Will Jimmy Butler-Pat Riley war of words lead to ugly Heat divorce?

Butler is now 34 years old and will be turning 35 before the start of the 2024-25 season. When he plays, Butler consistently proves to be one of the best two-way players in the entire league. However, his success with the Heat has been slightly overshadowed by a slew of absences. Over the last five seasons in Miami, Butler has missed a total of 100 regular-season games, an average of 20 absences per season.

To say that the Heat have been an average team without Butler on the court would be extremely factual, as they have gone 50-50 during these 100 regular season games where their star was not on the court. Butler has been the face of the Heat for years. He has helped re-establish their culture, and their two Finals appearances over the last five seasons can’t be overlooked. The problem right now is that Butler and the Heat enter the summer staring at one another, almost like a standoff you see in those old Gunslinger western movies.

The idea of there being a disconnect between management and Butler stemming from Riley’s recent comments grew slightly when the Heat executive called out the team’s star, claiming that he shouldn’t say anything if he isn’t playing. Then again, Riley made sure to praise Butler as well, leaving everyone scratching their heads and wondering what exactly is happening in Miami.

“Who moves the needle the most on our team is Jimmy,” Riley continued. “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.”

Now, the key question is whether the Heat will offer Butler a lucrative two-year extension worth upwards of $113 million this offseason, a deal the veteran wing is reportedly seeking. Riley made it clear that the team has time to think about this decision and that they have not discussed this scenario internally. A large point of emphasis was put on the franchise wanting to keep Butler around, as Riley shot down all rumors that the Heat may look to trade him with an emphatic “no.”

The fact of the matter is that Riley and the Heat want Butler around. He is the best player on the team and the main reason why they’ve been able to find so much success over this five-year window Riley discussed. At the same time, durability and injuries are a problem for Butler at this point in his career.

Are the Heat willing to commit over $50 million annually to Butler, likely for the remainder of his career, despite all the concerns surrounding his availability?

How the Heat handle these upcoming extension talks with Butler will be very telling as to what direction this franchise is trending in. A potential divorce could be on the horizon should Riley and Miami’s front office decide to hold off on a new contract for their star.

What Pat Riley is planning

The Heat have decisions to make this offseason that span well past extension talks with Butler. Bam Adebayo will make nearly $35 million during the 2024-25 season, and Tyler Herro will make $29 million. Terry Rozier is also not going anywhere, as he is on the books for just about $25 million. Throw in the contracts of Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin, who owns a player option for the 2024-25 season, and all of a sudden, Miami is on the verge of being a second apron tax team that will be severely limited in terms of moves they can make to upgrade their roster.

Adebayo has meant a lot to this franchise, and it is hard to imagine him going anywhere. Herro, on the other hand, is a player who has seen his name pop up in trade rumors from time to time. This was especially true last summer, when Miami was pursuing All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard. The latest comments Riley made on Monday regarding Herro being “fragile” and possibly needing to switch up his routine to increase his durability have cast a level of doubt on whether the former first-round pick is going to remain with the Heat long-term.

Still, the overarching theme of Riley’s press conference circled back to the idea of the Heat maintaining their course of action. They have been successful over the last few seasons and there is still a lot of potential for the core group of this team to win a championship. That is why Riley and the Heat are not prepared to tear down what they have built.

“Nope. Not right now,” Riley firmly stated when asked if he believed that the team needed to make a major change in the offseason. “We just want to try and control some of the things that we lost control of, or a little bit control of. But I’m always open, ears wide open, while I’m doing my job. If anything were to ever happen, I would listen.

“We have a really good group of guys, and the number one issue is player availability and having our guys healthy to play every night.”

Is Riley being critical of Butler and the Heat for being injured? Perhaps. But when you look at this team as a whole and how they’ve functioned over the last few seasons, their only limitation has truly been injuries. The Heat have the stars they need to be successful, and as long as Erik Spoelstra is on the sidelines, they will have a chance to outscheme any of the other 29 teams in this league.

Before any moves can be made, Miami will need to make a decision on Butler’s long-term future with the organization. Should they fail to offer him an acceptable contract extension, rumors surrounding Butler will continue to grow.