How many games does Jimmy Butler need to play in order for the Miami Heat to be successful?

WQAM-AM / AM 560 Sports WQAM

Jimmy Butler was at the Netflix 'Starting 5' premiere with style. The guys give their "over and under" of games Jimmy is to play this season.

Transcript

00:00Jimmy Butler was at the Netflix premiere last night and he is he is ready to go.

00:04He is in game mode and if you think this guy is not ready for the season, you're sorely mistaken.

00:10Rest assured, rest assured, Jimmy Butler is ready for the season.

00:33Jimmy ready to play 55 games, right?

00:36Over, under, right now.

00:40In order for the Heat to be successful, I tell you, he has to play 70 games.

00:48Under.

00:50Slightly.

00:5165.

00:52That's my magic number.

00:53So, 17 games?

00:55Yeah.

00:5765 is my magic number.

00:58And if I may, I'm just going to say this.

01:01She even says Pat Riley just threw his phone into Biscayne.

01:04Right!

01:05I can't, like, you understand.

01:08This team is not in a position for him to miss 17 games.

01:14You understand this, right?

01:16They literally have been in position.

01:18They just need, it can't be 60, it can't be 50s, 65.

01:22That's my magic number.

01:23Because here's what, here's, can I just tell you?

01:24My magic number is 70.

01:26Okay, but it's never happened.

01:26It's not gonna happen.

01:27You're setting it, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

01:29Why are you pissed off that nobody want to pay him for the Heat when your number is 65?

01:34750, baby.

01:36He don't miss the playoffs.

01:37Okay, see.

01:38What was that last year?

01:3965 games for you.

01:41Well, just last year though, one time!

01:4265 games for you.

01:44Yeah.

01:45Okay, that's, he's not hurt.

01:48He's not banged up the whole year.

01:51Then that's 65.

01:52What happens if he gets banged up and it becomes 60 or 55?

01:57That's not, that's not, that's not good enough.

01:59That's not good enough.

02:00That's my point.

02:01See, if you, if you tell me, I'm just 70.

02:04I'm 70 and I'll give him five.

02:05But asking a guy who never played 70 to play 70 is ridiculous.

02:08Like you said.

02:08Yes, he wants to get paid.

02:09That's what this team needs.

02:10He deserves to get paid.

02:11No, this is what this team needs.

02:13I agree.

02:14So, but if they need him to play 70 games to, to, to, to not be in a play-in

02:21and to have a legitimate chance to, to do anything in the playoffs.

02:24Cool.

02:25And you say, and you say, hey, we need 70 out of Jimmy.

02:28He goes, I'm going to give you 65.

02:30How does, how do you want Pat and those guys to handle that?

02:33Well, first of all, they're not going to pay him anyway, because here's the thing.

02:36The Dwayne Wade, because here's a little thing about history.

02:39It wasn't that long ago.

02:39He's healthier than Dwayne Wade.

02:41Uh, yeah.

02:42And Dwayne Wade did the exact same thing with like, Dwayne, we're not going to pay you.

02:45You don't play enough games.

02:46What did Dwayne Wade do?

02:48Came out, played 70 games.

02:49He was awesome.

02:50Still their best player.

02:51They go to the playoffs.

02:52They don't have Chris Bosh.

02:53Sean Whiteside gets hurt.

02:54And guess what they did?

02:54They said, Hey, cool.

02:56We're still not paying you.

02:59Okay.

02:59So, so you think, you think that's, that's the, I just think it's arbitrary.

03:04Like I would say Jimmy is healthier than D Wade was.

03:10Okay.

03:10Cause at this point in time, that knee was really getting to, uh, to D way.

03:16Okay.

03:16So that that's, I'm trying to be as fair with this as I can.

03:20Right.

03:21However, asking a player to play 70 of the 82 games, when you make them 500 large,

03:33a game, what's the minimum of, uh, getting awards is probably 65, 65.

03:38That's why he needs to be award eligible.

03:41That's my line.

03:42That's my line.

03:44So you've moved from, I didn't move.

03:47I've been on this.

03:48He has to be award eligible.

03:50I say 70, the most he's played in the, I say, I say if Jimmy Butler plays 70 games, this team

04:00can be evaluated for what they have.

04:02And don't have, I would love it.

04:03If he, if he plays 65 games, that means you're spinning in the wind for 17 games.

04:11What if he only is not going to win every game?

04:13Jimmy plays it.

04:14What if he only skips Pistons games?

04:16Pistons and Hornets.

04:18Somebody says 68 is the sweet spot.

04:21We're quibbling.

04:21I could, I could, I could go with 68 games.

04:24We're quibbling, but there's still a lot of game.

04:26Don't think about this.

04:27It would be the most he's ever played in the heat.

04:29Regular season.

04:31Isn't that, isn't that about where like you, we've, we've been playing this game

04:36with injuries for the last four years.

04:40Technically though,

04:41the year, the last time he played 64, he played 22 playoff games.

04:46Okay.

04:47So, okay.

04:49There's that the last time Jimmy was award eligible was 2016.

04:54Nah, he, uh, he's right about that actually.

04:56Really?

04:57A lot.

04:58And by these standards.

04:59Yeah.

05:00Yes.

05:00That would have been 2016.

05:01Come on.

05:03Like here, he gets hurt a lot.

05:06I'm just saying he doesn't get hurt a lot.

05:09He gets hurt a lot.

05:10I'm just saying he does, but, but, but, but, but, oh, okay.

05:14But the thing with him is he gets like hung over.

05:16It doesn't count.

05:17There's one time he might've been hung over one time, but he does.

05:20He plays a very physical style.

05:22That's again, a lot of lower body injuries.

05:24Are you got to rev it up?

05:26Are the people you got to rev it up at the end?

05:29Okay.

05:29It didn't do it.

05:30We played that game.

05:31We played that game once we played that game.

05:34And as a older player, he couldn't rev it up.

05:38And now we're just supposed to assume he go rev it up older.

05:42If you're playing a game of duck, duck goose.

05:44All right.

05:44Every once in a while, you're going to be the goose happened last year.

05:49But most of the time, you know what?

05:50If I'm goose, I just get up and chase the guy around.

05:53If they're goose, they're giving away 50, 60 million.

05:57But who are you going to give it to?

05:59Who's getting that money?

06:00Tyler.

06:01No, he's another duck, duck goose.

06:04He better.

06:04It's goose, goose, duck.

06:05He better.

06:06Tyler Herro is goose, goose, duck.

06:07Tyler Herro better play 75 games this year.

06:08He need to play all 82.

06:13Like, let's work for 82.

06:16And then if you get to 75, that'd be great.

06:18Tyler Herro misses more games than Jimmy.

06:20Yes, I know.

06:21But you can't.

06:22Both of your stars doing that.

06:23I understand.

06:24Like Tyler Herro, we don't even count on him anymore.

06:28Yeah.

06:29So you got Tyler Herro.

06:31Now you're thinking about Jimmy, who we always could count on this.

06:36Jimmy doing this.

06:37Jimmy doing this at the end of the season.

06:39And this year he didn't do it.

06:40But Jimmy's injuries usually come.

06:42It did not this year, but it usually comes with a playoff payoff.

06:46Yeah.

06:46Okay.

06:46But, but guess what?

06:48As you get older, you can't keep playing that game.

06:50I agree.

06:51So like, yeah, listen, I'm not mad at Jimmy for wanting the money and for what he does

06:57for the organization, he probably deserves it.

07:00Right.

07:01But what I'm saying is this.

07:04If you're Pat Riley and you're the organization.

07:07All right.

07:08What if I make you the owner?

07:09You'll go to Pat and say, man, you write a lot of big checks for guys sitting next to me.

07:16Yeah, I get.

07:16I understand.

07:17I understand.

07:18So what is, as if your boss comes down to pass that along to you, then you go down and

07:23say, Hey guys, we need to play more games.

07:27Like, then what?

07:29I understand all of the things that are annoying about it with the heat.

07:32And the thing was with Jimmy, when you play this game, it has to come with, it has to,

07:37it has to come with better pay off.

07:39If it doesn't, then you're just a pain in the ass.

07:42But if it doesn't, then you can't turn around and be mad that they don't pay.

07:46I get you.

07:47Okay.

07:49I get both sides.

07:50Me too.

07:51I get both sides.

07:52I'm just on the side of, I like Jimmy Butler playing basketball for the heat.

07:55I don't like Jimmy Butler making a stink.

07:57And now if this, and I would have thought, all right, does Jimmy Butler deserve one more

08:02year?

08:02Forget the money.

08:03All right.

08:03Okay.

08:03Because the money is extreme.

08:05All NBA players make exorbitant money, especially the stars.

08:08If Jimmy Butler would have come to me at the end of last year and be like, Hey, just put

08:11one more guaranteed year on my, on my contract.

08:14I would have been for 60 million.

08:16Everybody makes crazy money though.

08:18Everybody makes crazy money.

08:19Everybody makes crazy money here.

08:21Don't look at this situation from everybody makes crazy money.

08:27Look, look at the situation from the Miami he's perspective and how much money you're

08:34spending on guys, not playing.

08:37And then one of those guys saying, give me another year for 60 million.

08:41Okay.

08:41But the only guy, but the guy who has been in the president's words, the biggest needle

08:48mover.

08:48Yes.

08:49I need that needle to be on the court fair, but the guy just wanted an extra little sweetener

08:54year.

08:54That's not a little sweetener.

08:5860 million is not a little sweetener, baby.

09:0160, 60 million.

09:03It's not a sweetener, dude.

09:05Like I love the way you can play these games.

09:07Hey, my money.

09:07I don't care.

09:08It's all my money, dude.

09:09Right.

09:10But what is the TV?

09:11What was the TV?

09:12Joe?

09:12Just right.

09:13It goes.

09:16Louis Benito says it perfectly.

09:18It's like Tobin ignored what he saw.

09:20Jimmy saw from Jimmy in 2023, 24, 26.

09:2523.

09:27He took us to the finals, dude.

09:28Come on.

09:29No, that was 22, 22, 23.

09:32Yeah.

09:33You're making it sound like it was last year.

09:35You bum.

09:36It wasn't last year.

09:37Look, it was an unfortunate thing.

09:38Kelly Oubre fell on his knee.

09:40You know, can we just say bad luck happened, man?

09:42It's okay.

09:44These things happen.

09:45So you know what?

09:47When you don't know when they're going to happen, that means you put yourself in the

09:51best possible position so that you can withstand that.

09:55So that means, you know what?

09:57If you can play, you play.

09:58Don't just, you know what?

10:01Hammy.

10:01I'm going to sit this one out.

10:03Go watch some tennis.

10:04Do you want Jimmy Butler to be a Nick?

10:07No, don't know.

10:08Nobody wants Jimmy Butler to be a Nick.

10:10Do you want him to be a warrior?

10:13No, that's not the point.

10:15That's not the point.

10:16Think about it.

10:17Okay.

10:17So let me get this straight.

10:19You would pay him because you don't want him to be a warrior, but you wouldn't pay him

10:24based on what his services have been.

10:27I would pay him.

10:28I'm here saying I'd pay him.

10:30Yeah.

10:30Because I would have already given him the deal.

10:31I would have said, Hey, baby, if I was Pat Riley, which I'm not, I'm not handsome.

10:35I don't have aura, but if I was Pat Riley, I would have said, give me a big fellow.

10:40And he goes, what's up?

10:41He goes, listen, don't worry about Kelly Oubre.

10:44That was bad luck.

10:45Here's your extra year.

10:46All right.

10:47Heat lifer.

10:48Heat lifer.

10:50But it never works like that with Pat.

10:51Every one of them ends frosty.

10:53You know why?

10:53Every one of them.

10:56Because he understands that age and amount of games normally don't increase.

11:05Okay.

11:06Dangerous game.

11:06It ended with Dion way to getting a four-year deal last time.

11:10But again, so you're saying he should pay him.

11:15Why?

11:15And what if they end up in a plan again?

11:18After you give him an extension, unfortunately, because he didn't play, but 60 games.

11:22Unfortunate.

11:22You wouldn't be mad.

11:24Depends how it happened.

11:27If Jimmy plays 60 games again, if he plays 65 and they still end up in the plan, is that his fault?

11:33Still miss 17 games, dude.

11:35All right.

11:3570.

11:35That's 20% of the season.

11:37What if he plays 70?

11:38Wait, 20% of the season.

11:39So think about this.

11:41Wait, wait, think about this.

11:42Think about this.

11:43Let's put it into perspective of what we do.

11:45Yep.

11:46If you miss 20% of day's work.

11:53Yep.

11:54Could you go to Linda, ask him for a contract extension?

11:57Probably not.

11:58Why?

11:59It's going to be like, you didn't do enough shows.

12:02Yeah.

12:02I need you to show.

12:04Why don't you think that applies to Jimmy?

12:07Well, I don't have any other hobbies.

12:08Jimmy seems like he has a lot of stuff he's into.

12:10That's not what we're talking.

12:11We're talking solely from the work.

12:15I don't like pickleball.

12:16Wait, so I do like coffee, but I understand that would mean that you would miss 20% of

12:24365 is what?

12:2610, 20, 72 days.

12:27Right?

12:2872 days.

12:31But if the day you can't say, Hey, I'm going to meet.

12:34You could be number one.

12:35But if I told him I was number one during the Dolphins playoffs and the heat playoffs,

12:40when they could make the most revenue, I'd be like, you're going to give that up.

12:43Yeah.

12:4472 days, dude.

12:4772 days.

12:48And that's not even counting.

12:49Damn.

12:50Well, it is calm weekends, but whatever.

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