Former All-Star Praises Jimmy Butler for Challenging Pat Riley

Jake Elman | 5 Hours Ago

Dec 12, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) sits on the bench against the Toronto Raptors during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images / Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

On the one hand, former NBA All-Star Blake Griffin disagrees with how embattled Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler has handled potentially finding a new home.

Then again, Griffin finds the humor in the never-ending saga. 

“I love comedy, and I love to laugh, so this s---t’s funny,” Griffin said. “He’s got his braids a different color every night!”

Griffin spoke candidly about the ongoing Butler-Heat feud on the Jan. 9 episode of the 7PM In Brooklyn podcast. He even praised Butler for openly challenging Heat president Pat Riley, who declared Dec. 26 the team wouldn’t trade Butler.

Eight days later, the Heat announced via press release they were suspending Butler and open to trading the six-time All-Star. 

“Nobody does this to Pat Riley,” Griffin noted, “so I kind of f--- with it.”

The Riley-Butler beef escalated last spring when Riley called out Butler’s durability during an end-of-season press conference. The two sides then failed to reach an extension before the season; Butler is expected to decline his $52 million player option and hit unrestricted free agency this summer.

Griffin acknowledged Butler is in rare territory by openly challenging Riley, who has regularly had the upper hand on superstars wherever he’s been. 

“Pat’s had D-Wade, Shaq, Alonzo [Mourning] … no one’s done it,” Griffin said. “So, alright, I like that.”

Griffin acknowledged he wouldn’t handle things the way Butler has. Critics accused Butler of ‘quiet quitting’ before he requested a trade last week.

“I think it’s entertaining, but to really get what he wants, he probably would’ve had to play it a different way,” Griffin said.

MIROTIĆ DEFENDS BUTLER’S EFFORT

Former NBA big man Nikola Mirotić doesn’t like what he’s hearing about Butler.

Mirotić, who spent three seasons with Butler on the Chicago Bulls, disputed the recent accusations about his former teammate ’quiet quitting’ on the Heat. Critics called out Butler’s effort before the Heat suspended him last week for conduct detrimental to the team.

“Jimmy Butler is probably the hardest-working player I’ve ever seen,” Mirotić told the Best in Class podcast.

Mirotić recalled Butler’s “crazy routines” during their time together. According to Mirotić, Butler showed up to the Bulls’s practice facility at 3 a.m. with his personal coach and spend two hours lifting weights. 

Butler switched to basketball drills at 5 a.m., hours before Mirotić and the rest of the Bulls arrived for their practice.

“There were days when Jimmy would show up at practice, take off his shoes, and just sit on the side watching us practice,” Mirotić remembered. “I’d wonder, ‘Why isn’t Jimmy practicing?’ Then someone would tell me, ‘Jimmy already got his workout in with his coach earlier.’” 

“It was his own routine, and it worked for him,” Mirotić added. “He had his own rhythm, and after a while, I understood it.”

HERRO TALKS NEARLY BEING DRAFTED BY CELTICS

Here’s a nightmare scenario for Heat fans: imagine if the rival Boston Celtics drafted Tyler Herro in 2019.

On the Jan. 7 episode of The OGs podcast, Herro shared that the 18-time NBA champions intended on adding him to an already-loaded roster several years ago. Boston entered the 2019 draft having reached the Eastern Conference Finals in two of the previous three seasons.

“They had already guaranteed me the pick for the most part,” Herro said. “And then Miami took me right before at 13. So it was a blessing.”

One might think Herro prepared for the draft with no ideal team in mind. Not necessarily, especially when the league finalized the draft order that spring. 

“When I [saw] the numbers on the teams of where they were drafting and I see Miami was 13, I was set on Miami months prior before they even [drafted],” Herro recalled. 

“It was just like a dream to go to Miami.”

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Jake Elman works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jakeelman97@gmail.com or follow him on X @JakeElman97.