Yahoo Sports The Miami Heat need to dump Jimmy Butler now before it's too late
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Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win.
The Miami Heat have suspended Jimmy Butler again, the team announced in a statement. It's not as hefty as the last suspension — this one is only two games. But it's for something even more ridiculously petty than his "I can't find my joy" press conference. He missed a team flight to Milwaukee and now he's suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and disregarding team rules.
Let me start by saying I totally get the Heat's perspective here. This suspension is valid. Missing a team flight is inexcusable if you're cleared to play. The Heat have already allowed Butler more leeway than most other stars who've come through those doors. Being on time for flights is not that hard of an ask.
But this is getting so ridiculous, guys. If it's not one thing, it's another. Ever since Butler made it clear he didn't want to play in Miami anymore, he's gone out of his way to be nothing but a chaos agent. That's what this is.
This missed flight is just his latest trick. He's openly trolled Pat Riley online. He's making team interactions as awkward as possible and getting booed during team intros. He wore a No. 45 Michael Jordan Bulls jersey to his return game press conference for crying out loud.
This is not sustainable. It's just not. We can all see where this is going and it's not a great place.
Jimmy Butler is the type of player who will go scorched earth to get precisely what he wants. Just ask the Timberwolves how it goes. He didn't want to be there and did everything in his power to get out, including airing the entire team out on live television.
Thankfully, we haven't gotten to that point yet with the Heat. But, guys, it's coming. It's coming. You can see it so obviously developing.
The only guy who doesn't seem to see it here is Pat Riley, who seemingly refuses to let Butler go without getting exactly what he wants in return. You know the drill.
THE SUNS ARE WATCHING: Phoenix agreed to a super weird trade with the Jazz just for a chance at Jimmy Butler
Trying to use leverage to get more for Butler is all good, but this situation is fraught. It's already over. If the deal you want hasn't materialized yet, there's a chance it just might not be there. Especially considering how hard it is to trade for stars under the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement.
Meanwhile, the leverage is probably not worth playing hardball over anymore. That locker room is about to be miserable — or, well, more miserable than it already is. Things are going to get even more awkward than they already are.
Miami should just let this go. If they're not getting what they want? Fine. Ship Butler to Siberia. Send him somewhere he doesn't want to be. Or, quite frankly, send him where he does want to be and let him be their headache now.
Either way, Miami, these problems won't be yours anymore. And that's ultimately the win you're looking for.
THE SILVER LINING: Don't let Jimmy Butler distract you from the fact that Kel'el Ware is actually awesome
It's Madison's moment
Madison Keys (WTA No. 19) pulled off quite the upset victory over Iga Swiatek (WTA No. 2) in the Australian Open.
After falling down a set early, she won two straight to punch her ticket to the tournament finals and seemingly couldn't believe it!
In the aggregate, 2 million subscribers aren't much. Netflix has amassed a subscriber base of around 300 million. Another 2 mil is typically just a blip on the radar.
But these 2 million subs are proof of concept. They prove that live sports — and live events, in general — can drive subscriptions to the platform the same way Peacock has used its NFL games to bring numbers to its streaming service.
The live sports era of Netflix has arrived.
Quick hits: It's award season ... Poor Lamar Jackson ... and more
— Lots of awards news today. Caroline Darney has all the Oscars nominations here for you.
— Cory Woodroof has you covered with all the Oscars snubs. Justice for Denzel Washington.
— It's also awards season in the NFL. Here's Charles Curtis with all the award nominees from MVP to Coach of the Year and more.
— Lamar Jackson seems like an awesome teammate. Here he is consoling Mark Andrews after the Ravens loss to the Bills. Robert Zeglinski has more.
— Patrick Mahomes owned up to his flopping! Andrew Joseph has more on this.
— Christian D'Andrea is pretty high on the Jets' hiring of Aaron Glenn. Maybe it's not too late for that franchise to turn things around.
That's a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. Appreciate you. Have a fantastic Thursday. Peace.
-Sykes ✌️
This article originally appeared on For The Win: The Miami Heat need to dump Jimmy Butler now before it's too late
