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As former Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler is adapting to his new surroundings with the Golden State Warriors, details of Butler's fallout with Heat president Pat Riley unfolded in a new report. Riley and the mercurial 35-year-old forward reached a point of no return with his former boss due to a last-ditch meeting to reconcile their differences that went wrong, according to The Athletic's James Jackson, Sam Amick, and Jon Krawczynski.
Riley attempted to connect with Butler, relating to the fact they had both lost their fathers. Instead, it had the opposite effect, per The Athletic.
“According to multiple league sources with knowledge of the meeting, tears welled in Riley’s eyes as he attempted to connect with Butler on a human level. Both men had lost their fathers, and Riley’s famed toughness faded in the moment as he thought about Butler mourning his father’s death last season. But Riley’s vulnerability did not land with Butler. The player viewed Riley’s behavior as “unhinged,” a league source close to Butler said,” The Athletic reported.
Pat Riley's failed attempt to connect with Jimmy Butler
Heat president Pat Riley lost his father, Leon, when Riley was only 25, and used this to bridge a connection with former Heat forward Jimmy Butler. In the end, the Heat traded Butler to the Warriors this week.
“Butler told those close to him that the longtime team president referenced Butler’s recently deceased father several times during the meeting, offered “unsolicited and unwanted” parenting advice and even shed tears before ending the meeting by telling Butler he loved him,” The Athletic reported.
Before the meeting, Butler started to care less about where he was traded than about leaving Miami altogether. The two met on January 7.
After the meeting, Butler had doubts about the Heat’s ability to execute a trade just as he had misgivings about Riley's capacity to build a winning roster around him after missing out on trades and free agents, including Damian Lillard.
