Inside The Heat

Miami Heat's Pat Riley On Jimmy Butler Tenure: "It's Over. It's Done."

Shandel Richardson|
Mar 25, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) dribbles the basketball against the Miami Heat during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Mar 25, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) dribbles the basketball against the Miami Heat during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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Miami Heat team president Pat Riley refused to avoid the question but didn't want to dwell on the Jimmy Butler situation.

On Friday, Riley held his annual postseason press conference to address the state of the team. Naturally, Jimmy Butler was the first subject.

Riley answered honestly.

"There's no doubt that what happened with Jimmy had a tremendous impact on our team," Riley said. "There's no doubt about it. The buck stops with me. I'll take that hit you want it."

Butler had a season-long rift with the organization. It boiled down to Butler wanting the Heat to commit to a contract extension. Riley refused at the time, preferring to wait until the offseason to address it.

It led to Butler being suspended three times during the season before ultimately sent to the Golden State Warriors at midseason. While the Heat were swept in the first round by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Butler has the Warriors in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Still, Riley held ground on how he handled the situation.

"I'm not going to apologize for saying no on the contract extension that we didn't have to," Riley said. "I don't think I should ... It's over. It's done. I wish him well. Good luck to him. I hope deep down in his heart somewhere he wishes us well, too."

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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On Sports Illustrated. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here