NBA Insider Shams Charania On Heat's Jimmy Butler: "He Wants To Remain In Miami Long Term

After Monday's Pat Riley press conference, there is now lots of discussion on if Jimmy Butler will stay with the Miami Heat next season.

NBA Insider Shams Charania, who writes for The Athletic, recently discussed it on an appearance on the "Run It Back" podcast. Charania said Butler has given every indication over the years he wants to remain with the Heat.

"When you think about talent around Jimmy Butler, he's got Bam Adebayo, he's got Tyler Herro," Charania said. "And now they went out and traded for Terry Rozier. But last year they went out and tried to get Damian Lillard. They weren't able to get him and Jimmy Butler stuck with it. He said, `we have enough to win."' 

The Heat's relationship with Butler appeared in good-standing until Monday. That's when Riley addressed a few issues surrounding Butler. At his annual offseason press conference, Riley said Butler was out of line for comments he made regarding the Heat defeating the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks in the playoffs if he were healthy.

Riley said, "For him to say that, I thought 'Is that Jimmy trolling or is that Jimmy serious? 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."

After making the conference finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals last year, the Heat were defeated 4-1 by the Celtics in the first round with Butler sidelined because of a knee injury. Despite two Finals appearances since 2020 with Butler, some are questioning whether he is capable of leading the Heat to a championship.

Still, Riley said he remains confident in Butler as a primary player.

"Yes, but just like anyone else, he may need to make some changes in his overload routine," Riley said.

But Charania said the Heat have a good chance of keeping Butler if they offer the right price tag.

"It is interesting, the back and forth that we're seeing," Charania said. " But I think Jimmy Butler has always made it clear he wants to be in Miami long term. It's going to be about are they going to be able to play him what he wants." 

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Inside The Heat. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com