Report: Jimmy Butler Won’t Return To Heat’s Lineup Until After All-Star Break

According to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, Jimmy Butler won’t return to the Miami Heat‘s lineup until after the All-Star break.

Butler is away from the team due to a death in the family. The Heat will play their next two games without their best player in the lineup. 

Miami is 28-25. The team is in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Butler, 34, is averaging 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists on the season while shooting 50.0% from the field, 44.0% from beyond the arc and 86.9% from the free-throw line. The Marquette product leads the Heat in points per game. 

Butler, who has played for the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers and Heat, is making $45.2 million this season. He signed a three-year, $146 million veteran contract extension with Miami in August 2021. 

The Heat can sign Butler to an extension this offseason. The franchise has been to two NBA Finals since Butler came to South Beach in the summer of 2019 via a sign-and-trade deal with the Sixers. Miami lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 Finals and fell to the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Finals. 

A six-time All-Star, Butler is averaging 21.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 268 games with the Heat.