ATLANTA – Jimmy Butler remained away from the team Friday as the Miami Heat flew to Atlanta for Saturday’s second stop on their three-game trip. Butler has been away from the team the past three games due to what initially was listed as a stomach ailment, an absence that coincided with yet another round of trade speculation. Having exited last Friday’s home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first quarter, when he also appeared to turn an ankle, Butler then missed last Saturday night’s loss in Orlando, Monday night’s home victory against the Brooklyn Nets and then Thursday night’s win in the rematch with the Magic at Kia Center. Butler was listed as out Thursday due to “return to competition reconditioning.” Thursday was the eighth game missed this season by Butler, who missed 22 of last season’s 82 games, as well as a play-in game and the Heat’s 4-1 first-round playoff ouster at the hands of the Boston Celtics. In addition, Butler, 35, also has been limited to a pair of seven-minute appearances this season, one due to a November ankle sprain that kept him out the next four games, and then last Friday’s game against the Thunder. Amid Butler’s absence have been reports of disenchantment with the Heat and a desire for a trade, with the Heat previously having shut down the possibility of an extension that the six-time All-Star remains eligible for through June. In the wake of such conjecture, Heat President Pat Riley issued a statement Thursday that said, “We usually don’t comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches.