NBA’s Butler suspended again, commissioner talks new Europe league

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler was suspended for a second time by the team Wednesday, Jan. 22, after missing the team flight to Milwaukee before Thursday night’s game. Butler just returned Friday from a seven-game suspension for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.”

The six-time All-Star repeatedly requested a trade from the Heat, and the team is trying to make a deal before the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Before their game with the Bucks Thursday, coach Erik Spoelstra told the media what he said to Butler’s teammates.

Miami HEAT Statement on Jimmy Butler:

We have suspended Jimmy Butler for two games for continued pattern of disregard of team rules, insubordinate conduct and conduct detrimental to the team, including missing today’s team flight to Milwaukee.

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 23, 2025

“The point that I made to our team is get used to it, get over it,” Spoelstra said. “This is the NBA life, this is the life we chose. If you think it’s going to be predictable, you’re really mistaken. It takes a mental fortitude and commitment in terms of the task at hand –– nothing changes in terms of the task at hand.”

One player focused on the task at hand Thursday, Jan. 23, was Victor “Wemby” Wembanyama. He led the San Antonio Spurs to a blowout win over the Indiana Pacers during the first of the NBA’s two “Paris Games.” Wemby had 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots in what amounted to a star performance in his home country. The same two teams will play a rematch Saturday, Jan. 24.

Before the game, Commissioner Adam Silver talked up the NBA’s plans to capitalize on the game’s popularity overseas. They include a potential new stand-alone basketball league that could eventually rival Europe’s current top league, the Euroleague.

“While Europe continues to develop some of the very best players in the world –– many of our most recent MVPs, of course, are European –– we think that the commercial opportunity has not kept pace with the growth of the game,“ Silver said.

NBA officials used the Paris Games to meet with potential partners for the new venture. League owners may decide to proceed at their Board of Governors meeting in March.

What an overseas league might mean for NBA expansion plans in the U.S. remains unclear. Silver will hold his annual press conference during the All-Star break in mid-February, where he is sure to be asked about the latest developments.