Miami Heat president Pat Riley issued a statement Friday to dispute a report that negotiations with the Minnesota Timberwolves on a Jimmy Butler trade reached a point of hostility.
“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 …,” Riley said in a statement through a team spokesman.