Stephen A. Smith (2:16)
Damn. Ladies and gentlemen, I've been covering the NBA for close to 30 years. In that time, I don't recall hearing anybody that has played for Pat Riley when Pat Riley was a coach. Since Pat Riley has been president of basketball operations that have spoken that defiantly against an organization run by Pat Riley. It has never happened. Well, it's happened now. Jimmy Butler wants out and I'm here to tell you I can't blame him. When you look at the Miami Heat, presently a top six seed in the Eastern Conference, 1715, two games over 500 at the time that we are recording this show, nevertheless, nobody has them in the championship equation. And when you listen to Jimmy Butler, what essentially is it that he is saying? I'll tell you what he's saying. He's saying we're not very good and we're not going to compete for a championship. We're likely not better than the Milwaukee Bucks. We're probably not better than the New York Knicks. We definitely ain't better than the Cleveland Cavaliers, and we damn sure ain't better than a reigning defending NBA champion Boston Celtics. In other words, we have no chance at this particular juncture with the team that we presently have assembled. If you are the Miami Heat, you can be a bit salty for how Jimmy Butler has chosen to handle this, and we would all understand that. But respectfully, how wrong is he? We hadn't heard anything from Jimmy Butler up to this point. And when we look at Pat Riley, a person that I've known for years, that I revere and I have a lot of love and respect for, I even have him in my book, Straight Shooter, in terms of the contribution he's made to my life and my career, there is no getting around the fact that Pat Riley, the great Pat Riley, the Winner within, that was the name of the book that he authored. The Winner within, who's been a champion on every level as a player, as a coach, as a president of basketball operations. This man knows, knows how to win and he knows how to build a culture, and he knows how to have structure and order to an organization. He is a leader, and there's no question about that. But when it comes to Jimmy Butler or the Jimmy Butler era in Miami, one could easily ask, what have you done for him lately? Bam. Adebayer can play. But this is not Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic or somebody of that caliber that we're talking about. Okay, let's just get that out the way right now. That's not what's going on here. And when you look at Jimmy Butler, a player option for next season of 52.4 million, who's being paid over 49 million. Now, just look at some of the stats. Look at this here. Think about it. Minutes per game, 30.8, fewest since 2012, 2013. Scoring average, 17.6, lowest since 2013, 2014. Now, you will look at those numbers and say well, Jimmy Butler, that's on you, right? Uh, hold on, brother. Shooting 55% from the field, 58% on two pointers, which means that when you give him the ball for him to shoot the basketball, it goes in more times than it doesn't. Why isn't he getting it more? Why am I looking at a usage rate of 20.3% for the Miami Heat, which is the lowest on a team? Some dude named Haywood Highsmith has a higher usage rate than Jimmy Butler. How? How? It makes no sense. Tyler Herro can ball, but he shoots difficult shots at times or shots elections, leaves a lot to be desired. Bam. Adebayer can ball, but he's not that kind of a stud offensively. Jimmy Butler's the one that got you to two NBA finals in a four to five year period. And what has he been clamoring for over the last three summers? Or so help now you're the Miami Heat. You had an opportunity to get Kevin Durant. Didn't work out. You had an opportunity to get Damian Lillet. Didn't work out. Not only did you not get Damian Lillard, not only did you not get Kevin Durant, but it's in the aftermath of losing LeBron James because LeBron James felt that it was too tight of a ship that Pat Riley was running. I don't know how true that is, because we all know that LeBron James had aspirations to go back to Cleveland and make amends for departing from them before delivering a championship to the city who was enduring a 52 year curse before he ended it in 2016. But still, in all, it leaves the question, what help has Jimmy Butler gotten? The answer is minimal. And because of that is why he's probably said enough. And why he spoke out is because after acknowledging that he wanted out, Pat Riley came out last week and said, we ain't trading them. So he's making it clear I don't want to be here. And if he doesn't want to be there, why keep him there? To me, it's very, very simple, ladies and gentlemen. I don't think there's anything to think about here. When I think about Jimmy Butler, his four options that he would prefer. Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, number one. Number two. He's probably worried that Pat Riley gonna send him someplace that he don't want to go to, to a morribund franchise mired in basketball purgatory that has a shot in hell of winning anything. Because when you speak out, Pat Riley's not gonna do you any favors now, but if I'm Jimmy Butler, or shall I say if I'm one of those teams interested in Jimmy Butler. Listen, there's a case that could be made. Jimmy Butler with Luka and Kyrie. Yeah, I don't know if you need that, but it's not a losing proposition. Jimmy Butler with the Houston Rockets, a young team. Yeah, he could help their veteran leadership, but they already got Dillon Brooks and Fred Van Vliet. But Jimmy Butler doesn't hurt. Let's call it what it is. The Golden State Warriors. Steph Curry, you need another Klay Thompson, you don't need a Jimmy Butler in my estimation, Even though Jimmy Butler with Traymond Green in the same locker room, that's some fire for you, bro. That could go either way. But I think it would be a positive more so than a negative, personally, because I think they're both winners. The ideal landing spot for Jimmy Butler is the Phoenix Suns. I don't mean to be disrespectful. I'm just telling you what I know based on reporting on the league for all of these years. The Phoenix Suns are an ultra talented team with a lot of offensive firepower. Nevertheless, they are considered a team as soft as cottonelle tissue. Nobody is concerned about their toughness. And toughness is what gets it done for you in the playoffs. If you are the Phoenix Suns, you should get on your knees if you have to and beg Bradley Beal to wave that no trade clause and take his ass to Miami. There's no state income taxes there, the weather is beautiful, along with various other things that we won't mention here. And you should look forward to going to South Beach. No state income taxes, warm weather, got hurricanes in the summertime and stuff like that. But damn it, you ain't gonna be there. You're gonna be in one island. One island or another. You know what I'm saying? Wonderful wife, wonderful family. Bradley Beals, good people. Go to Miami, dawg. Go to Miami. Let Jimmy Butler go out to Phoenix, Arizona. Cause Jimmy Butler in that locker room with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker as his teammate, with Mike Budenhoser as a coach, with skilled but soft ass Nurkic as your big man. Let me tell you something. That culture would change quick. Faster than Ahri. That's where I'm at with Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler should be a Phoenix, son. Ishbar and the rest of Phoenix's hierarchy, do what you can to get your hands on Jimmy Butler and then you won't be in the middle of things in the Western Conference. You'll be at the top of the heap. You feel what I'm saying?
