Pat Riley

Heat Notes: Riley, Dragic, Trade Deadline, Waiters

February 19th, 2017 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat’s recent hot streak hasn’t changed the fact that this will be a crucial summer for the organization, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Miami won 14 of its last 16 games before the All-Star break to climb back into the Eastern Conference playoff race. But Winderman says team president Pat Riley will have bigger issues than the postseason to consider when he decides what moves to make before Thursday’s trade deadline. The Heat will probably enter the offseason with Chris Bosh‘s salary-cap space reclaimed and with the knowledge that Tyler Johnson‘s cap hit will balloon from $5.9MM next season to $19.2MM in 2018/19. That creates a sense of urgency for a big move this summer. Miami will also have its draft pick this season, although the team appears out of the running for a top choice, but two of the next four Heat first-rounders belong to the Suns from the Goran Dragic trade.

There’s more this morning out of Miami:

Dragic, who once seemed a likely trade candidate because of his contract and the Heat’s poor record, has become indispensable as a team leader, Winderman writes in a separate piece. With Miami contending for a playoff spot, Dragic’s salary of more than $54MM over the next three seasons doesn’t seem nearly as oppressive. “Winning means something to him,” said coach Erik Spoelstra. “And that’s where you start with leadership, is bringing other people with you to make winning that important. And it’s uncomfortable for the majority of leaders, to take that first step. And that’s where he’s been very open to his growth.”
The Heat are focused on making the playoffs and are more likely to be buyers than sellers as the deadline approaches, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald asked two Eastern Conference scouts to rate Miami’s roster. They believe Dion Waiters will get offers of $10MM to $12MM per year when he hits free agency this summer, James Johnson is better than anyone believed and will probably get at least $10MM per year as a free agent and Tyler Johnson’s production is warranting the four-year, $50MM offer that the Heat matched last summer.

Southeast Notes: Battier, Beal, Ibaka, Ross, Mahinmi

February 17th, 2017 at 6:14pm CST by Milo Taibi

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel wondered if Shane Battier, recently hired as the Heat‘s Director of Basketball Development and Analytics, will eventually assume leadership of the franchise from Pat Riley. For the interim, Winderman writes, Battier’s position will be the “first step” toward a post-Riley front office. Battier will work alongside Andy Elisburg and Nick Arison, executives with an advanced “business-of-basketball” acumen. While there is no reason to believe Riley is ready to step away from the game, Winderman could see Riley moving into a role similar to Jerry West’s with the Lakers; an executive board member who isn’t accountable for mundane, day-to-day front office operations.

Florida Notes: Ibaka, Ross, Wade, Riley

February 15th, 2017 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic are viewing last summer’s trade for Serge Ibaka as a “calculated risk” that didn’t work out, relays Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. To obtain the veteran power forward, Orlando sent Victor Oladipo and Ersan Ilyasova to Oklahoma City, along with the 11th pick in the 2016 draft, which became Domantas Sabonis. Less than a year later, the Magic shipped Ibaka to the Raptors in exchange for Terrence Ross and a pick that will fall toward the end of the first round. Ibaka played 56 games for the Magic, averaging 15.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per night, but the team was just 21-36 with him on the roster.

“I think if you go back in time, you look at what was needed for us in the frontcourt and some of the voids we thought we had on the roster,” explained GM Rob Hennigan. “Then, you balance that with the logjam we had at the two guard at the time with Evan [Fournier] and Victor, we felt like it made sense. Sometimes you have to take a few shots down the field. Sometimes it pans out; sometimes it won’t. I applaud our aggressiveness. I think given the same situation, circumstantially, we would make the same trade. Sometimes, things don’t work out as you plan. I think it’s important to be proactive in trying to rectify that too.”

There’s more NBA news from the Sunshine State:

Ross was inactive for tonight’s game, according to a tweet from the Magic. The team wasn’t notified before game time that both players passed their physicals and the deal was finalized, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
The Heat had been tied to Ibaka in trade rumors, but weren’t interested in trying to top Toronto’s offer, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. They were reluctant to give up much for a player who will be a free agent after the season and who may be older than his listed age of 27. Also, Miami wasn’t able to offer a first-round pick this year because its 2018 first-rounder may be shipped to Phoenix. Winderman notes that Tyler Johnson can block any trade until July and that most of the roster wouldn’t have enticed the Magic. The writer believes Josh Richardson would have been Miami’s best offer.
A call from Heat president Pat Riley might have convinced Dwyane Wade to stay in Miami, the Bulls star says in a podcast with Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Wade opted to sign with Chicago last summer after negotiations with the Heat stalled. “I love Pat and I know he loves me,” Wade said. “The fact that we didn’t talk, that hurt. That was my deciding factor when it came down to the end of the day and he didn’t show he wanted me there. I know the Arison family loved me and wanted me there. I know Spo [coach Erik Spoelstra] wanted me there.”

Heat Notes: Riley, Whiteside, Wade

February 14th, 2017 at 5:58pm CST by Austin Kent

With just nine days left before the trade deadline, Heat president Pat Riley is running out of time to decide whether his team will be buyers or sellers. Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel isn’t a firm believer in the current squad and cautions against overvaluing players who’ve seen their stock rise on the heels of Miami’s recent 13-game win streak.

Hyde writes that the decision to play and develop young players is an easier one to make when buried in the standings. Now that the Heat sit just two games back of the eight-seed in the Eastern Conference, it’s harder to make that justification.

Should Riley be convinced that his team is capable of making noise in the postseason – or is perhaps one player away from doing so – then he’ll have the rest of the week and a little bit of the next one to make something happen. The executive that landed Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning isn’t afraid of making big moves, Hyde reminds us, but his biggest decision this year may very well be deciding whether or not to pursue a move at all.

There’s more from the Heat today:

Emotions are running high in Miami after the Heat dropped their second consecutive game after reeling off 13 straight wins, writes Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel. In the club’s Tuesday night loss to the Magic, center Hassan Whiteside was temporarily benched for a lack of rebounding. “When a team hasn’t lost in almost a month, guys forget what it feels like to lose a game,” Whiteside said. “I think that pain came back and it was a thing we forgot about for a while.”
If there was ever any doubt, Riley established that winning is more important to him than having a high draft pick. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the team president said as much when he spoke with season-ticket holders following the club’s 13-game win streak.
The Heat ultimately let Dwyane Wade walk in an effort to retain cap flexibility for this upcoming summer, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reminds readers in a mailbag, so don’t expect them to open their pocket books just for the sake of nostalgia. The team’s salary-cap resources have to be used responsibly heading forward, Winderman says.

Heat Notes: Waiters, Bosh, Gay

January 25th, 2017 at 6:23pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Heat are open to keeping Dion Waiters long-term and the shooting guard, who holds a player option worth $3MM for next season, feels like he’s finally found a home in the league, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes.

“Everything, the organization, my teammates, my coach, of course [Pat Riley],” he said. “I feel right at home. Like I said before, when I signed, it wasn’t ever about the money. It was about the opportunity and just having a place you could call home, the enjoyment, and having fun. It’s been good. It’s just been consistent love. I’m happy for the opportunity and I’m just happy to be here.”

Here’s more from Miami:

Chris Bosh hasn’t definitively decided to resume his basketball career, but the idea of playing alongside Dwyane Wade or LeBron James appeals to him, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Jackson hears that Bosh, who suffers from blood clotting, has not been working toward a comeback this season. Bosh reached out to the Players Association last season in an attempt to force the Heat to allow him to play, but he has not reached out to the union for that kind of help this season, a source tells Jackson. Jackson also hears that the big man isn’t responding to some of the union’s calls.
The Heat remain interested in Rudy Gay as a second-tier free agent should the team not be able to sign a star, Jackson writes in the same piece. Jackson notes that Gay, who ruptured his Achilles earlier this month, “loves the idea” of playing for Miami.
Udonis Haslem will make $4MM in the final year of his contract, but he wants to sign a new deal with the Heat during the offseason, as he tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “My body still feels good,” Haslem said. “I plan on being around at least another year after this year.”
The MRI on Tyler Johnson‘s shoulder came back negative and the Heat are not expected to request a roster exception from the league, Winderman relays in a separate piece. Johnson has missed the team’s last two games because of the sprained shoulder.

Latest On Chris Bosh

December 6th, 2016 at 8:48pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Chris Bosh is more likely to attempt a comeback next season than he is this year, a source tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Bosh has not played at all this season because of blood clot issues and the Heat are apparently not expecting him to play for the team again.

“We are not working toward his return. We feel that, based on the last exam, that his Heat career is probably over, ” team president Pat Riley said back in September.

The Heat are expected to petition for a medical exclusion once they are eligible to do so on February 9, the one-year anniversary of Bosh’s last game. If granted, the team would waive Bosh and the exclusion would wipe the final two seasons of his contract off the team’s salary cap. However, if Bosh makes a comeback and plays more than 24 games over the course of his career, his salary would go back onto Miami’s books.

If Bosh intends to make a comeback next season rather than this year, Miami could ostensibly waive him, receive the exclusion and use the cap space to absorb salary in a trade before the February 23 deadline. Trading for a high priced star would be feasible in this scenario, though Jackson doubts that Miami could make a substantial move, as there is no available perimeter player whom would be considered an ideal fit.

Heat Notes: Riley, Dragic, Whiteside

November 16th, 2016 at 6:30pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Pat Riley was non-committal about whether the Heat would be active before the trade deadline or be willing to take on contracts that run through next season, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. “The important thing is we are a forward-thinking team,” Riley said. “We are not going to be thinking backwards. We’re not going to have any regrets. We love what we have with our young players and we know assets, whatever assets we have in the future are going to help us rebuild, whether it’s picks, whether it’s personnel, whether it’s [cap] room. I’m always thinking down the future, down the road.”

Here’s more from Miami:

The Heat are off to an abysmal start to the season, but Riley remains optimistic about his team’s chances this year, Jackson relays in the same piece “I’ve been through this drill before,” Riley said. “We have great faith and great belief in our young players. Our young players have been not forced but put up into a position where they now have to deliver timely times during the game, sustaining drives, stopping drives, making shots at the end, making free throws. They’ll get it. It doesn’t happen overnight.”
Goran Dragic is the type of point guard the Heat need and trading him away doesn’t solve their issues, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel argues in his latest mailbag. Winderman believes that Miami needs Dragic’s play-making ability and once he returns from ankle injury, the team will show improvement.
Hassan Whiteside believes the team’s rough start is a result of a tough schedule to begin the season, Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel writes. “We haven’t played any bad teams,” Whiteside said. “We played all playoff teams … We’re not losing to bad teams. We’re right there. It makes no sense to get down on ourselves.” Whiteside, who re-signed with the Heat on a four year, $98MM deal over the summer, is enjoying personal success this season, averaging career highs in points, rebounds and free throws made per game.

Pat Riley On: Whiteside, Wade, Rebuilding

November 14th, 2016 at 4:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the departure of Dwyane Wade this past offseason and Chris Bosh‘s medical issues keeping him off the court, the Heat find themselves in the midst of a rebuild. The man heading up this effort, team president Pat Riley, sat down with David Aldridge of NBA.com to discuss a number of topics. The entire piece is certainly worthy of a look, but here are some of the highlights:

On what kinds of characteristics he looks for in players when beginning the process of rebuilding:

“Well, right now, it’s talent. It’s not the same level of talent that we saw in Dwyane or Caron Butler, what we saw in Alonzo Mourning when we traded for ‘Zo. It’s the raw talent that we can find. So talent is still, always and will forever be at the top of the list. So we feel that with Hassan Whiteside, and with Justise Winslow, Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson, and some of the new guys who we got this summer, four or five of those young guys can create a nucleus. We have a pick this year. I have intentions, if it’s possible, to try and get another pick. And then we will have room. And so from that standpoint, you start making a plan and formulating what it looks like down the road, but you’re going to have to get some breakthroughs — from Hassan, from Justise, from Tyler, from Josh. And then you’ll see where you go from there…”

On what he saw in Hassan Whiteside that made him believe the center was worth signing and developing:

“We almost drafted him. Chet [Kammerer, the Heat’s vice president of player personnel] and I were in Dallas, at Southern Methodist, watching him play down there [for Marshall]. They had him stand in the lane with his arms out, and they were playing the zone, so you never could really tell or not if he could play man to man or any kind of offensive moves. That’s when we drafted, just ahead of Sacramento, the kid from Texas — Dexter Pittman was drafted just ahead of him. To make a long story short, we had a history with Hassan because we really liked him. And we scouted him and we looked at him and we followed him. So when he came back after his sojourn around the world, and went to the NBDL and put up those numbers, and we brought him in, then we sent him back. And when we sent him back he had 40 and 28, or whatever it was. We said ‘get him back here.’ But then there was this one-day contract he signed with Memphis, because they didn’t have enough players. They said they were going to waive him the next day. And I said, ‘we lost him.’ When he signed with them, I said, we’ve lost this guy. But they cut him. And we picked him up and signed him.”

On if he had any hesitation in re-signing Whiteside to a max deal this offseason:

“No, there was no trepidation. When you look at how the game is played now, when you look at how it has evolved and how it’s played, he’s the perfect center. As a matter of fact, give me one team in the league that runs its offense through its center. There isn’t one. But there are a lot of centers that are mobile, that can leap, that are long, that are good in pick and roll. There’s a verticality to their game. They can catch it above the rim. They’re good defensive players. They can block shots. They can defensive rebound. I’m telling you, within a year, we’re going to be running a lot of offense through this guy. He’s never had that kind of pressure on him … These [superstar] guys, you went through them seven or eight possessions in a row. It didn’t make any difference. You knew you were going to get a shot. You would get one through them, or you were going to get one on the other side of the court because of the double team. But there’s a real focus on how to play the game when you’re going to see these kinds of defenses. He’s not ready for that yet, but also, that’s not the game we need him for right now.”

On Dwyane Wade‘s departure and his regrets over the guard leaving Miami:

“The one thing that we always wanted to do for Dwyane, and it probably was a mistake, was that we always wanted to try to get him another guy to help him win, to help him enjoy the end of his career. But we also knew that we were going to have to ask him to sacrifice. So we always tried to slide another guy in for him, and at the same time letting him know — really, without letting him know, because he was a partner — he was going to get his, whatever it was over the next four or five years that he played. One of the greatest feelings I ever had was one time when Magic called me on the phone, right after he retired. And he said, ‘guess what? I’m an owner … Dr. Buss let me buy some equity in the Lakers.’ That’s sort of what you envision and what you think can happen along the way, and I think that’s how we always sort of looked at Dwyane.

If we ever had to do it again, when LeBron James left [in 2014], we should have given Chris Bosh the max, and Dwyane the max. And that was it. Instead of trying to say to Dwayne, I want to get another guy for you, but you have to sacrifice. And that was wrong. I should have given him — we should have given him — that then. Now, that’s a big second guess. But that’s on me. If I could have pushed that, and I could have pushed that. But I didn’t. I said we need to get more talent for him. But somebody was going to sacrifice. Like I said before, it doesn’t matter what happens to you, it’s how you deal with it. And we’re dealing with it. He’s dealing with it.“

Categories:
Miami Heat
Pat Riley

Southeast Notes: Vogel, Augustin, Wade, Jefferson

November 9th, 2016 at 8:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

The revamped Magic have sputtered out of the gate, but new coach Frank Vogel isn’t ready to make lineup changes, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Vogel has used the same starting five in each of Orlando’s games this season, including a blowout loss to the Bulls Monday that had him considering a shakeup. But Vogel decided to be patient with the group he has in place. “I’m not a knee-jerk coach,” Vogel said before tonight’s game. “If it’s needed, we’ll see it. I wouldn’t expect it anytime soon.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic are facing the Timberwolves and new coach/executive Tom Thibodeau tonight, which brings back fond memories for reserve point guard D.J. Augustin, Robbins notes in the same piece. Thibodeau was Augustin’s coach with the Bulls in 2013/14, and was an important influence on his career. “He gave me an opportunity to play and play a lot of big minutes,” Augustin said. “He gave me confidence. And that’s exactly what he’s probably doing with those young guys over there, and you could tell by the way they’re playing.”
Bulls guard Dwyane Wade reiterated to reporters tonight that he hasn’t had any contact with team president Pat Riley since leaving the Heat in free agency, relays Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. Wade, who is preparing for his first game back in Miami on Thursday, said he’s not sure if he will try to contact Riley before the contest. “I know who Pat is,” Wade said. “It’s no secret to me. I was there 13 years, I’ve seen a lot of players come and go. I know how he is. If you’re not with him, you’re against him. That’s just the way he is. You got to understand that, man. And I’m cool with it. I’m fine, 100 percent. I was there 13 years so I’ve seen a lot of video tributes, seen a lot of players come in and go out. And I’ve seen the way he’s responded to them. And I know if you’re not with him, you’re against him.”
Center Al Jefferson may be gone from the Hornets, but coach Steve Clifford told Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer that his 2013 signing is still helping the franchise. Clifford said Jefferson, who joined the Pacers over the summer, gave Charlotte a sense of legitimacy around the league when he came to the city. “This league, in terms of things like that, is important, how you’re perceived by the players,” Clifford said. “The players talk, and the fact that he came here has opened the door” for other signings.

Heat Notes: Riley, Bosh, Whiteside, Waiters

September 27th, 2016 at 6:41pm CST by Luke Adams

While some teams won’t admit they’re in rebuilding mode, Heat president Pat Riley didn’t mind using the R-word on Monday, as Ethan Skolnick of The Miami Herald tweets. Comparing the current roster to recent Heat teams, Riley noted that the franchise was “tweaking” the roster during the Big Three era, “retooling” it after LeBron James returned to Cleveland, and is “rebuilding” now. With Dwyane Wade gone and Chris Bosh unlikely to suit up for the Heat again, it will be interesting to see if the team goes into full-fledged rebuilding mode this year, perhaps shopping veteran point guard Goran Dragic.

Here’s more on the Heat:

Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald passes along a couple more comments from Riley, who said he has yet to “hit send” on an email he wrote to Wade, and added that he’s had thoughts about “moving on” from his role with the Heat but still gets excited by the prospect of a new season.
Asked about losing Bosh, Dragic admitted that it helps to have some certainty about what the roster and lineup will look like, but said he’d prefer to have the “small chance [Bosh] could be back,” per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “It’s not the prettiest situation right now.” Dragic said. “But we need to clear our heads and have one focus, one goal to get better as a team, get to know each other and try to build that chemistry we are going to need this season.”
Tom Ziller of SBNation.com makes a case for why the Heat should waive Bosh, rather than keeping him on the roster.
After being one of the league’s most underpaid players in recent years, Hassan Whiteside now has a maximum-salary contract, but he won’t let the new deal make him complacent, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Winderman and Jackson have each published pieces on Dion Waiters, with Winderman writing that the Heat’s new shooting guard won’t be thinking about filling Wade’s shoes, while Jackson notes that Waiters opted for happiness over money when he chose to sign with Miami.

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