Pat Riley made a lot of noise with his end-of-season press conference on Monday. The Miami Heat president left Jimmy Butler ‘s future up in the air, questioning his unavailability for much of the year and the Butler’s mocking of other teams while being ruled out for the NBA playoffs.
Shortly after Riley’s comments, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel spoke to Butler’s agent Bernie Lee, who claimed his client only missed Heat games due to family reasons or injury.
“Jimmy missed 22 games this past year, a mix of personal reasons and injury. If there was a game that was on the schedule that Jimmy was healthy enough to participate in, he did that,” Lee said. “He played in a number of back-to-backs. It was the utmost priority to him to do everything he can to be available.”
The Heat had once again to make the playoffs via the Play-In, but this time, they couldn’t pull off another upset and were beaten in the first round by the #1 seed Celtics. Butler missed the series due to injury and the team felt his absence.
Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat poses for a photo with president Pat Riley during his introductory press conference at American Airlines Arena on September 27, 2019 in Miami, Florida.
Butler’s future in Miami uncertain due to contract demands
At 34, Butler is still under contract through the 2024-25 with an option for the following season. However, the Marquette product will reportedly seek a two-year, $113 million contract extension this offseason.
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That raises questions about his future with the Heat, with Riley fueling even more trade rumors by stating the Heat will have to think about it, citing Butler’s availability as a factor to take into consideration.
“That’s a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you have somebody who’s going to be there and available every single night,” Riley said, via ESPN. “That’s the truth.“
Lee didn’t want to reveal his client’s contract intentions, but suggested there will be talks with the Heat. What’s interesting is that Butler still sees Miami as a place where he can spend the next of his career despite Riley’s recent comments.
“Once he got to this organization, he got to an organization that wholeheartedly has embraced him in every single way ,” Lee said. “ Look, they’re both cut from the same cloth. There’s going to be honest conversations that have to be had this summer about how to move forward, but those conversations aren’t going to be driven by anything other than, ‘How do we do this to move forward to take the next step, and win a championship?’.”
