Miami Heat: The 5 best moves of the Pat Riley era

5. Chris Bosh

July 10, 2010: Traded a 2011 first round pick to the Toronto Raptors in a sign-and-trade for Chris Bosh

One third of the “Big 3”, Bosh was a five-time all star prior to joining the Heat. He was seen as the perfect complement to his new superstar teammates in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

One of the league’s leading scorers in his last season in Toronto, Bosh took some time adjusting to his role as “third banana”. At times, his willingness to take a backseat was unfairly judged by critics. They felt he was not playing up to the level in which he had shown in Toronto, instead of viewing the merits of playing such a role.

Over the ensuing years, Bosh’s willingness to take a back seat proved invaluable to the teams ability to reach four straight finals, and hence silenced his critics. His versatility up front allowed the Heat to enter the “small ball” era by having Bosh play at the 5. This allowed James to operate at the 4 and use his amazing combination of size and speed to breakdown opposing defenses.

Following James’ subsequent departure, the reward of a five-year, $110 million contract was great reward for his selflessness throughout the championship years.

It has been unfortunate that over that past two seasons that Bosh’s seasons have been severely interrupted due to recurrences of blood clots. Bosh has flourished the past two seasons when healthy, and it goes without saying that Riley will give Bosh every opportunity to prove his health and worth once again.

Next: 4. Riley's first blockbuster trade