Miami Heat great Grant Long can see both sides of the Pat Riley and Jimmy Butler debate. He thinks the situation is occurring because the NBA is becoming more of a players league. He feels the athletes have more control nowadays.

Butler is owed $48M for the remainder of this season and then holds a $52 million player option for next year. There have been rumors that Butler could opt out of his deal to enter free agency this coming summer but the likelihood of Butler leaving over $50 million on the table is low.

With the current Jimmy Butler saga devolving further and further into pettiness, there are a lot of concerns about the future of the Miami Heat. One former Heat superstar who also had his issues with Pat Riley in the past,