Miami Heat president Pat Riley put his star player Jimmy Butler on notice amid a looming extension that will not come this summer.
“We don’t have to do that for a year,” Riley said about Butler’s extension while speaking to reporters during his exit interview on May 6. “And so, we have not discussed that internally right now, but we have to look at that, making that kind of commitment.”
Riley noted that while Butler is extension-eligible beginning July 7, they have until 2025 to decide.
“We haven’t made a decision on it,” Riley added. “And we really haven’t really in earnest, discussed it. So we’ll just see what happens.”
Butler still has two years left on his current $146 million, three-year deal. But the last year is a $52 million player option for the 2025-26 season.
What Jimmy Butler and Heat Want From Each Other
According to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, Butler is expected to seek a new two-year extension worth $113 million.
Riley repeatedly talked about players’ availability during his 43-minute presser, including blasting the NBA’s 65-game eligibility rule, which he believes sent the players and their agents a message that “it’s okay to miss 17 games” in the regular season.
Butler is notorious for laying low during the regular season and then switched to “Playoff Jimmy” mode in the postseason. He has never played more than 64 games since he moved to Miami in 2019.
While Riley said that topic has been discussed with Butler’s agent last year, he wanted Butler to shape up. While Butler is turning 35 in September, Riley still believes Butler has that 1A ability to lead the Heat to a championship.
“But just like anybody else, he might have to make some changes — in your overall routine, your approach to the game, whatever it is. And it’s the same thing with me and [Erik Spoelstra],”Riley said.
With Butler still recovering from an MCL injury, Riley is not ready yet to hand over a lucrative extension to the Heat’s post-Dwyane Wade franchise player.
“If he requests, we can either accept or we can say we’re gonna think about it,” Riley said.
Then he quickly added they will give it some real thought based on a lot of factors.
“I don’t want to go through the litany of factors right now because they all blow up into different hypotheticals, but yeah, that’s a big decision on our part, to commit that kind of resources unless you have somebody who’s really going to be there available every single night,” Riley said. “That’s the truth.”
Jimmy Butler Linked to Sixers
Multiple reporters have linked Butler to a possible reunion with his good friend Joel Embiid and Philadelphia 76ers amid uncertainty of his longterm future with the Heat.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported that rival teams have wondered about that possibility.
“More than one rival team out there has likewise wondered whether Philadelphia, in the wake of its first-round exit, will mount a trade run at Butler to reacquire Joel Embiid’s close friend if the 76ers are unsuccessful in using their projected $50-plus million in salary cap space to acquire presumed top target, Paul George. Butler’s highly successful stay on South Beach, of course, began when the Sixers prioritized retaining Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris over Butler and agreed to sign-and-trade him to Miami when the Heat had minimal salary cap space,” Stein wrote on his May 5 Substack newsletter.
Riley, however, shut down those rumors.
“No,” Riley said when asked if the Heat at least be open to considering a trade for Butler. “Not right now.”
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