Pat Riley will only offer Jimmy Butler an extension if he remains healthier next season

Pat Riley has just set the record straight about the commitment he’s looking for within the Heat culture. When asked about Jimmy Butler’s future, he assured that the front office will only offer him a contract extension if the star shows willingness to take care of his health and be more disciplined. 

The Miami guard seems destined to ask for a two-year extension this offseason, as it could potentially guarantee him $113 million for the following campaigns in South Beach. However, the team’s president revealed that he’s not entirely sure if they will offer this deal, as they are analysing their options.

“We have not discussed that internally right now,” Pat assured. “We have to look at making that kind of commitment and when do we do it. We don’t have to do it until 2025, actually. But we’ll see. We haven’t made a decision on it, and we haven’t really in earnest discussed it.”

"Jimmy moves the needle the most, he's an incredible player… What I said in the beginning about change is he's gotta give it some thought himself"— Pat Riley on Jimmy Butler pic.twitter.com/J0Nfj6xMYs

— WPLG Local 10 Sports (@Local10Sports) May 6, 2024

The Heat were recently eliminated at the hands of the Celtics, but Jimmy wasn’t able to play during the entirety of their Round 1 playoff loss. The veteran suffered a knee injury right when his team needed him the most, during the Play-in Tournament.

“That’s a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you have somebody who’s going to be there and available every single night,” Riley insisted. “That’s the truth.”

The franchise president attended the press for a bit over 40 minutes this Monday, as most of the press snooped around about Butler’s situation. However, Pat gave immense praise for his player in numerous occasion, saying he “moves the needle the most” and that he’s “an incredible player.”

Throughout these five years with Jimmy, Miami has conquered 268 games, which are the fifth most by any NBA squad in this same span. Despite making two NBA Finals appearances, he’s also received plenty of criticism, including from Riley.

The Heat president believes that roster availability has been the team’s biggest problem in recent years

Even though players like captain Bam Adebayo played 71 games and even rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s 75 matches this season, Riley insists that roster availability has been their main curse in recent years. Other stars like Tyler Herro, who missed out on 40 regular-season games, or even Butler’s 22, have affected the squad greatly.

“We’ve got a really good group of guys and the No. 1 issue is player availability and having your guys healthy to play every night,” Pat insisted. “And we have to wrap our arms around that notion.”

You can bet that Riley knows what he’s talking about, as he’s one of the most successful coaches and executives to ever participate in the NBA. Not only has he been a part of the league for 42 seasons with teams like Lakers, Knicks and Heat, he’s also accumulated 2,372 victories throughout his career, which are the most in history by a single individual or franchise.

“Until you change the way you go about doing the things that are necessary to win, whatever they are, those things you’re doing to try to win, if they aren’t working, let’s change,” said the Miami president. “And so, that doesn’t mean that change is a sinister word here. … We have to change some things, but we surely are not going to rip anything apart here.”