Jimmy Butler likes to troll. Whether it's by showing up to picture day with a weird haircut or poking fun at other teams from the sidelines or on social media, ‘Jimmy Buckets' enjoys messing around and getting people riled up. So when the Miami Heat star showed up to the Los Angeles Sparks vs. Dallas Wings WNBA game today, we should have known he was going to do something.
While being interviewed courtside during the game, Butler was asked about his thoughts on Sparks rookies Rickea Jackson and Cameron Brink. Butler, not one to waste the moment, made a comment that could be taken a few different ways.
“For some reason, 22 looks good in purple and gold,” Butler said with a smirk, referencing Brink's Sparks number, as well as his own jersey number and potentially the Lakers.
Jimmy Butler's future with the Miami Heat
While Jimmy Butler was very likely simply trolling at the Sparks game, there have been reports and rumors that things between Butler and the Miami Heat are not as solid as they once were. After the Heat were eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by the Boston Celtics, Butler, who missed the series due to injury, said Miami would have upset the Celtics if he could have played.
“If I was playing, Boston would be at home, New York damn sure would be f—ing at home,” Butler said in a video that surfaced online.
Pat Riley, the legendary executive and former coach, did not like Butler's comments one bit. The Heat's chief decisionmaker took aim at Butler's “trolling” in a press conference after the season.
“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, if you’re not on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut in your criticism of those teams.”
Riley also seemingly criticized his players, Butler included, for their availability throughout the season. Butler has notably not played more than 65 games in a season since the 2016-17 campaign, his final with the Chicago Bulls. Butler, who dealt with personal and injury issues throughout this season, will be eligible for a two-year extension worth more than $100 million this offseason. But Riley did not seem gung-ho to ink that deal.
“That's a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you have somebody who's going to be there and available every single night,” Riley said. “That's the truth.
“We've got a really good group of guys and the No. 1 issue is player availability and having your guys healthy to play every night,” Riley said. “And we have to wrap our arms around that notion.”
Whether Butler and Riley's comments mean anything in regards to their working relationship — Butler will earn $48.8 million next season and has an option in 2025 for $52.4 million — remains to be seen. But what certainly will not happen is Jimmy Butler wearing No. 22 for the Los Angeles Lakers. After all, Elgin Baylor's No. 22 Lakers jersey was retired in 1983.
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