In his current standoff with the Heat front office ( read: Pat Riley ), Miami attempted to avoid the “burn everything down” portion by suspending Butler seven games for conduct detrimental to the team ( read: attempting to force a trade ).

There was no pretense of Butler being a vibrant part of the Heat for Friday’s game. He shot by himself in warmups. There was none of the choreographed palm-slapping with teammates that’s a typical part of any pregame. Kevin Love did run out to him just before the center-tap and shake hands. It looked like the first time they’d seen each other.

Jimmy Butler made his return, but the Heat still lost its third straight game to reach the 40-game mark at 20-20.

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler was back on the court Friday night for the first time since he was handed a seven-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the

Despite Jimmy Butler's return, the Miami Heat were unable to take down the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Miami ended up falling to Denver by the final

Jimmy Butler is back. Officially. His seven-game suspension is over, and he was not listed on the injury report in advance of Friday's game between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets. Less than two hours before tip-off,

The Jimmy Butler saga that has taken place with the Miami Heat over the last few months has been nothing short of interesting. From Butler's agent, Bernie Lee,

Butler met with Heat president Pat Riley last week, and then met with Heat owner Micky Arison and chief executive officer Nick Arison on Thursday, according to league sources. Through it all, Butler has remained adamant about his desire to be traded.

Butler, 35, had been suspended for "detrimental conduct," which cost him approximately $2.36 million in lost salary.

Butler missed Miami’s last seven games while serving a suspension for conduct that the team deemed detrimental.

Add longtime NBA executive Bob Myers to the long list of people who has had enough of Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler. Butler returned to the court Friday night following a seven-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.