Jimmy Butler's Demise Allows Pat Riley to Write Final Miami Heat Chapter On His Terms

Jimmy Butler isn’t winning a championship this season. 

Whether this was his best chance remains to be seen, but Stephen Curry’s hamstring injury helped end Golden State’s hopes of winning a title. Because Butler wasn’t able to rescue the Warriors while the greatest shooter who has ever lived was on the mend, the Miami Heat suffering for 2024-25 is officially over.

It helped that Butler went out with a whimper, failing to lead the Warriors to even one Western Conference semifinal win against the Minnesota Timberwolves as the primary catalyst. Curry would’ve been back for a Game 6, but the Wolves shutting “Playoff Jimmy” down rescued the Heat from more embarrassment. 

Between Butler forcing himself out, a 10-game March skid, the poorest record in a decade, a humiliating playoff sweep and the worst case of lottery luck imaginable when you’re not even part of the event, the Heat has taken one hit after another over the past few months.

Now that watching Butler advance to an NBA Finals or celebrate in a parade won’t be added to Miami's torture chamber, it’s time to see what Pat Riley does next. The legendary team president put the Heat in this position by opting not to give the first face of the franchise post-Dwyane Wade the extension he felt he deserved. Lots of suffering ensued.

Riley mentioned that he'd be rooting for Butler and hoping that deep down, Butler would be doing the same where the Heat are concerned. Why he wasted his breath uttering that sentence is a mystery. It's unrealistic, even if he meant the sentiment. Any success Butler has going on the court going forward will reflect poorly on Riley, who is competitive above everything else.

We’ll get to see whether Riley ultimately proves himself right one last time before relinquishing power. The Timberwolves defeating Golden State means there’s a chance Riley made the right decision despite again proving to be bad at breakups. 

Riley felt no apologies were necessary when addressing the media to close out the season. Although many in the fan base watching and commenting on the YouTube feed demanded one, they left empty-handed. The entire first portion of his remarks revolved around Butler, whose success with the Warriors cast a significant shadow over everything Miami did to close the season. 

More than three months after the trade, the clean break can now begin. Riley butchered commercial jingles, but otherwise still sounded sharp enough in his annual year-end presser to continue in the gig he’s held for three decades.

The 80-year-old was dismissive at the thought of a succession plan involving Erik Spoelstra or anyone else, so he’s clearly not ready to even entertain the thought of stepping down, at least publicly. 

Riley is old-school enough to know that when you even admit to thinking about retiring, critics intent on pushing you out grow stronger. He doesn’t know the difference between Liberty and Insurance and “run it back,” but knows enough not to show weakness. 

The Heat’s next chapter can now be written on Riley’s terms, and it won’t be tied to Butler. Whether he could’ve gotten a better deal than the one he got is debatable, but no longer matters.

What the Heat does next is finally the sole focus, and it won’t be overshadowed by “Playoff Jimmy” rubbing Miami’s nose in what might have been through his continued success. 

The ex is no longer thriving.

Tony Mejia is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at tnyce1414@gmail.com