Pat Riley Won’t Apologize For Butler Approach, Says Of Heat, ‘there Has To Be Some Change’

MIAMI — For the first time in over a year, Miami Heat President Pat Riley addressed the media at length on Friday at Kaseya Center, reflecting on the past season and touching on future thought.

Among the topics addressed during his annual State of the Heat session:

— Of his comment a year ago on choosing not to extend Jimmy Butler in the offseason, Riley said. “I’m not going to apologize for saying no on the contract extension.”

— As for how it played out with Butler from that point, Riley said, “It’s over. It’s done. I wish him well.”

— But he also said, “There’s no doubt what happened with Jimmy had a tremendous impact on our team. The buck stopped with me. I’ll take that hit. What happened in the regular season, I don’t want to discuss.”

— As Butler plays on in the playoffs with the Golden State Warriors, Riley said, “I wish him well. Good luck to him. And I hope deep down in his heart, he wishes us well too.”

— On butting heads with Butler as the relationship broke down, Riley said, “When you get two alphas in the same room, sometimes it doesn’t work.”

— He added, “Those things happen. It wasn’t fun.”

— As for Tyler Herro having his own extension window this offseason, Riley said, “We’ve already talked about it. I’ve talked about it with Tyler.”

— He added of potentially deferring such a decision, Riley said there already have been discussions with Herro, “He’s cool.”

— Of where his team heads next, Riley said, “I think we do have to make changes. There’s no doubt. There has to be some change.”

— He added, “Change is the highest form of sanity.”

— As for the ability to do so, he said, “We have a lot of flexibility. That’s where the blueprint is going to come from this summer.”

— And, yes, he said there is a path, “We’ve always found a way to rebuild the team.”

— He added, “I’m going to live on my track record.”

— Riley said that will require a proactive approach, “Players aren’t just going to show up. You’ve got to make deals.”

— He also said, “We are going to look for something that will really help this team. It might take years.”

— He then clarified, “We are not going to deal with a long process, nor is ownership.”

— Of the Heat potentially pursuing an older player, with Kevin Durant among such possibilities, Riley said, “I still think an aging player can still play.”

— Of his team’s lack of scoring in recent years, Riley said of Erik Spoelstra, “He’ll figure this out.”

— Of pushing forward, in his role, he said. “I just turned 80 and I’m proud of it, 80 is the new 60.”

— Which, he said, didn’t make the finish of the season any easier, with the Heat blown out in the playoffs by the Cavaliers, “I’m competitive as hell. I love being in the bowl. I got a little depressed after the last two games.”

— Of luxury-tax concerns and getting back below such thresholds, “It’s not a priority but it is in order to manage the financial part of the team. We will try to get out and then back in and reset it.”

— As for players, of Herro Riley said, “I hope he can stay here for the rest of his career.”

— He added of Herro, “He’s pivotal for us as an offensive player. We need more around him to do a little more of what he does. He’s getting beat up, getting overly schemed. I hope he can stay here the rest of his career.”

— Of whether Herro and Bam Adebayo are enough as leading men, Riley spoke of how lateral trades could be made that “could enhance” the team. He says both Herro and Adebayo have alpha aspects.

— But ... “There are some lateral trades that can be made to improve the team. Do we inject an alpha, a great, great player to help maximize our performance in those double-digit leads that were lost? It could be that simple.”