Miami Heat President Pat Riley has claimed his team has improved following the blockbuster Jimmy Butler trade last February, but that appears quite the delusional stance that the Golden State Warriors surely won't agree with.
Both teams finished as the 10th-seed in their respective conference this season, but the Warriors did have some excuse considering Butler suffered a devastating torn ACL injury against his former team in January.
Heat have delusional stance on Jimmy Butler trade
Speaking to the media on Monday after failing to make the playoffs, Riley tried to rationalize the improvement by pointing to the Heat winning six more games than they did last season.
"When you look back at what we did with Jimmy and that trade, winning 37 games last year for a lot of reasons, and then winning six more games this year, that’s an improvement. You have to look at the little things, even though it’s not good enough for a lot of people. So we did improve from that standpoint," Riley said.
Part of only winning 37 games last season stemmed from the deteriorating relationship with Butler, resulting in multiple team suspensions for the star forward followed by his eventual trade to the Warriors.
While Riley is right that Miami won six extra games this season, the increased strength of the Eastern Conference meant they only finished 10th and were eliminated in an overtime thriller against the Charlotte Hornets in the first Play-In game.
This feels like pointing to a single factor to fill the narrative, rather than accepting the reality of another disappointing season. Perhaps more notably, it's a way in which to justify the entire Butler scenario and how his exit was actually a good thing for the Heat.
Pat Riley shouldn't forget Jimmy Butler's instant impact at the Warriors
While an entire season has passed for both teams, Riley and the Heat shouldn't forget what happened instantly after the Butler trade where they went 4-17 in their next 21 games. The Warriors, meanwhile, finished the season 23-8 and secured a playoff spot thanks to Butler's immense impact, before taking down the second-seed Houston Rockets in the first-round.
Golden State remain with a strong 46-22 record with Butler in the lineup since the trade, and would have likely made the playoffs again this season if not for injuries to he and fellow star Stephen Curry over the final few months.
Riley can think and say what he wants, but there's little doubt the Warriors would be more than comfortable with the trade even with the knowledge of Butler's devastating injury.
Add us as a preferred source on Google