Heat’s Pat Riley: No Regrets On Jimmy Butler Deal; Change Is Coming In Miami

“There’s no doubt what happened with Jimmy had a tremendous impact on our team,” Riley told reporters, via The Miami Herald. “The buck stops with me. I’ll take that hit if you want it. What happened in the regular season, I don’t want to discuss.”

Riley didn’t express regret for his previous comments about Butler — including his decision not to offer the All-Star forward a contract extension — and remained resolute in his stance.

“I’m not going to apologize for saying no on the contract extension,” he said. “We didn’t have to. I don’t think I should… It’s over. It’s done. I wish him well. Good luck to him. And I hope in his heart somewhere he wishes us well too.”

The Heat traded Butler to Golden State just before the February deadline, and while the return package has drawn scrutiny, Riley said Miami had limited leverage.

“We were pretty much locked in with one team — the team of his choice. It didn’t happen there [with Phoenix],” Riley said. “We took the deal we felt was best for us now and also in the future.”

The 80-year-old executive emphasized the team’s flexibility going forward, highlighting a mix of young and prime-age players, improved draft capital, and financial breathing room.

Still, Riley suggested some degree of roster reshuffling is inevitable.

“There’s no doubt we have to make changes. We probably won’t run it back,” he said. “That [Cleveland] playoff series might have put the final nail in thinking we got to tear everything apart and rebuild. We’ve never done that.”

Miami has made the postseason 13 times during Riley’s tenure without undergoing a full rebuild. But financial realities are closing in, particularly as the team faces repeat luxury-tax penalties.

“It gets punitive financially,” Riley said. “We will try to get out and then back in and reset it.”

While he avoided naming specific targets (per league rules), Riley did respond to broader questions about possibly pursuing a high-profile veteran or “alpha” type.

“If that talent can help and he’s humble, that’s fine. If it translates to winning, that’s all that counts,” Riley said, adding: “I still think an aging player can play.”

As for Miami’s current cornerstones, Riley reiterated the franchise’s commitment to Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.

“We’re moving forward with Bam and Tyler,” he said. “Definitely Tyler is deserving of the thought of an extension. But are we going to do it? We haven’t committed to it… He’s cool with whatever happens.”

Riley also defended Miami’s organizational identity amid outside criticism of the once-vaunted “Heat culture.”

“I’m proud of the culture and what we’ve created,” he said. “For people who don’t really know, but it’s fashionable to comment on it and criticize it, the hell with them. We have a great culture that hasn’t been crushed.

“Just because there were some issues this year that were not culture-oriented — they were player-oriented — our culture is the same.”