'Unhinged' Pat Riley's last-second attempt to make Jimmy Butler stay in Miami

The Miami Heat culture is widely praised in the NBA for taking care of their players' needs better than most franchises in the league.

President Pat Riley has played a key role in establishing that culture over the years as he has helped the organization win three NBA Championships during his career as a head coach and executive.

Speaking of the Heat culture, Jimmy Butler was the perfect embodiment of a perfect Miami player, but one wrong stripped the 35-year-old's trust from the franchise.

It led to arguably one of the most taxing tugs-of-war between a player and a franchise downplaying each other's value in recent memory. Essentially, two big egos clashed, which ultimately resulted in Butler winning the war and earning a move away from the Heat.

During the process, Butler was suspended three times amid getting slammed with numerous fines which certainly destroyed his trust in Riley. Pat reportedly admitted defeat to Butler as the Heat supremo cried to convince him to stay in Miami, but the emotional outburst had the opposite impact on the disgruntled star.

“According to multiple league sources with knowledge of the meeting, tears welled in Riley’s eyes as he attempted to connect with Butler on a human level. Both men had lost their fathers, and Riley’s famed toughness faded in the moment as he thought about Butler mourning his father’s death last season," The Athletic reported. "But Riley’s vulnerability did not land with Butler. The player viewed Riley’s behavior as ‘unhinged,’ a league source close to Butler said. Butler left the meeting more convinced than ever that he needed a new basketball home.”

Just like that, a six-year partnership between Butler and Riley came to an end. If only Riley had agreed to give Jimmy a huge contract extension that he deserved after leading the team to two NBA Finals appearances, the core of the franchise would still be intact.

Instead, Butler has found a new home with the Golden State Warriors where he will form a Big 3 with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

'Unhinged' Pat Riley's last-second attempt to make Jimmy Butler stay in Miami only made things worse

By Aikansh Chaudhary | Feb 7, 2025