Pat Riley has plans for the Miami Heat’s future, but will they pan out?
The Miami Heat have always been known to capitalize on the cracks and crevices of others, but what will they do when dealing with their own roster issues?
Last year saw a lot of uneven concepts when it came to head coach Erik Spoelstra defining roles. However, team president Pat Riley held his annual year-end press conference and shed a little light on the direction he would like the Heat to go in.
As far as definite responsibilities go, it will be hard to account for everyone. Yet, certain players can be spoken for.
A returning Dwyane Wade, likely means another season for Udonis Haslem. These are two players who can easily be slotted into the lineup as sixth man and inspirational guy at the end of the depth chart. The players Riley considered “the two most consistent,” Goran Dragic and Josh Richardson, are locked in as starters. And although he believes Richardson is a shooting guard, the combination of contract and injuries makes Dion Waiters the instant offense two-guard.
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Add James Johnson to the mix in an all-purpose position and at least six roster spots are taken. This is where things get tricky.
Players like Justise Winslow and Kelly Olynyk were barely mentioned. Wayne Ellington was spoken about in a way that made it sound like he would only be around if he took a pay cut or cap space was made. And Hassan Whiteside was criticized and told that his entire way of thinking needed to change.
Just normal exit interview talk? Not so much. Not when Riley smoothly laid out his thought process:
"“My feeling on draft picks? Yes, they’re valuable. They’re valuable to trade for veteran players that have talent if you can get one.All we need is another 16th pick this year. That’s all we need is another young player this year. We’ve got enough.“I would much rather have a Goran Dragic than picks.”"
Rhetoric, such as that, set the backdrop for what looks like Riley’s attempt to move their 2019 NBA draft pick for someone who could help in the immediate future.
All signs point to it being aligned with his quest to bring a game changer to the Heat locker room:
"“I think there’s going to be 20 teams, 15 teams, a lot of teams like us that are going to be looking and say ‘OK, we can exchange parallel salaries.’ You can go to sign-and-trades and free agency and try to attack that market and see if you can make something work…”"
Put it all together and it begins to make sense. The constant references of Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway and Jamal Mashburn tie into missing out on a transcendent player in the offseason, but pushing to trade for one before the season begins (October) or by the trade deadline (February).
Which goes back to last year when Riley talked about assets. Possibly building the trade value for the likes of Waiters and Whiteside high enough to move midseason. His turning two players into one theory with a draft pick as sweetener.
The Lamar Odom and Eddie Jones mentions play into acquiring lower tier free agents in their mid-20s (à la Jabari Parker) that the team can develop into something special.
Next: Miami Heat are in a salary cap stranglehold for the 2019 season
Making everything work will be tough, but Riley always goes in with a grand plan. It just ends in disaster at times.