Pat Riley has built a winner in Miami. As a coach, he captured an NBA title in 2006, and added two more to his belt as the team's president in 2012 and 2013 after forming the Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Since then, the rosters Riley crafted have made two unprecedented NBA Finals runs and three trips to the Eastern Conference Finals. In 17 years under Riley's management, the wins have come in bunches for the Heat.
So when Pat Riley said this weekend that he has "no intention" of retiring, it doesn't come as a big shock to anyone who knows Riley — and fans certainly can't be mad because of what he's done over almost two decades.
But it's also fair to ask whether Riley, after finding success even when it seemed like the Heat's reign of success was over, has one more trick up his sleeve for a Heat team that is close to being stuck on "good" instead of "contending."
Pat Riley's next trick might have to be his most impressive yet
We're heading toward the third straight season of the Heat likely being dispatched in the first round of the playoffs by a superior opponent. If you told the fanbases of about 25 other teams that, they'd pretend to feel bad for you for about 10 seconds.
Three years of mediocrity after three rings and four more Finals appearances in 20 years isn't real strife, I know — but when fans are used to winning at a high level, winning at a medium level (which is what the Heat have been doing recently) will make fans a little stir crazy. In other words, does Riley feel like he can rest on his laurels at this point, or is there one more blockbuster that elevates this team to contender status before Riley calls it a career? It would be tough to blame him for the former, but that wouldn't set the Heat up for much success going forward.
The Jimmy Butler era — which was massively successful overall, but ended with a thud — feels like a wart on Riley's legacy, whether he was actually to blame for Butler's dismay or not. Being able to rebound from trading the team's franchise player and turning the team back into a powerhouse would be a massively impressive final act from Riley; but that move (or moves) won't just fall into Riley's lap.
Giannis Antetokounmpo would be the move that puts a cap on Riley's tenure with the Miami Heat, of course. It feels unlikely right now — but so did a Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh did, too. A Finals-level team led by Jimmy Butler wasn't a given, either. Pat Riley has made a career of taking the grand slam swing. It's time for him to find one more hanging curveball.