Miami Heat president Pat Riley called out Jimmy Butler twice during his season-ending news conference on Monday.
Riley first criticized the six-time All-Star over his availability (or lack thereof) during the season.
Butler hasn’t played in more than 64 games in a season since being traded to the Heat in July 2019. Butler appeared in 60 contests during the 2023-24 regular season before missing team’s second play-in tournament game and the entire first-round series against the Boston Celtics with an MCL injury.
Riley also blasted Miami’s best player for his recent comments regarding the eighth-seeded Heat’s chances at beating the top-seeded Celtics or second-seeded New York Knicks in the playoffs. After his team’s playoff elimination, Butler said that both Boston and New York would’ve lost to Miami if the 34-year-old had been healthy enough to play.
“For him to say that, I thought, ‘Is that Jimmy trolling or is
that Jimmy serious?’” Riley said. “If you’re not on the court playing against
Boston or on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep
your mouth shut.”
Butler is waiting for a potential contract extension, but Riley said that the team isn’t in any rush to make a decision, given that he’s still got another year on his deal.
Riley did add that despite his gripes with the Marquette product, he won’t consider trading Butler this summer.
