Pat Riley addresses state of the Heat, Jimmy Butler situation and more ahead of ‘crucial’ season
The Miami Heat made the decision to bring back last season’s core that needed to qualify for the playoffs through the NBA’s play-in tournament and then was quickly eliminated in the first round. But the quiet offseason can also be framed as the Heat deciding to bring back a core that has made three Eastern Conference finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances in their first five seasons together.
This iteration of the Heat led by Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro has produced one of the most successful and memorable eras in Heat history despite not yet winning an NBA title. But as the Adebayo-Butler-Herro combination enters its sixth season together, some have questioned whether keeping this core together this past summer was the right move.
“Six years, yeah, this is a telling year for the team. It should be,” Heat president Pat Riley said Thursday during an intimate sit-down interview with a small group of reporters in his office overlooking Biscayne Bay ahead of Wednesday’s regular-season opener against the Orlando Magic at Kaseya Center. “They’ve been together for six years. The core has been together for six years, they’ve all gotten better.
“Everything changes, I think, for the better with continuity and the fact that we believe in this roster. Does it mean that if we don’t win this year or if we don’t go deep this year, there are going to be massive changes? No, it doesn’t mean that. But they should know that this should be a crucial year for them. They want to win. They’ve been [to the NBA Finals] twice, but they want to win.”
After advancing to the NBA Finals two seasons ago but ultimately losing to the Denver Nuggets in that 2023 championship series, Riley and the Heat’s front office simply weren’t ready to pull the plug on this era this past offseason.
“I wasn’t comfortable in just saying, ‘OK, I’m going to give up on this team this year because we’re a play-in team,” Riley said. “If you get in, you get in and then you go from there. Two years ago was an anomaly and we ended up in the Finals. I’ll take the anomaly any day. But we do have a very good team.”
Butler has been at the center of the Heat’s success during this five-year run. He has been selected for an All-NBA team in three of his first five seasons with the team and has turned into one of the NBA’s top playoff performers since joining the Heat.
But there are also questions surrounding Butler’s future with the organization, as he initially entered last offseason seeking a maximum contract extension with the Heat before deciding to play out this season without an extension barring a change of heart.
With a $52.4 million player option in his contract for next season, Butler can become a free agent this upcoming summer. If Butler opts out and becomes a free agent next offseason, he will be eligible to sign a four-year max extension projected to be worth about $243 million with the Heat or a max three-year contract worth $171 million elsewhere.
Does Riley worry about losing Butler for nothing in free agency next summer?
“I wouldn’t want to,” Riley said when asked about that possibility. “He’s going to have the ability to opt and we’re going to have the ability to extend. So I’m trying to get all that thinking out of our heads because it’s living in the present moment and playing basketball. So if there’s something that’s going to drag me down or him down because of that, then we’re not going to perform at a certain level. But I think he’s embraced exactly where he’s at, I think he understands where we’re at.”
The Heat has until June 30 to sign Butler to the two-year contract extension worth about $113 million that he was initially seeking at the beginning of this past offseason.
This extension would replace his 2025-26 option and begin that season. This two-year max extension would include salaries of $54.3 million for the 2025-26 season (nearly a $2 million increase from the player option in Butler’s current contract for that season) and $58.6 million for the 2026-2027 season when Butler will be 37 years old. Those numbers could fluctuate based on where the NBA’s salary cap is set for those seasons.
“I haven’t had a lot of conversation with Jimmy about it,” Riley said of Butler’s contract status. “I’ve talked to his agent at times. ... I don’t have to sit down and have these meetings with [Butler] any more. He’s a very intelligent man.”
Butler’s production was down across the board last regular season, averaging fewer points, rebounds, assists and steals per game than he did the previous regular season. He also missed 20 or more regular-season games for the third time in the last four seasons last season because of injuries and other reasons like for the death of his father, Jimmy Butler Jr., in February from a terminal illness.
“He had a very difficult year last year,” Riley said, alluding to the passing of Butler’s father. “We all knew about it. It takes its toll. So since 2020 to now, I’ve lost two family members very close to me and those are the things we go through personally. We don’t let anybody know about it, but it does have an impact on how you produce and how you perform. Jimmy had a tough year last year from a personal standpoint.”
During Riley’s season-ending news conference in May, he challenged Butler to be available for more games moving forward. Butler is off to a good start, appearing in each of the Heat’s first four games this preseason after not playing in any preseason games last year.
Butler, who turned 35 in September, was available and dominant in Wednesday night’s 120-111 win over the Atlanta Hawks in the Heat’s fourth of five preseason games. Butler totaled 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, 2-of-2 shooting on threes and 6-of-8 shooting from the foul line, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 21 minutes during the exhibition.
“What I saw last night and what I hope to see in the future this year is somebody that has a chance to lead us to that place where we can play for it,” Riley said Thursday of Butler. “That’s all you want.”
The Heat closes its five-game preseason schedule on Friday against the Grizzlies in Memphis. (8 p.m. Bally Sports Sun and NBA TV).
Here’s some of what else Riley had to say during Thursday’s session with reporters:
▪ Riley continued to emphasize the need for the top players on the Heat’s roster to play more games this season.
The Heat’s availability issue led to a new franchise record with 35 different starting lineups used last regular season. In the end, 18 different Heat players started at least one game last regular season.
“We don’t know about this team because you can’t have Tyler and you can’t have Bam and you can’t have Jimmy play 30 games,” Riley said. “So it would be like me saying when I was coaching that Magic [Johnson] and Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and James Worthy, well they only played 30 games. From that reality standpoint, we need everybody. I hope and pray that we can be healthy this year to do that.”
▪ As some teams at the top of the East made big moves to improve their roster this past summer, the Heat brought back most of last season’s roster. The only new player who the Heat added in free agency this past offseason on a fully guaranteed standard contract was veteran guard Alec Burks.
Does Riley believe the Heat is still a contender to win the East this season?
“Everybody gets better. Everybody makes their move,” Riley said. “We’ve done it three or four times and made big trades or signed big free agents and said, ‘I think it’s time to go for it’ or we plan for that. What Boston has done is incredible. They have a team that has broken all records, not only in how they play the game but also financially. They’re shooting for the moon here. And what New York did, [Knicks president] Leon [Rose] is going for it. He’s going for it, making these moves and these trades. So they have a great team. Philly, you never know with Philadelphia. They’re a little bit like us, they need to be healthy all year long.
“But I believe in this team, I truly believe in these guys. Bam, Jimmy and Tyler, to some extent maybe Terry [Rozier] have to be better. It’s always about can you produce more, can you be more, can you be together more. I’ve seen the improvement. ... So I think we have a core of really, really great players who need to find another level of greatness. This is their time. So take the challenge.”
▪ With Riley about to begin his 30th season with the Heat, he said he still doesn’t know when he’ll step away from his role as Heat president and enter retirement.
“There’s no idea,” Riley, 79, said. “And I think that’s the greatest thing about it is that you’ve asked this question and others have asked this question, ‘How long?’ I get it.”
The Heat is dedicating its current and future courts at its home arena to Riley. The Heat’s home court will be known as “Pat Riley Court at Kaseya Center” beginning this season, with this new name and Riley’s signature inscribed onto the court.
“I said to [Heat owner] Micky [Arison] the other day, is this your message?” Riley said jokingly. “Are you giving me this honor to push me out of here? We can still wait a couple years.”
▪ Of signing Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to an eight-year contract extension worth more than $100 million in January, Riley said: “He earned it, he deserved it. We all knew it was coming and we wanted to keep him, without a doubt. We paid him, I think, the market value. He’s an exceptional coach.”
▪ Not traveling for the Heat to Memphis for Friday’s preseason finale: Adebayo, Rozier, Butler, Herro, Josh Richardson, Duncan Robinson, Burks and Kevin Love.
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 3:30 PM.
