Haywood Highsmith over me?!

Jimmy Butler exits practice and essentially the Heat.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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Les Bords de la Marne; Albert Gleizes; 1909

Jimmy Butler was suspended for the third time in the month of January on Monday. But why ever for?

The Miami Heat are suspending forward Jimmy Butler without pay for an indefinite period of time after the disgruntled star walked out of practice Monday, the team announced.

The Heat were planning to replace Butler in the starting lineup with Haywood Highsmith beginning with Monday's game in Orlando, sources said, but he responded to the news by walking out of the morning shootaround.

That’ll do it.

If you’re keeping score, Butler has been suspended for conduct detrimental related to a public trade demand, for missing a team flight and now for walking out of practice. This suspension will carry Butler through the trade deadline at minimum. That cinches that Butler’s games played in January will equal the number of times he was suspended in January. Not the number of games he was suspended, mind you. The number of times. He will have played three games in January and been suspended for 11.

On one hand, Heat Culture is suspending your brightest star multiple times for being too sassy to bear. That’s called discipline, that’s called equal treatment under the rules. On the other hand, is Heat Culture also letting your relationship with your brightest star get to the point where he feels getting too sassy to bear is the only way for him to be heard? Is Jimmy Butler both of Heat Culture and opposed to Heat Culture, since Jimmy Butler is a culture unto himself? Shouldn’t Heat Culture have inoculated Miami to this type of Brooklynian or Philadelphian subterfuge? Is Heat Culture still susceptible to getting Ben Simmonsed, to getting Kyrie Irvinged, to getting James Hardened?