Jimmy Butler Fires Direct Shot at Pat Riley, Heat During Suspension

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler is keeping busy during his seven-game suspension—and taking shots at Heat management, too.

Butler posted several videos of him at his BigFace coffee store to his Instagram story Thursday. One video features Butler complimenting one of his employees, saying, “This is our best guy right here.”

“I gave you a compliment,” Butler tells the smiling employee. “That’s what bosses do.”

Butler’s comments are a clear shot at Heat president Pat Riley, who has been critical of the All-Star forward over the last year. Riley notably criticized Butler’s durability during an end-of-season press conference last spring.

Miami and Butler failed to reach an extension before the season. The Heat suspended Butler last Friday, one day after he requested a trade.

Butler is expected to rejoin the Heat when his suspension ends next Friday.

Seeing Butler poke the bear amid his suspension is interesting and unsurprising. He’s mostly stayed quiet since his trade request, typically posting pictures of him working out and listening to music on his Instagram story.

On the Jan. 6 episode of Five On The Floor, Yahoo! Sports NBA analyst Vincent Goodwill said he didn’t believe Butler and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra have issues working with one another.

“I feel like Jimmy can come back and play because the thing already happened,” Goodwill told host Ethan Skolnick. “Now, would I expect both sides to sit in this boiling pot? No, I really don’t, Ethan, because it’s just ugly.”

We’ll see if Butler’s latest comments impact his short-term future in Miami.

BEAL COULD APPROVE TRADE TO HEAT

Theoretically, Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal can prevent any potential trade involving him and Butler swapping teams.

The key word there is ‘theoretically.’ If Beal gets a say, he may wind up in Miami after all.

According to SI NBA insider Chris Mannix, Beal is open to waiving his no-trade clause if he joins a contender. Mannix said that includes the Heat, who likely need to acquire Beal in a trade with the Suns to make finances work.

“He ain’t OKing a deal to, like, Detroit or Charlotte, or any other rebuilding team that’s out there,” Mannix reported on the Jan. 10 episode of The Open Floor NBA Show. “He’s not doing that.”

The problem, Mannix explained, is twofold. First, the logistics of making any trade involving Butler and Beal work are still extremely difficult.

More importantly, Mannix said Miami doesn’t want Beal. The three-time All-Star averages 18 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 26 games (23 starts).

“They’ve made that clear,” Mannix explained. “Bradley Beal’s got two and a half years left on his contract. They don’t want that money on their books for the next couple of years.”

GRIFFIN FINDS HUMOR IN BUTLER SAGA

On the one hand, former NBA All-Star Blake Griffin disagrees with how Butler has handled potentially finding a new home.

Then again, Griffin finds the humor in the never-ending saga.

“I love comedy, and I love to laugh, so this s---t’s funny,” Griffin said. “He’s got his braids a different color every night!”

Griffin spoke candidly about the ongoing Butler-Heat feud on the Jan. 9 episode of the 7PM In Brooklyn podcast. He even praised Butler for openly challenging Pat Riley, who declared Dec. 26 the team wouldn’t trade Butler.

Eight days later, the Heat announced via press release they were suspending Butler and open to trading the six-time All-Star.

“Nobody does this to Pat Riley,” Griffin noted, “so I kind of f--- with it.”

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Jake Elman works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jakeelman97@gmail.com or follow him on X @JakeElman97.