The whole drama going on at Miami Heat has fueled a side-discourse – would Pat Riley retire? It’s a multi-pronged discussion in fact. Should he retire, would Heat force him into it, would rifts with players finally drive him away? We can’t speak about the now. At least before the Jimmy Butler saga, retirement was nowhere on the cards for Riley. He said so very clearly to Dan LeBatard when he narrated how he operates as an executive.

Pat Riley was on longtime friend, LeBatard Show recently. Note that this episode was recorded long before the tensions with Jimmy Butler became public and it’s only aired this week.

LeBatard suggested that after a storied career in Los Angeles and New York and winning Miami to its first titles, Riley could’ve retired in Malibu. “You’re still here fighting at 79, when it would be very easy to just go to Malibu and rest, you’ve earned rest.” Riley very bluntly said, “No.”

Pat Riley moved from New York to Miami in a dramatic fashion in 1995, that even involved Heat giving up $1 million and draft picks. He told LeBatard he handed the executive duties to others and kept coaching. But he had the title and the power that comes with it. “The executive part of it, in building the franchise, I don’t care who you are as an executive. I had the power, I never used it. I didn’t want to use it.” Riley chose to stay on the floor and keep the coaching staff together.

Walking away was easy for Riley once. He had submitted his resignation to the Knicks via fax before his contract was up when Micky Arison offered him a dual coaching and executive role with complete control of basketball operations. Armed with knowledge from players-turned-executives like Jerry West, Riley took it. But with a twist.

He confirmed that the players knew he had that kind of power even as their coach. This arrangement helped Riley build Heat Culture. And perhaps it sets the background of what’s going on in Miami right now.

When Pat Riley used his executive power

Before he was dealing with the fallout with Butler, Riley told LeBatard he had mellowed with age. He’s more into the executive role right now. Which means the days of certain players like Shaq getting in the face of Coach Riles were fewer. Or so we thought.

Executive Riley’s spat with his star players have been of a different kind. The Jimmy Butler sistuation is giving war flashbacks to the time Dwyane Wade left Miami in 2016. And Butler’s being vocal about it.

The infamous “no joy” statement led to Riley using those executive powers to award a 7-game suspension to Butler. While we’re debating if the Miami Heat prez did right, Butler clapped back. In Instagram updates from his Miami coffee shop, Butler responded to a customer’s compliment with, “That’s what bosses do…We build you up. We don’t break you down.” If we read between the lines, it feels like a direct jab at the ‘boss’ who suspended him.

We know that Pat Riley will not walk away. Yet whether he will use those powers to give Jimmy Butler what he wants is still unraveling.