If Dwyane Wade leaves in free agency, can Pat Riley rebuild the Miami Heat?
For the first time in 13 years, we may be finally headed toward a breakup of what seemed to be one of the more inseparable pairings we’ve ever known: Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat.
There have been many reports all over the basketball landscape, especially from Dan Le Batard, that the relationship between Wade and the Heat is rapidly eroding. This is due to the lack of respect the Heat have paid (in more ways than one) Wade.
As we’ve seen in recent years, and benefited from as Heat fans, the players have worked very hard to regain their power.
Wade’s power play, whether it’s influenced by LeBron or the Heat organization, shouldn’t be taken lightly, even if he’s not the player he used to be.
But with everything that has transpired in the last few weeks, it does beg an interesting question:
Where do the Heat go from here if a rebuild is necessary?
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As a team with real roster questions and very few draft picks (two first-round picks and a possible second rounder over the next five years) going forward, a rebuild can become a real challenge without moving incumbent players.
Riley has been known to not value draft picks so much, but giving multiple picks away for a 30-year old Goran Dragic, is risky to say the least.
If Wade is serious in his dealings with other teams, that leaves a pretty gaping hole in both the ever-so-important “loyalty” pitch that the Heat culture have been built on and the legacy of Pat Riley as a recruiter/closer.
Banking on free agents to enjoy the allure of South Beach with no players that exude true star power is a deadly game. Since Dwyane Wade was able to help lure LeBron James and Chris Bosh to Miami in 2010, we’ve seen LeBron turn down Riley in 2014, LaMarcus Aldridge turn him down in 2015, and Kevin Durant turn him down this summer.
That’s not to say that Miami has stopped being a desired destination for players (because South Beach is South Beach), but to assume that Riley walks in a room and automatically locks up his guy is dramatically overstating his impact.
Then there’s also the concern of whether or not Bosh is able to play again. All signs (from Bosh’s side) point to his return but are the Heat truly willing to run the risk? I’m sure potential free agents ask the details of situation and if the Heat don’t have an answer, it can end up doing more harm than good.
more: With Durant signing with the Warriors, where do the Heat go from here?
But the Heat do have some nice building pieces going forward. Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson look like they could be very good players and you have a new “center”piece in the newly-maxed out Hassan Whiteside. Are they enough to lure the big fishes to Miami’s pond? Or will casting the rod net minimal return in the future?
Only one man has the answer to both of those questions, as well as all the other issues that may face the Heat, and that is Pat Riley.