Jimmy Butler was forced to address the elephant in the room at Media Day, that being he still has no extension with the Heat.
Miami’s president Pat Riley took the opportunity at his end-of-season media conference to blast Butler for his lack of availability last year.
“No shenanigans,” Butler told reporters. “I always want to hoop, always want to compete with my guys. I hear him [Riley].”
Butler added, “I see what he’s talking about. I’m going to play as many games as I can.”
Riley was very non-committal at the end of last season about whether the team would give Jimmy the max extension he’s after, so Butler knows he needs to prove himself.
“I guess I gotta go out there and I gotta hoop,” Butler said.
“I’ve gotta prove that I’m a major part of winning, and rightfully so. I’ve done it before, this is no different. This is going to be a great year for myself. This is going to be a great year for the group of guys that we have. That’ll take care of itself whenever the time comes.”
The star forward made it clear that he isn’t bothered about the fate of his extension / future with the team.
“I’m good,” Butler said. “An extension is just a couple of dollars. I’m cool I’m telling you. I think I’ve made enough and I just want to play basketball; I want to be available like Pat (Riley) was talking about, and I plan on being that. I plan on us winning a bunch of games and making everybody happy.”
To show he meant business, Jimmy turned up to media day without a new hairstyle, which contrasted the last two seasons.
Maybe we’ll get to see playoff Himmy unleashed during the regular season in 2024-25?
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