The Jimmy Butler and Miami Heat saga comes with a few collaterals. The NBA community pulled up receipts about Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal, and LeBron James to prove history is repeating itself. And to jolt Pat Riley. At first, Shaq seemingly took Butler’s side so subtly, it was hard to tell.

But when a heated debate broke out Inside the NBA, O’Neal squarely backed Butler while the others seemed to take a neutral stance. The “No Joy” presser has become the crux of a larger discourse. Charles Barkley and Kenny “The Jet” Smith argue that Pat Riley is repeating history but also say Butler should make his demands clear instead of using vague terms like ‘joy.’

Shaquille O’Neal was once in Butler’s shoes and he sees it going one way.

Jimmy Butler’s existing contract has a $55 million option for next year. He wants an extension or a trade. “He’s not gonna opt out of that 55. Unless somebody tells him they gonna give what he wants,” Shaq says. Barkley, for his part, thinks Butler’s going to take a trade after everything. So it might not sound like the ‘Big Diesel’ is agreeing with the veteran forward.

However, Shaq notes it’s not about how much effort Butler is willing to put in for Miami. “He’s just saying he doesn’t have joy in it.” Chuck, Kenny, and almost everyone interpret the “no joy” statement as a threat to quit if he’s not paid his worth. While Shaq also agrees – even said Barkley is right – he defends Butler’s sentiments.

“There’s a lot of bums making similar or more money,” Shaq said. He further countered Chuck’s arguments doubling down with, “He never said he’s going to quit playing,” and, “Jimmy Butler and ‘quit,’ you can’t even put that in the same sentence.” 

Kenny and Chuck are simply not impressed with how Butler is going about it. But Shaquille O’Neal is defensive about the Miami Heat player’s choice of words.

Shaq’s been in Jimmy Butler’s shoes

Charles Barkley interrupted Shaq before he could complete his point. It’s something he said last week too when Riley suspended Butler. “It’s a lot of bums out there making way more than him,” Miami Heat’s 2006 champion said. “If a bum is making 30, I want 100.”

Along with Dwyane Wade’s 2016 exit, Shaquille O’Neal is the talking point in this debate too. He was traded to Phoenix in 2008 after clashing with Pat Riley too many times. He’d respond to the trade with some snide jabs at Riley and the Heat management.

Paul Pierce spurred the discourse that Riley is responsible for hurting Heat Culture with the way Shaq and D-Wade left the team immediately after the primes. O’Neal isn’t exactly calling out his former coach this time. But he did urge Riley to talk it out with Butler.

As debates tend to do in Studio J, it divided the Inside Guys 2vs1. Despite the consensus that the process is messed up, Shaq is the only one here who can really empathize with Butler.