The Los Angeles Lakers could be the surprise third team that helps the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat agree on a Jimmy Butler trade.

Q: Would current offers duplicate what the Heat has already? The rumored swaps offer marginal upgrades over what’s in the development pipeline. Are Heat going to take Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Haywood Highsmith, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Alec Burks out of the rotation? Or stop developing Pelle Larsson? – Leonard, Charlotte.

Miami will suspend Butler for two games, ESPN's Shams Charania reports. According to Charania, Butler missed a team flight Wednesday, so the Heat will respond with a two-game suspension that will force him to miss Thursday's game against the Bucks and Saturday's game against the Nets.

A: Based on all the narratives out there, of the moves have and have not been made, by now it is clear that Jimmy Butler has not been of the thought that Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo are ample enough to get him across the championship finish line.

We're two weeks away from the deadline, and new names who could have a market have emerged. But No. 1 remains the same.

Ira Winderman’s perspectives and other items of note from the Miami Heat’s Friday night game against the Denver Nuggets.

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

Eric Wong identifies five teams likely to shake it up in the second half of the NBA season and what it'll mean for fantasy basketball.

Jimmy Butler reportedly ‘hasn’t even really started’ creating drama with the Heat, so let’s rank his funniest trade demand escalation options.

Even as Jimmy Butler wants to get out, even as the Miami Heat want to get him out, the reality is that there might not be an easy out . . . as the NBA counts down to the 3 p.m. Feb. 6 NBA trading deadline.

If the Heat keeps Butler past Feb. 6 and he opts out, Miami could either use a $14 million midlevel exception and a $5.1 million bi-annual exception or use about $13 million in cap space (which swells to $23 million if Robinson is released early this summer).