Miami Heat icon Tim Hardaway names the main culprit in the Jimmy Butler-Pat Riley feud

Jimmy Butler is enduring a challenging 2024-25 NBA season, with mounting evidence that his focus has shifted toward leaving the Miami Heat. His ongoing conflicts with team president Pat Riley have fueled this growing tension. Now, Heat legend Tim Hardaway has weighed in, offering his perspective on who is to blame for the situation.

In an interview on The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis, Hardaway didn’t hesitate to point the finger at Riley. “That’s Pat’s fault to me,” he stated. “You let that stuff get out of hand.”

Tim, who starred with the Heat from 1996 to 2001 and has his No. 10 jersey retired by the organization, suggested that Riley’s decision to give Butler too much freedom led to the current fallout. “You let him fly on his own private jet to different places, and he’ll meet the team for a shootaround,” he explained. “You let Jimmy Butler come in and say this and that, you know? You let it get out of hand.”

But while Hardaway was critical of Riley’s approach, he didn’t shy away from calling out Butler’s role in the situation. Speaking as if in Riley’s shoes, he said, “We don’t have to trade you, and you’re still under contract. Understand that you wanna get traded, but you still gotta go out there and not jeopardize games. You’re shooting a one-legged shot in the corner.”

Hardaway then turned to Green and Davis, asking, “When have you seen Jimmy Butler shooting a a one-legged shot in the corner?” implying that Butler hasn’t been playing with full intensity as of late.

Tim Hardaway #10 of the Miami Heat looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Hardaway critiques Butler’s inconsistency

Tim Hardaway didn’t hold back when discussing the ongoing contract dispute between Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. “I’m gonna tell you this—he deserves his money. He deserves his money. Everybody deserves their money, all right?” he began. However, the former Heat star quickly shifted focus to Butler’s inconsistency this season, which he believes has significantly impacted the team’s performance.

“You can’t play 60% of the games, and then I’m in the play-in game, and we got to work just as hard to get to where we need to get to. I need to not be in a play-in game. I need to be sixth,” Hardaway explained. “If he played 75, 73 games for the season, they’re the fourth seed, right? Easy. They got a week off. They’re rested.”

Hardaway’s respect for Riley

While Hardaway was outspoken in his critique of Butler’s play, he made it clear that he holds deep respect for Heat president Pat Riley, who coached the team during Tim’s six-year tenure in Miami. His familiarity with Riley’s methods gives him confidence in how the Heat president is handling the current situation.

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“Pat is in the driver’s seat,” Hardaway said. “If you wanna question what Pat did in suspending him, Pat has a ten-page letter and film to send to you and show you what he’s talking about and why he suspended him. Pat is always ready.”