MIAMI — If Jimmy Butler wants to see more salary, Pat Riley will want to see more play.
And in simple terms, that is the entry point into this offseason for the Miami Heat.
Butler will almost certainly ask the Heat for a two-year extension this summer (it could guarantee him up to $113 million for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons), which Riley said Monday in his annual year-end report. -season comments that he is not sure what the team will do when that time comes.
“We haven't discussed that internally at this time,” Riley said. “We have to look at the possibility of making that kind of commitment and when we will do it. We actually don't have to do it until 2025. But we'll see. We haven't made a decision on that, and we haven't really discussed it seriously.”
There are a number of factors the Heat will consider, including Butler's playing time. He is, without a doubt, an elite player whose time in Miami has been loaded with some iconic performances, especially in the playoffs. But he will turn 35 in September and has missed 100 regular-season games in his five seasons in Miami, missing due to injury, rest or other reasons nearly 26% of the time.
He suffered a knee injury during the play-in tournament this season and missed Miami's Round 1 playoff loss to Boston.
“It's a big decision on our part to commit those types of resources unless you have someone who is there and available every night,” Riley said. “That's the truth.”
Riley spoke for about 40 minutes, with many of his comments revolving around Butler, and he praised Miami's highest-paid player several times, including saying that he “moves the needle more” and is “an unbelievable player.” The Heat have 268 total wins in Butler's five seasons, the fifth-most in the NBA in that span, and have appeared in two NBA Finals.
But he also did not shy away from dishing out criticism. Butler, speaking last weekend at a Formula 1 race in Miami Gardens, said that “if I were playing, Boston would be home, New York would surely…be home.”
Riley didn't seem to like it much. “I was like, 'Is Jimmy trolling or is Jimmy serious?' “If you're not on the court playing against Boston or on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut about criticism of those teams,” Riley said.
The player availability problem goes far beyond Butler. Miami used a franchise-record 37 different starting lineups in 89 games this season, including both play-in games. He had 18 different players making at least one start, largely because the lineup of available players seemed to always be changing from night to night.
Tyler Herro missed 40 games in the regular season, while Butler missed 22. Injuries dogged Miami all season and only two players, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. (75) and captain Bam Adebayo (71), They made over 70 appearances for the Heat in the regular season. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said last week that the team will “drill down” into the reasons players are missing so much time, and Riley echoed that sentiment on Monday.
“We have a really good group of guys and the number one issue is player availability and having them healthy to play every night,” Riley said. “And we have to embrace that notion.”
Riley, 79, just completed his 29th season with the Heat, all as president and part as coach before ceding that job twice: once in 2003 to Stan Van Gundy before taking over again in 2005, when Van Gundy resigned. , then definitively in 2008, when Spoelstra was promoted.
In those 29 seasons in Miami, the Heat have the second-best regular-season winning percentage in the NBA (.569), trailing only San Antonio (.628). Only the Spurs (175) and Los Angeles Lakers (165) have more playoff wins in that span than Miami (161).
Riley's track record is basically unmatched. In his 42 seasons as a head coach and/or executive, his teams (the Lakers, New York and Heat) have combined for 2,372 wins, including the postseason. No NBA franchise has more wins in those 42 seasons than Riley has accumulated during his stays with those three clubs.
He will change things. But he's not changing his ways.
“Until you change the way you do the things necessary to win, whatever they are, those things you're doing to try to win, if they don't work, let's change,” Riley said. “And that doesn't mean change is a sinister word here… We have to change some things, but we're certainly not going to tear anything up here.”
