Pat Riley isn't thrilled with Jimmy Butler's public comments about the Boston Celtics.
Butler missed the first round of the NBA playoffs while dealing with an MCL injury, and his Miami Heat were outclassed by the Celtics. Miami was ousted in five games while playing without their six-time All-Star forward. Over the weekend, Butler said, "If I was playing, Boston would be at home." Riley was not happy.
On Monday, the Heat president said Butler should keep his mouth shut because he wasn't on the court. Video is below.
Riley certainly seems annoyed with Butler, but reading too deeply into those comments may be taking things too far. That said, he also claimed the Heat wouldn't just give Butler a new max contract extension if the star asked for it and would instead consider if he was going to be available every night.
Butler is owed $48.8 million for the 2024-25 season, then holds a $52.4 million player option for the the 2025-26 season. He'll be 35 at the start of next season and his numbers declined across the board during the 2023-24 campaign. He finished the season averaging 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.0 minutes over 60 games.
The Heat and Butler need to get on the same page about the team's future. Having their star publicly trolling rival teams after washing out of the playoffs likely isn't helping that relationship.
