When two headstrong colleagues are swinging sledgehammers in unison, there is harmony.
When two stubborn people are not swinging sledgehammers in unison, someone – and perhaps both – is bound to get bludgeoned.
That’s what is happening with Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and team president Pat Riley.
A once prosperous relationship has deteriorated.
On Monday, the Heat suspended Butler for the third time this month. The most recent suspension is indefinitely and for a minimum of five games which takes the Heat through the Feb. 6 trade deadline, which means in all likelihood, Butler will never play another game for the Heat.
It is an unfortunate situation, and it’s the kind of drama the league doesn’t need. Butler, the Heat and the NBA league office will be relieved when the split is official.
It is also a stunning implosion. It wasn’t long ago that Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Butler, “He should’ve been in a Heat uniform long ago. It feels like he’s about what we’re about, and we’re about what he’s about” and Butler said of the Heat, “I really enjoy playing for this coach, for this organization with the guys that I’ve got riding with me. And I’m constantly smiling because I am happy. I’m home and everything about this organization fits me. Everything about the guys on this roster fits me.’
Butler is not smiling, is not happy and the organization no longer fits him, and the Heat can’t wait until Butler is no longer in a Heat uniform. The Heat appearances in the 2020, 2023 Finals are memories.
These breakups do not happen overnight. It’s usually not one thing but many things. Flaws aren’t so obvious – or they’re ignored – in the fun, early days of romance.
Miami didn’t give Butler an extension, and his on-court role has been reduced this season. But the friction had been growing before this season, and Riley has had limited communication with Butler over the past two seasons.
Butler’s bluntness once worked with Miami. Now, it’s unwelcomed, especially with Butler recently challenging Riley to get on the court and participate in a drill as Butler worked out near the end of a recent suspension.
Butler is known for making life uncomfortable for teams – it’s not the kind of “being comfortable with the uncomfortable’ the Heat prefer – and he did it with Minnesota and Philadelphia near the end of his time with both of those teams.
But this isn’t all on Butler. Riley, one of the NBA’s great all-time coaches and executives, isn’t perfect. His desire to compete has led to acrimony with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade as they left the Heat for other teams. To be fair, Riley’s way has worked. It has produced championships, and Wade won three titles and a Finals MVP with the Heat, and James won two titles, two Finals MVPs and two regular-season MVPs with Miami.
Looking at this ordeal through the lens of how Butler left previous teams and how other stars grew weary of the Heat, this outcome was inevitable. It worked … until it didn’t.
Butler and Riley feel they’re being pushed in directions they don’t want to go, and neither likes that so they feel they have no choice but to do what they’re doing.
Their steadfast resolve to do things their way has gotten them both far. They’ve gone as far together as they can go.
A trade needs to happen before this split becomes more embarrassing.