Before things really came to a head with Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat, team president Pat Riley sat down for a lengthy interview with Dan Le Batard. The episode, released on Thursday, includes Riley's answer to what he's learned and how things are different in the player empowerment era.

In the latest chapter of the Miami Heat’s ongoing saga, Pat Riley and Jimmy Butler have reached the breaking point of their relationship, one that seemed destined to end in a clash of NBA egos.

Jimmy Butler has made it pretty clear that he is hoping to be traded from the Miami Heat. If for some reason that does not happen, it is almost certain that he will leave in the summer as a free agent, with the 35-year-old having a player option for next season.

The relationship between Jimmy Butler and Pat Riley with the Miami Heat seems to be worsening as the days go by. Last October, the star expressed his desire to stay in Miami, but now just three months later,

For a long time, Butler was also linked with teams like the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets and plenty of others. But those links are starting to fade away as the 35-year-old inches closer to the Miami exit door.

On the day an interview with Miami Heat President Pat Riley dropped regarding dealing with player empowerment, further clarity was offered regarding the ongoing team suspension of forward Jimmy Butler.

The Miami Heat were at Chase Center on Tuesday night. Jimmy Butler wasn’t. The temperamental superstar’s feud with his organization reached a boiling point in recent days, with Butler’s demands to be traded resulting in a suspension handed down by the team that just so happened to coincide with its six-game swing up and down the West Coast.

More than a week after the Heat suspended Jimmy Butler for conduct detrimental to the team, Miami has not been presented with an appealing offer and is planning for Butler to rejoin the Heat for

Jimmy Butler has reportedly picked his preferred destination, but it seems like it won't be easy for him to be traded there.

Jimmy Butler's efforts to force his way off the Miami Heat have proved fruitless thus far. But it's early days yet. It's been about a month since rumors first popped up that Butler wanted a trade and less than a week since he made it public before getting suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.