If there is one topic surrounding the Miami Heat that will be talked about throughout the summer, it will be the situation involving Jimmy Butler and a potential contract extension. One person who has thrown his hat into sharing his thoughts is Bill Simmons who talked on his podcast about what he thinks could happen to Butler.
The conversation surrounding Butler and the Heat started when President of the team Pat Riley did his end of season press conference where he talked about the star player's comments off the court and the possibility of an extension. Mainly, Riley wasn't committal in giving Butler an extension due to player availability as Simmons feels the former head coach will “trade” the 34-year old if he doesn't play more basketball games.
“Jimmy I hate to tell ya, they will absolutely trade your a– at some point over the next 6 months if you don’t start playing basketball games and showing up everyday,” Simmons said. “They will trade your a–. You have two years left, $48 million, $52 million, and they will trade you. Pat Riley would trade anyone on his team, in his family, that guy will do anything. He’s 79 years old, you think he’s going to be like, oh I’ll wait till in 81 to decide if this Jimmy Butler thing works, he will f—ing trade you. I wouldn’t be surprised if he traded him this summer, Jimmy don’t get too comfortable.”
Riley speaks candidly on Butler seeking an extension with Heat
Butler is looking for a contract extension this summer that is two-years worth $113 million according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald which some initially thought the star would get since he has brought immense success to the team the last five seasons. However, Riley made his thoughts known during his end of season press conference that they “don't have to do that for year.”
“Well, you know, we don't have to do that for a year and so we have not discussed that internally right now but we have to look at that and then making that kind of commitment,” Riley said. “Okay. And when do we do it? We don't have to do it until 25 actually, but we'll see. We haven't made a decision on it. And we really haven't really in earnest. discussed it. So we'll see what happens.”
Riley said that player availability could hold back extension with Butler
Riley also provided a reason to it as the front office needs to discuss if they want to give a big-money extension to a player that lacks availability which has shown since he's been here. He played 60 games last season, four less than the year prior, as Riley even said that it's a “big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources” unless they can be “available every single night.”
“Well, I mean, if you request we can either accept or we can say we're going to think about it,” Riley said. “We've not made a decision on it and I think you can make too much out of this. You still got two years left on the contract. Theoretically he's got a player option. But that's something that we have to give some real thought to based on a lot of factors. I don't want to go through the litany of factors right now because they all go up into different hypotheticals, but yeah, that's a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless your somebody who's really going to be there and available every single night, that's the truth.”
Butler said he'd beat Celtics and Knicks if healthy
The talk on Butler wouldn't stop there as a member of the media also brought up the viral video of when he was talking about what the playoffs would have looked like if he was playing. He missed most of the postseason as he suffered an MCL Sprain in the first play-in tournament game against the Philadelphia 76ers and still said that if he was on the floor, he would have beat the Boston Celtics (who beat Miami in five games in the first round) and the New York Knicks.
“If I was playing, Boston would be at home,” Butler said. “New York damn sure would be f–king at home. F–k that mean to me? Josh Hart? C’mon man,” said Butler, a six-time All-Star who played for Thibodeau with the Bulls and Timberwolves. “I love Thibs, but I don’t want Thibs. Thibs, I love you baby, but I want to beat you to a pulp. You want me. I don’t want you. It’s like a one-sided relationship. You in love with me and I love you but I’m not in love with you, you know what I’m saying.”
Riley tells Butler to “keep your mouth shut”
Let's just say that Riley didn't take those comments nicely as while Butler is known for his confidence, the president of the Heat questioned if the star was “trolling” or not. He would eventually say that if a player isn't on the court, he “should keep your mouth shut” as he praised the Celtics for being the best team in the league.
“For him to say that, you know, 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 and the criticism of those teams.”
Riley said Butler “moves the needle” for the Heat
While most of the news was focused on Riley's comments being negative, the press conference wasn't without its positives as he praised Butler for bringing the team to two NBA Finals and other accomplishments. He would even say that Butler is the player that “moves the needle most on our team.”
“Who moves the needle the most on our team is Jimmy,” Riley said. “Jimmy moves the needle the most. He’s an incredible player. What I said at the beginning about change is he’s got to give it some thought himself for this team to be what he wants it to be and what I want it to be, and [owner] Micky [Arison] and everybody else. This five-year window, we’ve been pretty successful. We haven’t won the chip, and I think that bothers everybody.”
Butler wants to stay in Miami
Heat fans have not seen a response from Butler as of yet as he hasn't spoken to the media since Riley's press conference or even posted to his social media pages. However, he did speak with Rohan Nadkarni of GQ Sports for an interview and gave his comments on the love he has for the city of Miami, granted this was before Riley's presser.
“I feel at home, man. I really care about the city, I really care about the people in this city. Miami has embraced me,” Butler said. “They’ve wanted me to bring them something they haven’t done since LeBron, D-Wade and C-Bosh. And I want to do that. So as soon as I get this knee back right, I’m right back on they ass and everybody know it.”
Last season, Butler averaged 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 49.9 percent from the field in what was his fifth season with Miami and 14th season in the NBA as a whole. He would restate that he wants to retire in a Heat uniform in terms of the NBA as the Marquette University product said he'd want to play basketball in Brazil.
“I mean, yeah. In the NBA? For sure,” Butler said via GQ Sports. “But then after that, I really do want to play for Flamengo. I tell everybody, I’m half-Brazilian.”
Miami has finished in back to back seasons with an eighth seed placement and while the first resulted in an NBA Finals run, the most recent finished with a first round elimination with injuries plaguing the team. Riley emphasized that the issue of player availability will be addressed and that the Heat could embrace change as it remains to be seen if Butler is part of that.
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