If Jimmy Butler isn’t finding his “joy” in Miami, Pat Riley isn’t exactly crazy about him either.

The Miami Heat President made that clear with the team’s recent decision to suspend 6x All-Star for 7 games. As reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania earlier, the decision comes following multiple instances of “conduct detrimental to the team” on Butler’s end.

For those unaware, things have been rough between Butler and Riley for quite some time. Former Boston Celtics star Kendrick Perkins, however, still considers the decision to be unfair on the Heat President’s end.

Expressing his disagreement with Heat management’s decision, Perkin wrote on X, “7 games? What type of s–t it that? Pat Riley outta line man.”

Interestingly enough, this comes after Perk himself previously admitted that things are not smooth between Riley and Jimmy Butler.

“Pat Riley gotta his put his pride aside and get Jimmy to another destination. That relationship has run its course,” Perk previously posted on X.

While the 35-year-old had himself expressed interest in a trade earlier, the 7-game suspension comes after he said in a post-game press conference that he does not believe he can be happy playing in Miami going forward. The suspension means Jimmy Butler will miss Saturday’s home game against Utah and a six-game road trip to Sacramento, Golden State, Utah, Portland, the Clippers,, and Lakers.

Fans hoping to see him again may have to wait until January 17, when Miami faces Denver at home. But with Butler and his representatives requesting a trade and the Heat openly listening to offers, could this already be it for the veteran forward in South Beach?

Things have been rough between Jimmy Butler and Pat Riley for quite some time

If you’ve been following the Riley-Butler saga, you’d know this 7-game suspension is no sudden fallout. If anything, it was months of tension that led to this point. The cracks first began to show after the Heat’s early playoff exit against the Boston Celtics.

The 4x All-NBA Third-Teamer, sidelined by a knee injury, hinted that the series could have ended differently had he been on the court. That statement, however, didn’t sit well with Riley, who bluntly told Butler to “keep your mouth shut”. To make matters worse, the Heat President announced the team wouldn’t extend Butler’s contract past this season. Thus, sending a clear message about where things stood.

By Christmas, reports swirled that even Jimmy Butler wanted out before the February trade deadline, although he hadn’t formally asked for a trade. This time around, Riley quickly shot down those rumors, stating, “We are not trading Jimmy Butler”. Yet the Marquette alum’s response—an indifferent shrug of sorts—spoke volumes.

Jimmy Butler openly admitted he had lost all joy for the game and doubted the ‘Magic City’ could help him find it again. Asking for a trade is a different story. But to say there’s no joy in playing for a team; hardly any franchise would sit back and take that kind of insult!

And the Heat made it very clear with the recent 7-game suspension decision. As for Perk’s disagreement, we might have to wait for the ESPN analyst to elaborate upon it.