There are a few things that many can criticize Pat Riley about. One of them is not his competitive spirit. For better or worse, Riley is the ultimate competitor and, as Rich Paul puts it, it's one of the bigger reasons why he refuses to tank.
Riley certainly is not the same executive as he was 10-15 years ago, but he still has the same competitive spirit that won't let him embrace the new philosophy of "tanking" in the modern NBA.
As has been understandably nitpicked of late, Riley would rather win a few more games to make the Play-In Tournament rather than fall into the lottery. Again, is that the best long-term outcome for teams that are trying to build their way back into championship contention? That's up for debate.
The Heat refuse to tank
The honest truth is that many teams have done the opposite in recent years. Many of the teams near the top of the NBA standings right now took an aggressive approach to tear down their respective rosters in the past; in a way the Heat have refused to. Riley can't embrace that mentality. He refuses to do it. At least in part because of his competitive spirit.
It's one of those things that the Heat has elected to live with. Or at least learned to.
You don't get Riley's cold-blooded way of doing business without this level of competitiveness. Even in an ever-changing NBA, Heat fans are forced to take this trade.
It's one of those things that you can't praise Riley for his competitiveness, but then also criticize him for refusing to tank. That's not the way Riley is wired, even if many believe that it's a somewhat outdated perspective of team-building at this point.
Riley is who he is at this point, and it would be foolish to believe that it's all of a sudden going to change. That sentiment should be the same for the Heat franchise as a whole.
The Heat have a way of doing things, and they've been extremely successful with their philosophy. It doesn't generally make much sense for them to change at this point. So when it comes to tanking, it's not enough a thought on the table for the Heat.
Time will tell how this all ends for Riley, but he isn't in the position he finds himself in with the Heat without his high-level of competitiveness. With the success that he's had in Miami, you take his hard-headedness with it.
Because that's part of what makes Riley who he is. The Godfather. And as long as he still has influence in Miami, the Heat will never tank. The fan base needs to come to terms with that.