Heat president Pat Riley is 'not going to apologize' for Jimmy Butler trade

There's a photo that Miami Heat president Pat Riley keeps in his office. It's of Jimmy Butler, exhausted in Game 5 of the 2020 NBA Finals, catching his breath while slumped over a barrier that surrounded the court at Walt Disney World.

Moments like those are the ones Riley chooses to remember.

Speaking out for the first time since Butler was suspended three times this season by the Heat and ultimately traded in February to Golden State, Riley — at his annual end-of-season news conference — said he wishes Butler well, and suspects that deep down the former Heat forward wants good things for Miami as well.

"There's no doubt that what happened with Jimmy had a tremendous impact on our team," Riley said. "There’s no doubt about it. So, the buck stops with me. I’ll take that hit if you want it."

It was the end-of-season Riley news conference a year ago where some might say things between the Heat and Butler truly began eroding. Butler was hurt and could not play in Miami's first-round loss to Boston, and then made an off-the-cuff remark at a Formula 1 race in South Florida a few days later that if he was able to play the Heat could have beaten the Celtics or New York.

Riley didn't like that comment and indicated as much at his end-of-year event. The relationship seemed strained from there. The Heat declined to offer Butler a two-year, $113 million extension, Butler kept getting suspended and said he lost his joy over playing in Miami, and the team had no choice but to trade him away.

"I’m not going to apologize for saying no on a contract extension when we didn’t have to," Riley said. "And I don’t think I should."

If any hard feelings remain from the Miami side, Riley didn't indicate as much Friday.

"It’s over," Riley said.