Riley explains what he wants to add to roster. And his Adebayo/Ware thoughts
In addition to an openness to adding an elite scorer, Heat president Pat Riley said Monday that the team will seek to improve its “overall length” and he will speak with coach Erik Spoelstra about whether he’s willing to commit to a Bam Adebayo/Kel’el Ware frontcourt tandem.
Riley was asked if he needs to either get Spoelstra to commit to using Adebayo and Ware together more or, if Spoelstra is resistant to that, to try to acquire a very good, established, prototypical power rotation player to play with Adebayo instead.
“Kel’el and Bam, I like it,” he said. “You’ve got to be committed to it one way or the other. [Spoelstra] was up and down with it for a number of reasons. That’s where he is going to have, along with me, have a discussion how are we going to be successful with guys we have. Or why did we even keep them? You have to stay with it when young players aren’t performing at their highest and have bad games.”
Adebayo and Ware played just 505 minutes together this past season; that equates to 6.9 minutes per game in the 73 games when both players suited up. They didn’t play at all together in 24 of the 73 games. They started together only 25 times this season, with Miami finishing 14-11 in those games.
Miami outscored teams by 85 points in their 505 minutes together — the best plus/minus of any Heat two-man combo that played less than 530 minutes, and the Heat’s 12th best two-man plus/minus overall.
Asked later the qualities he’s seeking in free agent or trade targets, Riley said one “trait” is “overall length. We will address that.” He mentioned that “shooting, ball-handling, those kind of things have to go to another level when you’re playing the game to a high pace.”
And he said “you need top-end bucket-getting talent in this league.”
Riley said he feels no pressure to acquire a star but will try as hard as he can to land one. He said he’s “sorry that I used that damn word ‘whale’ a long time ago.”
Injury issue
Riley said games played (injury history) will factor into the Heat’s personnel decisions.
“That’s the first thing I look at,” he said. “That’s why I love Bam [Adebayo]. You can count on him every night. Looking at [a player’s] injury history and all of that stuff comes into play. You look at guys that don’t have injury histories.”
Tyler Herro this season was limited to 33 games by injury, after playing 42 games two years ago and 77 in 2024-25. Norman Powell, who is an impending free agent, was limited to 58 games in his one season with the Heat after appearing in 60, 76 and 60 the previous three seasons.
Riley made clear that he doesn’t have any issue with the availability of Andrew Wiggins, who appeared in 68 games after playing 71 and 60 the prior two seasons.
As for Herro, he’s undergoing a minor procedure on his right foot this week. Riley said he will be ready to play again in July.
Final say
Riley confirmed what the Miami Herald and others previously have reported: He doesn’t final say on personnel issues. Riley said he never has had final say in his 31 years with the organization but said he doesn’t have an “ego” that requires having final say and that he doesn’t want it.
He said he had “carte blanche” during his first 15 years on the job (1995-2010) because owner Micky Arison was busy with Carnival Cruise Lines responsibilities. But Riley said “there were times he said no” to deals.
Now, CEO Nick Arison — son of Micky Arison — has final say; he has been in that position since 2012.
“If [GM Andy Elisburg] and I decide on something and the boss doesn’t like it, he says no,” Riley said. “They own the team.” Riley cracked that he would like to own the team; he has a minority stake.
Riley said he speaks with Elisburg more than anybody. They create scenarios “and I rely heavily on his opinion.” Then they bring the ideas to the owners, and they decide whether to authorize Riley to move forward with it.
Leading men
Though Atlanta (Trae Young), Indiana (Domantas Sabonis) and Toronto (Pascal Siakam) all improved after trading some of their best players, Riley — when given those examples — said: “They’re not Bam. I don’t think they are. Not in my opinion, anyhow. Especially with your franchise pillar, anchor-maker, culture-carrier and a talented guy … I want to build this around Bam.”
Riley reiterated that Adebayo is off limits in trade talks.
“I am just going to give you a flat out no, I wouldn’t do that,” he said, before adding, smiling, “unless somebody gave me eight picks and [San Antonio star Victor] Wembanyama.”
Rozier fallout
Riley declined to answer specifically when asked why the Heat did not push for more than a second-round pick as settlement compensation to resolve their issue with the Charlotte Hornets, who never told the Heat that Rozier was under federal investigation when they traded him to Miami for a first-round pick.
“That was not a very good situation,” Riley said.
That Heat first-round pick due Charlotte will be conveyed in the 2027 draft unless it falls among the top 14 picks. If the Heat has a top-14 pick in 2027, then Miami’s 2028 first-round pick will convey to Charlotte, no matter where it falls.
According to a source, the Heat did not have the option of suing the league even if it wanted to because of NBA rules. Even if Miami had held a news conference and angrily implored the league to give them its first-round pick back, it likely wouldn’t have worked. And that public spectacle and taking on the NBA would have been the exact opposite of how the Arisons operate anyway.
This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 6:27 PM.
