Editor's note: This story was originally published Jan. 27. It was updated Wednesday to reflect Jimmy Butler's trade to the Golden State Warriors.
The Miami Heat suspended Jimmy Butler again Monday, Jan. 27, the third suspension for their disgruntled star over the past month but the one that appears to signal the end of his six-year tenure with the team.
The Heat said the latest suspension — triggered by Butler walking out of practice after hearing the team planned to bring him off the bench — will take this ongoing drama through the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 6.
The indefinite suspension all but closes a complicated chapter of Butler's 14-year career. A six-time All-Star, an Eastern Conference finals MVP and the leader of two teams that went to the NBA Finals, Butler has taken each of his four franchises to heights they have struggled to replicate without him.
Yet Miami is seeing firsthand how uncomfortable Butler can make life when he is unhappy. His exit strategies have become legendary: confrontational practice sessions, clashes with coaches and an overall push to make the situation untenable. Butler already had missed nine of Miami's past 12 games with suspensions, the first being seven games for conduct the Heat deemed detrimental and the next for two games for missing a team flight to Milwaukee last week, before his latest penalty.
If Butler has played his final game for the Heat, then it's a chance to take a look back at the veteran's tumultuous NBA career and how each situation devolved from promising potential to painful breakup.
October 2014: Butler turned down a reported four-year, $40 million offer from the Bulls following a career year. He believed he could make more after the following season.
2014-16: D
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