It’s Go Time For Riley

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This past NBA season marked just the second time since 2004 that the Miami Heat missed the playoffs. The Heat went 37-45 and they finished in tenth place in the Eastern Conference as they were dealing with a litany of issues. The Heat were attempting  to recover from the sudden departure of small forward LeBron James who decided to re-join the Cleveland Cavaliers last summer. The Heat were also without the services of power forward Chris Bosh for the second half of the season as a result of blood clots. And through it all, the Heat missed the NBA Playoffs by only one game.

Since 1995, Heat president Pat Riley has been the architect of this organization and he has molded it in his championship image under his watch as Miami has won the NBA Title three times. Riley wants to keep that winning formula going and beginning with the NBA Draft tomorrow night, the Heat are entering an important stretch as they look to reshape their roster for the upcoming NBA season.

The Heat have the tenth overall pick pick in the NBA Draft along with their second round pick as they will look for the opportunity to get younger and more athletic. As of right now Riley and the Heat are not showing any indication that they are willing to trade out of that slot as they could still find an impact player there with the likes of Duke small forward Justise Winslow, Arizona small forward Stanley Johnson, and Louisville power forward Montrezl Harrell all potentially being available there.

After acquiring point guard Gorin Dragic from the Phoenix Suns last season, the Heat have every intent to keep him in South Florida and not allow him to test the free agent waters this summer as they are reportedly prepared to offer him a five-year deal worth $80 million. Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade appears ready to opt-out of his contract and even though he and Riley are currently apart on the workings for his potential new contract, I expect cooler heads to prevail with Wade remaining to Miami for next season. The Heat are also counting on Bosh returning and being healthy for next season as they’ll need him to be a catalyst for this team as he has averaged 19.3 points and 8.6 rebounds for his 12-year NBA career.

But the Heat’s plans for next season will hinge on what they’ll be able to do tomorrow night at the NBA Draft. Under Riley, the Heat have been in the NBA Draft Lottery three times and it has either been hit or miss there. In 2002, the Heat drafted small forward Caron Butler while they chose Wade in 2003. And in 2008, Miami selected forward Michael Beasley. Butler provided immense value for the Heat as they used him to acquire center Shaquille O’Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004 and he and Wade led Miami to an NBA Championship in 2006. However, Beasley was the second overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft after the Heat missed out on point guard Derrick Rose who was selected by the Chicago Bulls. Beasley has played for three different NBA teams including three separate times with the Heat and he has never lived up to his potential.

Pat Riley

In this instance Riley and the Heat are not that far off from being a contender once again and drafting an explosive wing player could be just what the doctor ordered for them. Winslow has shown that he isn’t afraid of the big stage as he is fresh off of helping Duke win a national championship. Like Winslow, Johnson is leaving school after one season and he has plenty of untapped potential while Harrell continued to improve in each of his three years at Louisville.

Riley has one of the best basketball minds of our time and the gears are working to get the Heat back to the postseason.

Source: Basketball-reference.com

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By | 2015-06-24T14:58:00+00:00 June 24th, 2015|Categories: National Basketball Association|Tags: , , |0 Comments

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