Nick Young thinks Miami should be fined for switching up the standard on Jimmy Butler

Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Young believes that the Miami Heat should be fined for switching up their feelings towards Jimmy Butler.

The Heat have suspended Butler three times this season with the most recent one coming on Monday after he walked out the team’s shootaround.

Butler was also suspended after missing a team flight earlier this month.

Young shared his thoughts on the situation, and he seems to believe that Butler is getting treated unfairly by Miami.

“If I’m used to flying a separate plane, and now you want to fine me for it, that’s weak though,” Young said.

Gilbert Arenas chimed in and said that since the Heat and Butler aren’t getting along right now, they aren’t going to let him get away with anything.

“But how can you fine me if you knew I was doing this on the regular but now that I’m not your favorite…” Young said. “So that team – the team should be fined for that.”

While it had been reported that Butler had flown separately from the team before, NBA insider Chris Haynes recently shared that this was not a regular thing that Butler was doing.

Haynes said that most of the flights that Butler took separate from the team were while his father was sick during the 2023 NBA Finals. So, even though Young thinks that Butler was doing this regularly, it may not be normal behavior for the six-time All-Star to fly separately from the team.

So far this season, Butler has only appeared in 25 games for the Heat, and it appears that he may not play in another one for the franchise if it can trade him by the league’s Feb. 6 trade deadline.

Butler is averaging 17.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 54.0 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from 3 this season for Miami. His scoring has been down from his previous seasons with the Heat, as he had previously averaged at least 19.9 points per game in every campaign with Miami.

Ultimately, the Heat are hoping to find a resolution with Butler to end all of the back-and-forth drama that has recently occurred. Miami is still in the mix for a playoff spot in the East, sitting in the No. 6 spot after Monday’s win over the Orlando Magic.