The Miami Heat’s Pat Riley spoke recently in taped format, live from his sitting room. His topics varied, but let’s start by digging into the title talk.
Miami Heat fans, you can officially calm down. All is well and right in the nation that is Miami Heat Nation. You want to know why?
All is right because The Godfather has spoken. Well, at least it makes us feel a bit better to hear from the guy that has been the architect of most things great for the Miami Heat.
He recorded a public address or state of the franchise so to speak, that was delivered via NBA.com. While he touched on many topics, there was one set of quotes that stuck out to us more than others initially. Here is the quote.
"“I want to build a championship team. I don’t have much patience. I want to build another championship. We’re close. Maybe we need another player. Maybe we need less, I don’t know… We’re right there. We’re a contender.”"
While it literally and obviously means that he wants to win a title, there are a few nuggets in there that he leaves to be further dissected and interpreted. For example, as he says he doesn’t “have much patience”, he probably means that he won’t hesitate to make a splash move if it means giving the Miami Heat there best chance to win a title soon.
The next sequence of the quote that sticks out to me is the “We’re close. Maybe we need another player. Maybe we need less, I don’t know”, which piggybacks off of the first quote of question.
It says that he won’t hesitate to shake up what’s already on the team and although he seems to see some things he really likes, we as fans shouldn’t be bothered or let our attachments come into play when or if these shakeups happen. They would just be in the Heat’s best interest to win a title.
Lastly, this quote closes with something that we all should be pleased to hear. The phrase “We’re right there. We’re a contender” speaks volumes.
He sees it, he knows. The Miami Heat are a tinker away, a little more time away, or mere opportunity from being a championship-caliber and potentially winning team.
No one could have possibly seen that they would come out and perform the way that they have this season. No one could have predicted that a few smaller moves along with Jimmy Butler‘s presence would impact this team as it did.
If you ask me, they are right there. They really shouldn’t be in the market to do anything except developing what they have. There is a spot that can be made for one of the top talents in the league if one came available, such as for the guy in Milwaukee, while I could also see Kendrick Nunn being used as an asset to gain something in return.
I am not advocating for Nunn’s departure, as he’s a good player who’s been a huge part of this team’s success this season, I am just saying I could see that option eventually being the case based on all we know. Regardless though, this is what we actually heard when as we listened to the quote in question about winning more titles from Pat Riley‘s most recent public address.