Pat Riley denies using an expletive to describe Tom Thibodeau during trade talks for Jimmy Butler between the Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Miami Heat’s Twitter account released this statement on Riley’s behalf.
Pat Riley Statement
“As to what has been reported in the past 24 hours, I have too much respect for Tom Thibodeau and all that he’s accomplished in this league…”
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 12, 2018
”…Our conversations have been nothing but cordial and I have never used that kind of language in negotiations, but I do admit to telling Danny Ainge to…”
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 12, 2018
Last week it was reported Pat Riley called Tom Thibodeau a motherf*cker after the Timberwolves president/head coach tried to ask for more draft picks in trade talks between Miami and Minnesota.
ESPN’s Jorge Sedano stated after the first talks of the trade fell through, the two teams came towards a potential deal. Miami was to send highly valued Josh Richardson, Dion Waiters as a cap filler, and a protected first-round pick to Minnesota, in exchange for Jimmy Butler.
The deal was so close to being done that medicals for the players involved were exchanged.
Tom Thibodeau then called Pat Riley back after the offer had been made, asking for more picks. This is where Riley, as Sedano reports, called Thibs a motherf**ker and hung up the phone.
Here is the transcribed conversation below from Sedano’s ESPN Los Angeles radio show (transcript via Deadspin):
“There’s been a couple of different incarnations of this deal. The first one, the Heat didn’t want to take back Gorgui Dieng. Then, the next incarnation of the deal was ‘OK forget it, let’s just do it straight up, just for Jimmy on your end.’ They finally relented on Josh Richardson, they were giving them Josh Richardson, then Dion Waiters was going to be the cap filler, and then a protected first-round pick. The medicals were exchanged, which generally in the NBA means this is a done deal. And then, Thibs called back and wanted more picks. And Pat Riley literally—I was told—called him a motherbleeper and hung up the phone.”
Unfortunately, none of this is true according to Riley. But as for the cliffhanger left on the aforementioned tweet above, describing what Pat Riley admits to telling Ainge.
It refers to 2013 when Riley told Celtics GM Danny Ainge to “Shut the f***up”. That of which, to Pat Riley’s word, is true.
Proving once again, the NBA never fails to be exciting.
