The Jimmy Butler era is reaching its ugly end with the Miami Heat as his relationship with Pat Riley … [+]
The Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler are finally moving on from each other.
Just hours after Butler made headlines by declaring that he was unhappy in Miami regarding his role and that he “probably” wouldn’t be able to find his joy again while playing for the Heat, Miami slapped Butler with a seven-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.
Most importantly, they’re “open” to listening to trade offers for their franchise player just a week after team president Pat Riley released a statement ruling out a possible trade for his six-time All-Star forward.
As nasty as the divorce is becoming — and it was inevitable once Riley made comments in the offseason knocking Butler down a peg saying that he should keep his “mouth shut” if he’s not playing — it’s what’s best for both sides.
The Heat have peaked and plateaued with Butler. They’ve achieved all types of success with Butler, advancing to two NBA Finals — once as a No. 8 seed — and three total conference Finals appearances, all while embodying “Heat Culture” while he’s been there.
But the fact of the matter is, they’re a middle-of-the-pack Eastern Conference team that has no chance of defeating the elite teams of the East in a seven-game series.
Remember when the Heat defeated the Boston Celtics after once leading the series 3-0 in the East Finals back in 2023?
There’s no chance of that happening now with the Celtics more seasoned and even better than they were before with the additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. That’s not to mention they’ve finally gotten over the hump of winning a championship after years of coming up short.
Meanwhile since then, teams previously considered in the second tier of the Eastern Conference or lower, such as the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers have all leaped over Miami in the pecking order.
Trading Butler — who is 35 years old — while he’s still playing at a reasonably high level is the best course of action for both sides. The Heat need to reload and start building around their young pieces, such as Tyler Herro, who has now emerged as Miami’s lead guy with a career-high 24.1 points per game.
Meanwhile, there won’t be any shortage of suitors for Butler, with fringe contenders such as the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns all making sense for the proven veteran. While Butler is burning his bridge in Miami and will be playing for his fifth team, he’s a proven and clutch player who has won everywhere he’s been.
Riley — an NBA legend and the guy who built the Heat organization into what it is today — has shown little interest in adapting and adjusting when it pertains to building and maintaining his relationships with today’s NBA stars.
It wasn’t too long ago that Riley’s alpha personality rubbed LeBron James off the wrong way, the best player of this generation and the star who led the Heat to two championships and four Finals appearances during his four seasons in Miami.
James would eventually take his talents back to Cleveland after his power struggle with Riley, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first NBA title before winning another with the Los Angeles Lakers when they ironically defeated Riley’s Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals.
Riley also had a brush-up with the the best player in franchise history, Dwyane Wade, resulting in Wade leaving Miami. The two figures reconciled with the latter eventually ending his playing career with the Heat.
That’s not even mentioning Riley taking over for Stan Van Gundy following his “resignation” during the 2005-06 season, a year after they came within a game of advancing to the NBA Finals. It eventually resulted in the Heat’s eventual first NBA championship during that same season.
The reality is, the Heat are Riley’s organization for as long as he’s around. He’s brought in and either traded or let go of multiple big-time stars over the past two decades, including the likes of James, Wade and Shaquille O’Neal. He won’t have any issue parting ways with Butler, despite his “attempt” to reconciliate the relationship by squashing trade rumors last week.
When Butler expressed confidence that the Heat would have defeated the Celtics in last year’s first round playoff series — only for Riley to undermine him — that was the beginning of the end of Butler’s tenure in Miami.
The barbs between both sides have already started, with longtime South Florida sports reporter Ethan Skolnick dropping the following report following Butler’s declaration.
“This isn’t about role,” says Skolnick. “It’s only about money. He wants $50M to play 50-60 games, sleepwalk through the regular season, and then try to turn it on for the playoffs. He doesn’t want to be held accountable to the same standard as everyone else”
It was good while it lasted, but two alphas working together — especially one of Riley’s nature and the other who previously wore out his welcomes in his other stops in Butler — rarely work for a prolonged period of time. It happened with O’Neal, it happened again with James, and it (temporarily) happened with Wade.
The reality is, the Heat are Riley’s organization and like his predecessors, Butler has reached his end as the face of the franchise.
While both sides will throw their jabs, whether publicly or through “sources,” until Butler is traded before the deadline in February, the bottom line is this — it’s what’s best for both sides moving forward.
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