Heat Owner Pat Riley Slams Jimmy Butler: 'If You're Not Playing You Should Keep Your Mouth Shut'

Miami Heat president Pat Riley addressed the media on Monday following his team's first-round exit to the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics. Riley addressed a ton of topics regarding his team, including the stir his superstar forward Jimmy Butler created last week.

Over the weekend, Butler said that if he were healthy against the Celtics, the Heat would have advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Butler sprained his MCL in the first half of the play-in tournament loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. He ended up finishing the game but was unavailable for the team's next play-in game and did not play in the first round.

Riley took a different approach when asked about Butler's comments in his presser.

"For him to say that, I thought 'Is that Jimmy trolling or is that Jimmy serious?'" said Riley. "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 and your criticism of those teams."

The Heat lost in five games to Boston, each by an average of 22 points. In the one game Miami won, they shot 53.5 percent from the field and made a franchise-high 23 threes. Miami was undermanned, and Butler's absence played a huge part in their inability to compete with the Celtics.

Although Butler has been spectacular for the Heat in his five years, he is 35 years old and has averaged 58 games played in his Miami tenure. This past season, he played in only 60 games. A player's best ability is their availably, and Riley isn't shy to send the message that his stars need to play more. While Butler's ability is a concern, Riley said he isn't available for a trade when asked by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Riley simply said, "No. Not right now."

The six-time NBA All-Star is signed through the 2024-25 season with a player option in the 2025-26 season. Who knows how his body will hold up by then, but Riley made it clear that he's not available for trade right now.

According to the Miami Herald, Butler is seeking a two-year extension worth $113 million. If the Heat decide to pursue that option, they'd have until June 30, 2025, to do so. In his time down in South Beach, he's led the team to two NBA Finals appearances, a 177-114 record, and has averaged 21.3 points per game on 49.6 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent from the three, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in 291 games of a possible 391 games from 2019-24.

Butler's agent, Bernie Lee, commented on Riley's 'availability' comments and disagreed with that narrative. Lee told South Flordia Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman:

"If you look at Jimmy's entire career, I'm not really sure where this narrative is coming from, in terms of constantly dissecting his availability," Lee said. "But if you look at his five years in Miami, the Miami Heat have participated in 61 playoff games, not including these past playoffs that he was injured for. Of those 61, Jimmy has only missed three because of injury. In every single playoff series since he's been in Miami, he's led the team in both minutes per game and total minutes."

Butler signed with the Heat in the summer of 2019 via sign and trade with the 76ers in a four-team trade.