemed thrilled to see his return.
His introduction as a starter was accompanied by a mixed reaction — some cheers and definitely some boos, the latter of which is unusual for the home team to be hearing during pregame introductions — for Butler's return to the Heat lineup. He missed a jumper on Miami's first possession, then got his first basket of the night on a dunk with 8:09 left in the opening quarter.
There wasn't a ton for the Miami crowd to cheer about after. Denver controlled things basically from start to finish.
“I know what storylines you're looking for,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I'm not feeding into any of that. We got our asses kicked.”
Butler's agent, Bernie Lee, posted a letter on social media Friday with a very short message from Butler. “I'm back,” it said, the whole bit copying how Jordan's agent, David Falk, announced — in a fax — how Jordan was ending his retirement in March 1995 and returning to the Chicago Bulls.
Butler became eligible last summer for a two-year, $113 million extension from the Heat. It was not offered, in part because Heat President Pat Riley has said the team wants Butler — who has missed about one of every four games since joining the Heat, for a variety of reasons — to be available to play more. Put plainly, that means the Heat couldn’t envision paying someone an average of about $57 million per season while missing considerable time.
Butler began this season saying he had no problem going out and proving that he is worth such a contract. “I guess I’ve got to go and hoop,” Butler said at the team’s media day in late September. “I’ve got to prove that I am a major part of winning and rightfully so. I’ve done it before. This is no different. ... That will take care of itself.”
There have been attempts at humor over the last few weeks, including Heat forward Kevin Love stirring things up on Instagram with various clips. But to the Heat, parts of this have been no laughing matter, especially since it'll still likely end with Butler either leaving via trade sometime before the Feb. 6 deadline or this summer — possibly as a free agent.
Butler said he's enjoyed many of Love's posts.
“I laugh a lot,” Butler said. “My happiness off the court is at an all-time high. I've got the babies, I've got my friends, a lot of dominoes and coffee is involved. I like Kev, but he's not more petty than I am.”
The seven-game suspension will cost Butler about $2.4 million, though the National Basketball Players Association has said it will file an appeal. That appeal, if successful, could lessen the financial hit of the suspension or possibly eliminate it altogether.
“Look, we work in a league of complexity," Spoelstra said before the game Friday. "We’re in an unusual place right now, but really, all it is, is complex. And we fully plan on operating within this complexity. So, it’s my job to prepare this team and get them ready to play at a high level. And that’s what I’m doing. That’s what the plan is.”
For now, that's what the plan will be. Asked what will happen if he's still in Miami after the Feb. 6 trade deadline, Butler offered a simple reply.
“We'll hoop,” he said.
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