Perhaps little says as much about the convoluted current relationship between Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat as this: The team has reached the end game of its seven-game unpaid suspension of the former All-Star forward with the situation nonetheless ongoing.

With Wednesday night’s 117-108 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers marking the end of the Heat’s six-game West Coast trip and the end of Butler’s team-issued seven-game suspension, he’s eligible to return when the Heat opens a three-game homestand on Friday against the Denver Nuggets (8 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun).

Tensions are high, but Butler can bolster his own market by playing well for Miami when his suspension ends after Wednesday's game in LA.