As the Miami Heat prepare for a loaded Eastern Conference this season, the one question that fans have in the back of their heads is about star Jimmy Butler and his contract situation. With Butler having responded to Heat president Pat Riley on some criticisms, his stance on a future deal could have been revealed via ESPN basketball analyst Brian Windhorst.
On Windhorst's podcast titled “The Hoop Collective,” he would focus on Miami and their relationship with Butler in terms of a contract down the line. He would say that on top of him having a “player option” on his current deal, he wants to stay with the Heat for the foreseeable future.
“A few things on the Heat,” Windhorst said. “One, as far as I know, I think Jimmy Butler wants to be in Miami. His goal is to get another contract from the Heat. He also, I think, has a player option in his contract. Which, I think, his intention is to probably waive and become a free agent. But he still has that out there.”
Heat originally non-committal in giving Jimmy Butler a new deal
This odyssey started when Butler was seeking a contract extension this offseason right after the season ended where he missed the entire playoffs due to an MCL sprain. However, Riley would conduct his end of season press conference where he was non-committal in giving Butler an extension due to player availability.
“Well, you know, we don't have to do that for a year and so we have not discussed that internally right now but we have to look at that and then making that kind of commitment,” Riley said last May. “We don't have to do it until 25 actually, but we'll see. We haven't made a decision on it. And we really haven't really in earnest. discussed it. So we'll see what happens.”
“Well, I mean, if you request we can either accept or we can say we're going to think about it,” Riley continued. “We've not made a decision on it and I think you can make too much out of this. You still got two years left on the contract. Theoretically he's got a player option, but that's something that we have to give some real thought to based on a lot of factors. I don't want to go through the litany of factors right now because they all go up into different hypotheticals, but yeah, that's a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you're somebody who's really going to be there and available every single night, that's the truth.”
Jimmy Butler responds to Heat's Pat Riley
These viral comments along with Riley saying Butler should “keep your mouth shut” resulted in massive speculation about a split between the two parties. It wasn't until Windhorst and even Shams Charania reported that Butler would not look for an extension in the summer, play out this upcoming season to prove his worth, still with the option to be a free agent.
Butler would finally respond Monday during the team's media day to Riley's comments and it was nothing but positive, even with the Heat star saying he understands the issues with player availability since he hasn't played more than 64 games in a season for the team. He would also express that he has to show that he is a crucial part of success in order to get an extension, even though in the same presser he downplayed the idea of a deal.
Related Miami Heat NewsArticle continues below
“Of course, always want to hoop, always want to be out there for all my guys,” Butler said. “I hear him, I see what he's talking about.”
“I got to prove that I'm a major part of winning,” Butler continued. “Rightfully so, I've done it before, this is, this is no different. This is gonna be a great year for myself. It's gonna be a great year for the group of guys, so that'll take care of itself when that time comes around.”
At any rate, Butler and the Heat are looking to bounce back after finishing at the eighth seed for the second straight season as they wrap up training camp in preparation for the preseason opener on Oct. 8 against the Charlotte Hornets. The regular season opener is on Oct. 23 against the Orlando Magic.
