With five NBA championships, three NBA coach of the year awards and a .636 winning percentage in the 28 years he’s coached, Pat Riley is one of the most accomplished and well-regarded coaches and figures in NBA history.
NBA Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce doesn’t think that excludes Riley from criticism surrounding the latest situation with Miami Heat veteran Jimmy Butler however. The Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler, who helped lead the team to three Eastern Conference finals and two NBA Finals appearances in his six years with the franchise, appear to be at the point of moving on from one another, and Pierce thinks it’s Riley who’s mostly to blame.
“Pat Riley… what I wanna say about that is that he’s slowly destroying Heat culture,” Pierce asserted on FS1’s Speak. “And what I mean by that is it’s a new generation now, guys. Jimmy Butler is not in a new generation, but coming up, when you look at Heat culture when Shaq, Lonzo, Haslem, and Wade all got thereโฆ Look what he’s done to his star players since Heat culture started.”
Pierce would go on to name some of those star Heat players, including some who won NBA Championships for the franchise.
Pierce continued, “He ran Shaq out of town. He ran LeBron out of town. You ran D-Wade out of town of all people, the one you drafted, the one you won your first championship with. Then, you tried and make up for it. Now you’re running Jimmy Butler out of town.”
Though Butler has been the crux and face of the Miami Heat for the past six years he’s been with the team, the issues between he and the team seemed to crop up when Heat executives, including Riley, denied giving him a $112.6 million maximum extension last offseason.
After the Heat’s 128-115 loss against the Pacers on Thursday, Butler explained to reporters post-game that he had “lost his joy” playing for the Heat. Because he felt like getting that joy back was unattainable, Butler reportedly asked the Heat to trade him.
The following day, the Heat and Riley issued the following statement: “We have suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games for multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team throughout the season and particularly the last several weeks. Through his actions and statements, he has shown he no longer wants to be part of this team.”
Do you agree with Paul Pierce on the Pat Riley and Jimmy Butler situation? Do you think that Riley is killing Heat culture and has run star players away from the team due to his stubbornness? Let us know in the comments.
