This domineering CEO with his oily hair and suit style has been described by the league as the “godfather” for many years, but in fact he has indeed led by example and single-handedly established the Heat’s image of strict discipline and toughness for many years.
Paul Pierce had earlier criticized Leary as destroying the culture of the Heat. This comment was met with a lot of ridicule because the boss, who is about to turn 80 and has been at the helm of Miami for 30 years, is a Heat himself. How can culture be destroyed?
Erik Spoelstra, who was trained by him and is now recognized as one of the top three coaches in the league, said the key: “He is a rock, that’s why he is the godfather,” and “that’s why we all We do our best for this culture. We believe in him.”
In Miami, Leary is the absolute authority empowered by the boss. Until that day of change, no one can shake it, and the “oil head” will only continue to do what he thinks is best for the Heat. He said Butler should be the contract owner. Responsible, and he must do what he is accountable to his boss for: continuing to instill discipline and a pure will to win.
As Leary said, “I will never apologize to my players for being tough, never. This is who I am. This is how I was coached. This is how I was raised. This is how I do it.”
This is the reason why the conflict is now getting into an increasingly fierce stalemate. A player who is self-reliant and has tried repeatedly has met a more tenacious and iron-blooded president this time, and the former is just like him who believes that he can defeat the championship if he can play. Confident, this time I also believe that I can win even with this God’s main card.
Looking back at the motivations, both sides do have reasonable points, but their positions are different.
From the perspective of Butler and his team, it was difficult to be reprimanded in public by the general manager. In order to get the last contract of his career, the team was first unwilling to give him a maximum salary. After entering the training camp, he found that his role had been weakened. Regardless of whether he was retained or not, the team was unwilling to give him a maximum salary. Staying in the team would hinder the negotiation of the contract. The more I thought about it, the more wrong I felt. I kept provoking the team without thinking of compromising. When I got angry, I simply stopped acting and fell out on the stage!
As for Leary’s position, I will give you a two-year maximum salary that is not unfair. You are still running the contract. Facing the terrible constraints of the second-tier hard cap of the new version of the CBA, as the president, I really did not offer a maximum salary to the 36-year-old veteran. At the same time, the team believes that you mentioned your promise to focus on playing before the season, indicating that you have no intention to trade. Depending on the game situation and performance in the new season, there is still time for us to negotiate a contract extension, but you kept pushing and pushing. ?
To be fair, the latter’s business skills and extreme rationality are indeed unpleasant, and it is normal for players to resent him. But if readers know the horror of the second-tier hard cap of the league’s current salary, and think carefully about a 36-year-old veteran who has been injured for 20 to 30 games in recent years, then think about it if you are responsible for the boss’s use of money. President, ask yourself, would you be willing to extend Butler’s contract with a maximum salary?
