ORLANDO — The Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler’s representation have come to an agreement on the roughly $6 million in fines/withheld salary assessed last season, with a compromise reached at half that amount.
According to multiple parties familiar with the process that began with an appeal as soon as the penalties were enacted last season by the Heat, the agreement was being finalized with the NBA, the Sun Sentinel confirmed.
A source familiar with the negotiations said the agreement satisfied both parties, with the Heat found within their rights to assess the penalties, but with Butler also reasonable in questioning the degree of the sanctions ahead of his February trade to the Golden State Warriors. Along the way, one game of Butler’s suspensions was rescinded this summer.
The NBA’s appeals process with the National Basketball Players Association typically is adjudicated through arbitration during the offseason, with the agreement coming in advance of the Heat’s Wednesday night season opener against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center.
Butler began his season Tuesday night in a Warriors victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Neither the Heat nor Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, chose to comment on the settlement, with both sides previously having stressed a goal of putting last season’s contretemps behind them.
The components acquired by the Heat from the Butler trade that are on this season’s opening-night roster are forward Andrew Wiggins, guard Davion Mitchell and guard Kasparas Jakucionis, the 19-year-old out of Illinois selected with last June’s No. 10 draft pick acquired from the Warriors.
Opening thoughts
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said ahead of Wednesday night’s season opener against the Magic that he felt energized going into his 18th season guiding the team.
“There’s nothing like it, like this feeling in this profession that you feel watching the games last night,” Spoelstra said after the morning shootaround at Kia Center. “It just gets your juices going.
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“I love coaching. I love the NBA. I love being part of the team. And we had a long offseason, so I think we’re all excited starting around the beginning of August.”
The opening stretch of consecutive road games to open the season — with a Friday game in Memphis before Sunday’s home opener against the New York Knicks — is rare for both Spoelstra and the Heat.
The last time the Heat opened with more than one road game was in 2018, with this only the fifth time it has happened in the franchise’s 38 seasons.
“Well, you have to deal with all those kind of emotions once you start an NBA season,” Spoelstra said of opening on the road. “So whether it’s on the road or at home, there’s going to be great challenges and that’s the part that you love about this profession.”
Slight misstep
Heat center Kel’el Ware said it was a slight misstep that had him on the injury report ahead of the opener with a sprained left ankle.
“I was just going up for a layup and I just landed wrong, that’s it,” Ware said Wednesday of the play late during Tuesday’s practice at Kaseya Center.
That had him meeting with the team’s training staff before departing to Orlando.
“I tried to walk it off a little bit and the decision was just to go down and look at it,” he said.
The only Heat players not on this two-game trip are Tyler Herro (recovering from last month’s ankle surgery) and Jakucionis (groin).
Two-way players Vlad Goldin, Myron Gardner and Jahmir Young remain with the Heat, with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, not opening training camp until Monday.
Based on the current 14-player composition of the Heat’s standard roster., Heat two-way players can be on the active roster on game nights for no more than 90 total games this season.
