The Miami Heat's biggest concern this offseason is the departure of star Jimmy Butler. And Tim Leegler, a basketball analyst at ESPN, gave his opinion on the matter today, saying things aren't going in the right direction. "The way Pat Riley handled some of the things that Butler did has led to the awkward moment they are currently in, and the Heat want Butler to put more emphasis on the regular season," Legler said on ESPN's show today called NBA Today...... But I don't think it's going in the right direction. ”
With Butler eligible for a two-year, up to $113 million contract extension, there were reports that the Heat star wanted to seek a contract extension this summer, but Riley didn't say anything at the team's season farewell press conference in May.
Riley said at the time: "Well, you know, we don't have to do that for a year, so we haven't discussed it internally right now, and we have to think about it and then make that commitment." Actually, we don't have to do it until the 25th, but we'll see, we haven't made a decision on that yet, we really haven't seriously discussed it, so we'll see. I mean, if you ask for it, we'll either accept it or say we'll consider it. We haven't made a decision on that yet and I think you can get so much out of it, he has two years left on his contract and theoretically he has a player option, but that's something that we have to really think about based on a lot of factors. I don't want to go into a whole bunch of factors right now because they all have different assumptions, but yes, it's a big decision for us and it's not easy to put those resources into it, unless you're someone who can play every day, that's the fact that it's in front of us. ”
To add fuel to the fire, Butler publicly declared after the Heat were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs that if he was healthy, the team would beat the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics. When Riley was asked in an interview what he thought of Butler's remarks, Riley said that Butler should shut up because he didn't play.
Riley said, "He said that, you know, I guess that's Jimmy playing a scoundrel?" Or is Jimmy serious? If you're not on the court, not in the Boston Celtics, not in the New York Knicks, you should shut up and stop criticizing those teams. ”
Although Riley's words were all considered attacks on Butler, he also mentioned in the same press conference that Butler led the Heat to the NBA Finals twice in his five seasons with the Miami Heat, which was the most important thing for the Heat, but he was also quite unhappy with Butler's attendance, especially the lack of attention during the regular season.
According to the latest report from The Athletic's ace reporter Shams Charania, Butler has made it clear that he doesn't want to go anywhere and just wants to stay with the Heat. Charania said on a show called "The Pat McAfee Show," "My feeling is that Jimmy Butler doesn't want to go anywhere but Miami, and it feels like he wants to stay in the city of Miami." But he's eligible for a contract extension this year, and there are multiple teams in the NBA that are going to give him a contract extension, and I think that's something we'll see next month or so. The Heat don't want to trade him, but Butler wants a contract extension, so will the Heat give him a contract extension? That's the problem for both sides. ”