Pat Riley Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Notes: McRoberts, Waiters, Johnson

May 11th, 2017 at 3:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Heat could have between $33MM and $43MM in cap space this offseason depending on what happens with Wayne Ellington, who’s on a $6.27MM non-guaranteed contract for next season, and Josh McRoberts, who has a player option worth roughly $6.02MM, Bobby Marks of The Vertical writes. Marks notes that McRoberts is likely to opt in, but the team could utilize the stretch provision to generate additional cap space. The big man was only able to play in 22 games for Miami this season because of various foot injuries.

Here’s more from Miami:

Dion Waiters and James Johnson had excellent debut seasons for the Heat and Marks (same piece) projects both players to earn an annual salary above the $8.4 mid-level exception on their next deals. Teams over the cap will have that amount to spend, though teams that enter the offseason season with cap space will only have the $4.3MM mid-level at their disposal (after their cap space has been exhausted). Miami falls into the latter category.
Pat Riley, who signed a five-year extension to stay on as the team’s president last year, will continue to split his time between Malibu, California and Miami, Florida, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel relays. Winderman notes that it’s not uncommon for high-ranking executives to work in cities where their teams do not reside.
It may not make sense for the Heat to move up in the draft, Winderman opines in a separate piece. Miami will be without a first-round pick next year as a result of the Goran Dragic deal and Winderman believes it may not be wise to further mortgage the future.

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Miami Heat
Pat Riley

Southeast Notes: Spoelstra, Heat, Millsap

April 29th, 2017 at 10:35am CST by Austin Kent

Whenever the time comes that Heat president Pat Riley decides to step down, head coach Erik Spoelstra will be eager to fill the position. Spoelstra recently spoke with Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on his podcast.

“The short answer would be, I’m a Pat Riley disciple. He’s always pushed me and nurtured me for the next step,” he said, adding that through both good and bad, the Heat feel like a family. The coach tempered expectations that anything imminent could happen, however.

“But, yeah, Pat’s going to go on hopefully for a while though. I think he’s younger now than when he was coaching. […] I want this to be the set up that it is. I feel involved, I’m in every meeting that deals with the [Heat] organization and personnel.”

Spoelstra has served as the head coach of the Heat since 2008 and was an assistant coach for ten years before that.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Though they may have ultimately lost, Dennis Schroder‘s performance in the first round of the postseason shows just what the Hawks see in him, writes Michael Lee of The Vertical. “Dennis’ competitive spirit and his competitive nature, I think we’re always going to bet on that first,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said.
With their cap space set to shrink in 2018/19, this is the last chance for the Heat to land a major free agent, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post writes. Gordon Hayward, Blake Griffin and Paul Millsap could be possible options.
Although it appears they’ll offer Cavaliers general manager David Griffin their president of basketball operations position, John Hammond and David Morway are also on the Magic‘s short-list, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets.
It’s reasonable to expect Paul Millsap to opt out of his contract this summer but the Hawks forward hasn’t made any decisions about where he’ll go just yet, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes.
The Wizards won’t need a seventh game to close out the Hawks but even if they did, center Ian Mahinmi wouldn’t have played in it, J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes. The big man had said that he hoped he would be able to recover from a strained calf in time to play in the first round.

Dion Waiters Discusses Heat, Thunder, Pat Riley

April 25th, 2017 at 11:08pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Dion Waiters can become a free agent this offseason by turning down his player option for next season. Even if he chooses that route, he hopes to return to Miami. “Hopefully, we found a home down here,” Waiter writes on The Players’ Tribune.

The Philadelphia native didn’t expect to sign with the Heat last summer. He was a free agent and heard that Miami was interested, but wasn’t sold on the fit. “I wasn’t really seeing it at first. Nothing against the Heat, but I didn’t know how I’d fit there,” Waiters writes. “Then I met Pat Riley.”

Waiters explains how Riley spoke with him about life and not just basketball during a free agent meeting. Riley also told him that if he came to Miami, the organization would get him in “world-class shape.” Waiters said he didn’t know it at the time, but now he realizes that taking the meeting with the Heat president was the best thing that happened to his basketball career. He writes:

When Pat said “world-class shape,” I thought it sounded cool, but in my head, I was like, Yeah, I got this. I’m in world-class shape. You already know. So I show up for camp, and after one week, my body is shot. I was damn near throwing up in trash cans like in the movies. And I realized, You know what? Pat was not just talking that smooth talk. This Heat thing is the real deal.

Miami came up one game short of making the playoffs after starting the season with a record of 11-30. Waiters believes that the Heat could have done serious damage as an eighth seed in the east, but regardless, he feels the season was special.

The Syracuse product also discusses how he enjoyed competing with Kevin Durant in practice and how he loved his Thunder team during the 2015/16 season. Waiters thought he was going to return to Oklahoma City after the team lost in the Western Conference Finals. “I genuinely thought I was going to be back in OKC this season, and we were going to make another run at it. But things didn’t work out that way, because basketball is a business,” he writes.

Waiters’ article is one of the publication’s best pieces and it’s worth a read. In addition to the aforementioned, he discusses his life growing up in Philadelphia, his younger basketball days, and his public persona, which includes the notion that he thinks he’s the best on the court and that he has irrational confidence.

“Listen, now you know where I’m from. Picture yourself walking into a South Philly playground at 12 years old, with [grown] men, bleachers packed with people, trying to get a run in.” Waiters writes. “You think you can survive in Philly without irrational confidence?”

Pat Riley Talks Wade, LeBron, Future, More

April 25th, 2017 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

At his season-ending press conference last week, Heat president Pat Riley admitted that this season was a difficult one for him, and that he was disappointed his club wasn’t able to nab a playoff spot after its incredible second-half run. In a fascinating piece for ESPN The Magazine, Wright Thompson takes a deeper dive into Riley’s year, examining the 72-year-old’s reluctance to retire, his thoughts on the end of the Heat’s Big Three era, and much more.

As Thompson details, despite Riley’s plans for his eventual retirement, the Heat president remains committed to his work with the team, joking that the idea that he’s retiring to Malibu is the “greatest lie in the world.” According to Thompson, Riley signed a new five-year contract with the Heat last year that allows him to work from anywhere, meaning he’s able to spend a little more time in Malibu and less time in Miami. However, he’s determined to win at least one more title with the Heat before riding off into the sunset, even as he recognizes that last championship “will be the toughest to get.”

Here are a few more highlights from Thompson’s feature on Riley:

According to Riley, Dwyane Wade‘s agent asked to deal directly with Heat ownership last summer, so Riley honored that request. However, he wishes he could have done things differently, especially after hearing that Wade was put off by Riley’s lack of involvement. “I know he feels I didn’t fight hard enough for him,” Riley said. “I was very, very sad when Dwyane said no. I wish I could have been there and told him why I didn’t really fight for him at the end. … I fought for the team. The one thing I wanted to do for him, and maybe this is what obscured my vision, but I wanted to get him another player so he could end his career competitive.”
When the Heat made their pitch to LeBron James during his free agency in 2014, Riley became worried that it was something of a courtesy meeting — Thompson notes that LeBron and his reps had their eye on a World Cup game during the meeting, and that Riley asked at one point to mute the volume. After flying home from the Las Vegas sit-down, Riley received a call from James and agent Rich Paul indicating that LeBron would be leaving Miami.
Riley on his initial reaction to LeBron’s decision: “I was silent. I didn’t say anything. My mind began to just go. And it was over. I was very angry when LeBron left. It was personal for me. It just was. I had a very good friend who talked me off the ledge and kept me from going out there and saying something like [Cavs owner] Dan Gilbert. I’m glad I didn’t do it.”
Riley on ultimately recognizing and respecting LeBron’s decision: “He went home because he had to go home. It was time. It was really time for him to go home, in his prime. If he’s ever gonna do anything in Akron again, this was the time to do it. Otherwise, he’d have had a scarlet letter on his back the rest of his whole life.”
With James gone to Cleveland, the Heat were at risk of losing Chris Bosh to the Rockets, prompting Riley to sign Bosh to a long-term, maximum salary deal. According to Thompson, Riley wishes in retrospect that he had said no to Bosh and given that lucrative long-term contract to Wade instead.
For more, be sure to check out Thompson’s full feature, which is a great read for Heat fans and non-fans alike.

Pat Riley Talks Heat, Offseason, Haslem, Bosh

April 19th, 2017 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

At his season-ending press conference today, Heat president Pat Riley expressed optimism and enthusiasm about his team’s future, despite the fact that he was disappointed Miami wasn’t able to sneak into the playoffs.

“While we’re not in the playoffs, we’re ahead of the game,” Riley said. “The table is set, with the pick. We obviously know we have flexibility in free agency. We will see how that works out with our players and other players.

“I was pissed. They deserved to get in and they didn’t get in…. We won four out of our last five games against the best teams in the conference and we still didn’t get in. It was a great disappointment, but at the same time it was a lot of success.”

In addition to suggesting that he’s not sure how many more non-playoff years he can take, Riley weighed in on several items of note relating the Heat and their summer plans. Let’s dive in and round up the highlights, courtesy of Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald…

Asked about possibly pursuing a star free agent – as the Heat did a year ago with Kevin Durant – Riley downplayed that possibility, suggesting that “we are going to focus on our guys” rather than the “whales” he has talked about in the past. In addition to Dion Waiters and James Johnson, one of those guys is Udonis Haslem — Riley said today that he wants the longtime Heat big man back on the roster next season, calling Haslem “invaluable.”
The Heat may also go the trade route rather than making a massive free agent signing, according to Riley, who added that Justise Winslow is not “going anywhere.”
On the subject of Chris Bosh, Riley said there have been discussions within the organization about Bosh’s situation, but there’s no resolution yet.
Riley doesn’t mind not being at the very top of the draft, since he feels like he can get a solid player in the middle of the first round, and points out that seven of the top prospects are point guards, which he doesn’t need (Twitter links via Jackson).
The Heat president indicated that he was happy the team invested heavily in Hassan Whiteside last summer, adding that he believes the young center is capable of developing into the sort of player who averages 25 PPG, 17 RPG, and 6 APG.
Riley called the issue of resting healthy players an “absolute travesty” that needs to be addressed by the league, noting that the Heat don’t take part in that practice.
Riley also said that Miami’s goal is to establish a D-League affiliate within 100 miles of the NBA team (Twitter link via Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel). Currently, the Heat’s NBADL team plays in Sioux Falls, which is more than 1,800 miles away from Miami.
Be sure to check out Jackson’s recap for several more comments from Riley.

Atlantic Notes: Atkinson, Tucker, Thomas, Knicks

March 9th, 2017 at 7:10pm CST by Milo Taibi

Chris Mannix of The Vertical spoke with Nets coach Kenny Atkinson about the team’s rebuild; a process Atkinson admitted can be overwhelming.

“I look at it like I deserve … like I deserve to start at the bottom. This is how it should be. I shouldn’t be handed some prime job,” Atkinson said. “I really believe that I have to pay my dues, and it’s great. It’s funny the situation we are in, without our picks, we never use that as a crutch. We never talk about the past. We’re talking about getting better in the here and now, and getting better in the future.”

Atkinson certainly has paid his dues; the Nets are currently 11-52, having won just 3 of 34 Eastern Conference games. Atkinson discussed the vision he shares with GM Sean Marks.

“Sean and I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy task,” Atkinson said. “We needed guys that were going to be able to keep pushing through and guys with high character that, despite the won-loss record, they’re going to come in here with a smile on their face and keep working their tails off, and that’s exactly what we’ve gotten from one to 15. We push these guys pretty hard, but everyone wants to be coached, accepts coaching. That attitude, that work ethic, that’s eventually going to pay off.”

Southeast Notes: Schroder, Ellington, Oubre Jr.

March 7th, 2017 at 4:57pm CST by Austin Kent

A mid-game argument resulting in an ugly defensive breakdown has some questioning the team harmony in the Hawks‘ lockerroom. In addition to a spat with Dwight Howard, 23-year-old point guard Dennis Schroder is said to have engaged with head coach Mike Budenholzer too, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.

While Schroder and Howard were caught on camera arguing about a Howard turnover the previous possession, Stephen Curry wasted no time calling for the inbound pass and draining a three. The basket put the Warriors in front and they would go on to win the game. Shortly after the incident, Schroder – who at that point had led the Hawks in scoring with 23 points – was benched by Budenholzer for the remainder of the contest.

“We need to learn to play together and stay together for 48 minutes,” Budenholzer said of his Hawks. “That is something that is important to us.”

Vivlamore reminds readers that this isn’t the first time the Hawks have punished Schroder. When the guard returned to Atlanta late after the All-Star Break, he was suspended for one game. In that situation, Schroder cited passport complications as the reason for his delay.

Worth noting, Schroder has posted a photo of himself and Howard on Instagram and Twitter, a likely attempt to bury the hatchet, publicly at least.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The Heat have several options for dealing with Wayne Ellington‘s contract this summer, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. The guard has emerged as an elite source of production beyond the arc and may command significant amount more on the open market than if the franchise were to just pick up his $6.3MM option for 2017/18.
As the Wizards adjust their rotation to accommodate for the arrivals of Brandon Jennings and Bojan Bogdanovic, one guard on the losing end of it all has been Kelly Oubre Jr. Oubre Jr. played just six minutes in the team’s Sunday win, Candace Buckner of the Washington Post writes.
Though he isn’t even on the Heat roster anymore, Cavaliers forward Derrick Williams has nothing but good things to say about Pat Riley, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. “The way things were going at that time, it was mutually agreed,” Williams said. “That was the best thing. We were both on the same page. It was a mutual parting. Everything [Riley] told me was the truth. I don’t think we have enough of that around here [in the NBA].”
The Magic will have their depth tested this week, John Denton of the team’s official website writes. A recent injury to Nikola Vucevic has forced Stephen Zimmerman to serve as the primary backup to Bismack Biyombo.

Pat Riley: “No-Brainer” To Promote Magic Johnson

March 6th, 2017 at 4:28pm CST by Milo Taibi

Magic Johnson’s ascension to the Lakers‘ president of basketball operations hasn’t been met with universal praise. Sam Amick of USA Today recently summarized Johnson’s promotion, emphasizing the necessity of Magic recruiting elite players in free agency.

“If this massive move is going to pay off, it’s Johnson’s ability to attract and select the right talent that will determine his value,” Amick wrote. “But if Magic shoots an airball on the free agency recruiting front in July, perhaps suffering the same fate as the Lakers’ jettisoned basketball execs who couldn’t convince Carmelo Anthony, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, then he’s just another inexperienced former player who is learning on the job.”

For what it’s worth, Johnson will enter the position with a powerful NBA figure supporting him. In an interview with Harvey Araton of The Vertical, Heat president Pat Riley gave Magic his full endorsement.

“Why shouldn’t Earvin get an opportunity?” Riley said. “Earvin is a guy who has been a prolific businessman…he’s gone into companies and changed management, changed the culture. He’s charismatic, gets up in front of people and puts an immediate face on an organization. To me, it’s a no-brainer that Earvin was given that position to capture the attention of the people in L.A. and to try to recapture that sense of continuity.”

Riley’s connection to Johnson has been well-documented. As head coach of the Lakers, Riley coached Magic to four NBA titles, calling Johnson “The smartest player I ever coached.”

“To adamantly say Earvin is not qualified is nonsense. Like Jerry West, he’s a prodigal son of the Lakers,” Riley added. “With everything that goes on, who knows how long he’s going to be there? And it’s not going to happen for him this year, or even in two years. But if they keep their [top-three protected] draft pick, with the young players they have, and Earvin’s reputation in that market, he’ll have a chance.”

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.