Miami Heat president Pat Riley denied claims that he called Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau a "motherf*cker" for requesting too high a price in trade negotiations for disgruntled superstar Jimmy Butler.
Riley shared most of a statement on the rumor to the Heat's official Twitter account on Oct. 12.
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...”
”...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...”
“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,” he wrote. "Our conversations have been nothing but cordial and I have never used that kind of language in negotiations, but I do admit to telling [Celtics president] Danny Ainge to..."
Riley's comments trail off there. The executive famously told the Boston Celtics president to "shut the f*ck up and manage his own team." Riley was hot after Ainge trash-talked LeBron James for complaining about some hard fouls during a game in 2013. Riley went on to accuse Ainge of being a hypocrite.
"He was the biggest whiner when he was playing, and I know that because I coached against him," Riley said.
Back in the present, there are plenty of people willing to be a little vulgar while talking about the Jimmy Butler situation. Kevin Garnett called the whole Minnesota situation a "shit storm" in a recent interview.
Butler himself also hasn't been shy about throwing around a few curses. He exploded at a recent practice, yelling to the GM Scott Layden that the Timberwolves "f*cking need" him.
