Jimmy Butler and Pat Riley appear to have growing rifts amid the trade

When Jimmy Butler first landed with the Miami Heat as part of a 2019 sign-and-trade, it seemed like a match made in heaven. Butler had always been a hard-nosed star, the kind of player who oozes the intangible “culture” the Heat strive to curate and contribute to success.

However, the relationship has soured, with Butler reportedly “preferring” a trade out of Miami ahead of this season’s NBA trade deadline. It appears that one of the primary sore points is between Butler and Pat Riley, the organization’s premier basketball executive.

A leading incident has underscored the rift between Riley and Butler, with Butler taking exception to comments Riley made during his end-of-season press conference. Here is as Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reported it:

A source said Butler was taken aback when, during a news conference in May, Heat president Pat Riley berated him for saying that “Boston would be home” and “New York, dammit, would be (expletive) home.” if Butler had been healthy for Miami’s five-game first-round playoff loss to the Celtics, which he missed with a knee injury.

“For him to say that, I was like, ‘Is that Jimmy trolling or is that Jimmy serious?'” Riley said during his end-of-season news conference. “If you’re not on the court playing against Boston or on the court against the New York Knicks, you should shut up.”

The report went on to suggest that Butler was disappointed that the organization did not publicly deny a report that the team was open to moving him. There has also been reported frustration that Miami did not offer Butler a lucrative max contract extension last season. Reports have come out about four Western Conference teams Butler would like to be traded to, the last of which caused a spat on social media between Butler and ESPN reporter Shams Charania.

Jackson also reported in a tweet that Butler did not attend Riley’s Christmas party, but Jackson said he had not attended the party in previous years either.