Lost in the excitement and hype of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade finally being official were Pat Riley's comments on the forgotten part of the deal, Bobby Portis. In just one sentence, Riley made a comment that will certainly leave some fans conflicted.
"The announcement of today’s trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis Jr. is one of the great trades in Heat history. In my opinion, Giannis is one of the top five players in the league and Bobby is one of the best power forwards."
I don't think we can exonerate what Riley tried to sneak in this release. The Giannis trade will likely go down as one of the great trades in Heat history. No problem there. Giannis is one of the top five players in the league, sure. No issue. However, when Riley says that Portis is "one of the best power forwards." That's where we have to draw the line.
Pat Riley gives Bobby Portis a huge vote of confidence
Is Riley just being nice and respectful? Is Riley capable of that? Or is this Riley sticking out his neck for Portis? A sign that not only are the Heat keeping him, but that they expect him to play a big role for the team this season?
Either way, this is a comment that is going to split the fan base.
Even after this trade was announced, there was a portion of the fan base that was hoping Portis would be rerouted to a third team or that the Heat could find a trade for him down the road, offloading him via trade to open up more flexibility for Miami to make another move.
At least for now, that doesn't appear to be happening. And, with the way Riley spoke about Portis, you'd have to assume he's going to play a big role this season.
On paper, that may not seem like a terrible idea. After all, Portis is coming off one of the more efficient offensive seasons of his career. Portis averaged 14 points and six rebounds on 49 percent shooting from the field and 47 percent shooting from 3-point range this past season.
However, the troubles with Portis almost completely fall on the defensive end of the floor. Even while theoretically playing in a rotation alongside Davion Mitchell, Andrew Wiggins, Giannis, and Bam Adebayo, that wouldn't change.
Portis is one of the most polarizing supporting players in the league, and the Heat are about to get a first-hand look at why that is the case.
If the Portis script goes how it's gone for the better part of his career, these comments from Riley are only going to look more head-scratching in a few months.
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