Jimmy Butler and Miami Heat president Pat Riley met in person on the afternoon of Jan. 7 to discuss future plans together, but what followed was instead an emotional, two-hour sit-down that only irked the All-Star, league sources informed James Jackson, Sam Amick, and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
Jimmy Butler Said Pat Riley Mentioned Butler’s Deceased Father, Offered Parenting Advice, And Told Butler He Loved Him
Butler reportedly told those close to him after the meeting that “the longtime team president referenced Butler’s recently deceased father several times during the meeting, offered ‘unsolicited and unwanted’ parenting advice, and even shed tears before ending the meeting by telling Butler he loved him,” The Athletic trio wrote.
Although Butler did remain calm during the sit-down and Riley let him guide their discussion, when Riley raised the topic of Butler’s late father, whose death on Feb. 8, 2024, was first revealed on an episode of the Netflix series Starting 5 in mid-October, he became emotional.
Pat Riley and Jimmy Butler both stuck to their guns in the end.
Maybe a partnership with this much pride was always destined to end this way.@sam_amick, @JonKrawczynski and @JJ__NBA take an inside look at Butler’s last days in Miami.
🔗 https://t.co/q60pLoZEJb pic.twitter.com/6lmiSh9C3A
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 7, 2025
From Butler’s point of view, Riley was “unhinged and disturbing,” as a league source close to him described it. Riley’s father, Leon, a longtime minor-league baseball player who played in four games for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1944, died at the age of 64 in 1970. Riley was 25 at the time.
By the time the meeting was over, league sources said Butler had doubts about the Heat’s ability to execute a trade. He was also convinced that the front office wouldn’t have been able to build a winning roster around him.
NBA insiders reported in mid-January that Butler had been upset over other contenders being more aggressive with trades — such as the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics acquiring Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday and the Milwaukee Bucks trading for Damian Lillard.
Conversation Occurred After First Heat Suspension
That meeting with Pat Riley came four days after the Heat suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team” and for showing “he no longer wants to be part of this team.”
The conversation also occurred a few weeks before Miami suspended him a second time, this one for missing a team flight. The Heat then suspended Butler indefinitely on Jan. 27 after he walked out of practice.
In a multi-team trade on Wednesday night, the Heat sent Butler to the Golden State Warriors for Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson, and a protected first-round pick; the Warriors’ Lindy Waters III and Heat’s Josh Richardson were traded to the Detroit Pistons; Dennis Schroder was sent to the Utah Jazz; and the Heat acquired Utah’s PJ Tucker.
Schroder was then traded to the Pistons, while Tucker was sent to the Toronto Raptors.
Sources also informed ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst that Butler agreed to a new two-year, $121 million extension with the Warriors through 2026-27. Butler declined his 2025-26 player option for this new deal.
