Jimmy Butler is expected to play for Miami again Friday when it hosts the Denver Nuggets, a game that would be his first since the Heat confirmed that he wants a trade and that they are trying to accommodate that request.

After missing seven games with a suspension that followed questions concerning his effort and his public trade request, Jimmy Butler returned to a Heat team that might have expected fireworks.

When the Miami Heat, his team for the past six seasons, slapped 14-year veteran forward Jimmy Butler with an unpaid, seven-game suspension on January 3, the team was somewhat cryptic about the reasons.