Even if Jimmy Butler finds his “joy” in the game away from Miami, will it be on his terms? It seems the Miami Heat is preventing it from happening. At least that’s what former Golden State Warriors star Gilbert Arenas believes. If there were any hopes of reconciliation after Butler’s return to the court with the Heat, his reported two-game suspension may come as a disappointment. But as revealed by Arenas, the letdown could be much bigger for the 6x All-Star’s NBA future.

Re-posting one of his podcast clips shared by Underdog earlier, Gil wrote, “The Heat are ruining Jimmy Butler’s trade value 🫠.” In the video clip, Gil had previously reacted to the 2-game suspension Butler has recently faced for missing a team flight. As per Shams Charnia’s post on X, the news was reported to ESPN from some sources.

Arenas had argued in his podcast that there are fines for such instances of negligence on the team. He believes the Heat is finding excuses to punish Jimmy Butler. Lowering the 6x All-Star trade value could be the final and biggest move the franchise can play in this regard.

As per the Miami Herald, Butler sought a three-year, $161.7 deal during the last off-season. An article by Sporting News, however, speculates the probable deal to be something around 2 years, $70 Million given Butler’s age. But the recent differences between him and the Heat must have affected these projections. And if the 2-game suspension report turns out to be true, it’ll only get worse.

As Gilbert Arenas explained it on his podcast, “You’re helping the other teams out. The more you keep doing it [suspension affecting his image], the more no one has to give up their assets.” Although Brandon Jennings argued the other franchises would still know what Butler brings to the table, Gil stated they’ll still be in a position where they “don’t have to,” value that aspect considering damage to his reputation in Miami.

However, it’s not as if Butler had not been cautioned about the worst possible scenarios beforehand.

Carmelo Anthony warned Jimmy Butler about the possible consequences of his differences with Pat Riley

If you’ve followed the NBA long enough, you know one thing about Pat Riley—he doesn’t hesitate to make tough calls. No matter who’s involved. That’s exactly why former NBA star Carmelo Anthony voiced his concern about Jimmy Butler clashing with the Heat. Melo wasn’t just throwing out casual advice. He seemed genuinely worried about the kind of fallout Butler might face, urging him to avoid any regrets down the road.

On his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, Anthony couldn’t have put it more bluntly. “Pat been doing this for 100 years.” He wasn’t exaggerating either. Riley’s history of bold decisions includes letting go of legends like Shaquille O’Neal and even LeBron James. But Melo pointed out that things could be even trickier for Jimmy Butler if things go sideways.

“Pat gonna send him [Jimmy] to somewhere… ‘You want to f*ck with me, I’mma send you to a place that they might think about waving you.’ Because you don’t fit [in] what we [the team Butler lands on] trying to do,'” Melo explained. Imagine Butler landing on a team packed with young players where his role would be unclear. Not exactly the kind of move anyone would want, right?

And let’s say the worst does not come true and Butler lands on his desired team, the possibility of what Gil stated in his X post is quite high: the team not being compelled enough to give up major assets in exchange for Butler.