One player Le Batard is confident the Heat won’t be able to find a new home for is Waiters. Moving forward, the Heat need to ascertain which players can be shipped away, and also which potential players they will target. Because Pat Riley was telling you in those press conferences, he was saying, ‘Let’s see what it was, let’s put them together and see if it was real or not.'” Waiters condundrum 500 team like that last year….and that was enough to even fool Pat Riley. So while the levels of optimism entering the season were relatively high, reality has not quite met the level of expectation. 15 having now passed, Riley and the front office are now afforded the ability to move the aforementioned deals signed this summer (aside from Richardson, who can’t be moved until the offseason.) “The problem with where the Heat are is they have built around a series of Plan B’s….They had to keep what they had, they had to keep the players so you don’t lose the fans….So they settled with four-year deals, movable contracts, tied them all together so….he could ship them in packages or whatever.” We’re not doing success is getting in as the seven (seed) in the East….Pat Riley’s not going to live there, so it’s a legitimate conversation to have if they’re anywhere in that realm, now that the contracts can be traded, that Pat Riley’s not going to live in a space where he’s going to be ok at the end of his career with seven seeds. Pat Riley’s all about championships, he’s at the end of his career. “It’s not just about the arbitrary measurement of getting to the playoffs as an eighth seed and losing in the first round. On a recent edition of The Dan Le Batard Show, Le Batard, a staple in the Miami sports scene for the past two decades, noted the following regarding the Heat’s fortunes moving forward: However, a 14-14 record to commence the season has cast a great doubt over many of the moves made this past summer. Then later in the offseason, swingman Josh Richardson was extended for another four seasons despite an underwhelming second season in the league due to various injuries. Additionally, the Heat signed free agent Kelly Olynyk to a four-year deal. Key contributors James Johnson and Dion Waiters, each having made various stops around the league prior to their arrival, were rewarded for their debut seasons with four-year contracts. The summer of 2017 was seen as a period of consolidation for the Miami Heat.Īfter rampaging through the league with a 30-11 record to finish the season, team president Pat Riley was keen for the nucleus of the team to remain intact. 500 record isn’t a catastrophe, history shows that Miami Heat team president Pat Riley isn’t competing for second place. Business.By Simon Smith 5 years ago While a. But also never get too caught up in the emotional bonds. So in that regard, figure on Andy Elisburg and Pat Riley having a bit more capital to work with. And Micky Arison previously has paid, and paid big, when it has come to his teams being in contention. The difference is that after a season that led you into contention, you also weigh the costs of the luxury tax. So it’s not about who you are retaining or trading or losing, it’s about shaping the best possible contending 15-player roster. From there, you then assess the competition, particularly the teams you view as leading contenders and competitors, and then assess the challenges they might present. Then you do what you always should do – take stock of every asset in place, from those under contract, to impending free agents, to draft capital. First you let the balance of the postseason play out, no matter how it plays out. Now, it’s as if the entire roster needs to be untouchable. Do you see any lost this summer to desperate teams throwing big money at them? – Jack, Valencia, Spain.Ī: The irony here is that in March and April, the external attitude when it came to the Heat’s impending free agents was to blow the whole thing up, not to double down on the type of move made with Duncan Robinson, or even before that when James Johnson and Dion Waiters were retained. Q: After showcasing their playoff skills, some formally “under the radar” role players will be unrestricted free agents.
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