Former Nets player criticizes Jimmy Butler for complaining about accounting issue with Heat

The apparent deterioration in Jimmy Butler’s relationship with the Miami Heat has been well-documented, but the acrimony between the two sides has potentially been brewing for longer than just a few weeks. According to Chris Haynes, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler was left sans a paycheck from the team for 10 days back in the summer due to an accounting error.

“That had never happened before,” Haynes said of the accounting error according to a post on X. “You’ve got all of that going on, on top of an accounting error that delayed his paycheck. Things just started to feel a little bit off at that point.”

One former NBA player has since responded to the report from Haynes and criticized Butler. Nik Stauskas claimed on X that back when he played for the Brooklyn Nets in the year 2018, he was paid less money than he should have received in his first two months with the team. Stauskas’ mother had to point out the error to the Nets so they could finally fix it.

Stauskas didn’t even spend one full season as a member of the Nets. The No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft averaged 5.1 points per game while shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range across 35 games played with the team in the 2017-18 campaign.

Butler hasn’t suited up for the Heat since the team lost to the Indiana Pacers back on Jan. 2. He’s been serving a suspension that Miami handed him for conduct detrimental to the team, but he will be eligible to take the floor with the Heat again when the team plays its next game on Friday against the Denver Nuggets.

Interestingly, that contest will mark a rematch of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Heat and Nuggets. Denver came out on top in that best-of-seven series in five games.

Unfortunately for the Heat, the team did little more than tread water with Butler out of the lineup thanks to his suspension. Miami won only three of the seven games Butler missed and most recently picked up a loss to LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.

Miami is currently just one win above the .500 mark at 20-19 and has lost each of its past two contests.