Live blog: Highlights from Heat president Pat Riley’s season-ending news conference
Heat president Pat Riley on Monday addressed assorted topics in his annual postseason news conference.
Some highlights:
▪ His general views of the season: “I thought we had an absolutely great year. It was a tremendous story that was developing. With a lot of stories, the endings weren’t very good. We had a year we could really be proud of. And doing what we did throughout the course of the season, overcoming a lot of adversity and getting to final 16 seconds of the Eastern Conference finals is quite a feat. I was proud of our players and coaches. Thought they did a heck of a job. Sorry it ended the way that it did.”
▪ On how he decided whether to run it back with teams that are on the cusp: “Even if we ran it back [with this team], we would have a very good team. You have to be very proactive looking at how you can improve.”
▪ Riley said “you’re caught in between with these young players that are rising. Once your younger players can elevate to the point where you know you can win with them, then you can always think about running it back and be successful. But is that going to be what’s going to lead to a championship?”
▪ So can this core win a championship as is?
“We all realize you can always use more, especially when you’ve gone through a season and gotten results [that fall short]. We’re always going to try to improve the team.
“Do we need another [big-time player]? If there’s one out there, throw him to me. You can always use more. But it has to be a good fit and not at the cost of doing something that’s absolutely prohibitive. We will look. We will explore. I like the team we have, our core.... Let’s see where we can go if something presents itself, if that’s a viable option.”
▪ Is your first-round pick more valuable as a trade chip than using the pick?
“Where we are drafting late at 27, it’s sort of a crapshoot when you’re looking for talent. It isn’t ready made at the top of the lottery either. Sometimes you can make a mistake there. Draft choices are valuable to us. We finally got them back in order. Unless something presents itself that causes you to say I’ll do this that would transcend drafting someone, I would always consider that [trading the pick].”
▪ He said “you have to be a little concerned with the injuries that derail your opportunity. We had that in the bubble [and again in 2022]. One of the great stories this year is we found out about other players. It opens up your eyes about what the possibilities are for them.”
▪ He said he’s not concerned about the team’s age.
▪ Riley said Tyler Herro’s “numbers speak for him, averaging 20 a game. I don’t think he’s here yet as a full-time complete player. He can score on floaters, pull up, threes. The next step for him, if you want to win a championship and you want to be a starter, you really have to become a two-way player today.
“You have to improve in certain areas of your game. I saw improvement in his defense this year. He’s got quick feet. He has to get stronger again, another 10 pounds of muscle mass. He still has a lot of upside. As far as being a starter, come to training camp and win it... As far as it fit, it was better [coming off the bench]. If he wants to be a starter, we will see in October. It’s something you earn.”
▪ On Duncan Robinson: “First playoff game this year was 27 points. You can’t win in this league without having them, guys that can make threes at the rate he can make. I saw improvement in his game where he’s going downhill. He he has to turn the corner on pick and roll.
“The next part of his development is going to the basket and finishing and making plays and being very aggressive. It’s not just off random ball cuts. Defensively, as a young player, he’s got to get better. We hang our hat on that. Duncan can improve. That message has been delivered to him many times.”
▪ Does the team want Victor Oladipo back? “Vic’s story is off the charts. It was a great story. Watching him get into games, when he had 21 in Toronto and 40 in Orlando, you started to see some things he could do.
“I thought he had some great moments for us. You do need players that can break down players on their own or with their quickness and slashing can create their own shots. We’ll see where that goes. He’s a free agent. We have his Bird Rights. We will definitely be talking to his agent.”
▪ How important is it to bring P.J. Tucker back?
“P.J. is a cornerstone. I would love to have Tuck back next year. He’s part of our core. He’s special.”
Tucker has a player option for $7.2 million and could opt out, with the Heat able to use his Early Bird rights to give him a raise to the $8.4 million range.
▪ On Kyle Lowry and his conditioning: “The bottom line with me, hoping you can get the most out of a player, is that you have to be in world-class shape. You just have to be. That is something that you get older, there’s a point of diminishing returns. He definitely is going to have to address that and it will be addressed. I definitely think he can be in better shape. We’ll address it and try to help him.”
Riley said he disagrees with Lowry that it was a wasted year. “He’ll do whatever he has to do,” Riley said.
▪ On Bam Adebayo: “He has been asked to do a lot of things as a young player and he has grown efficient. He is always getting somebody open. Duncan, Tyler should pay him half his check.
“This could be a year — and Spo and I will talk about it — where how can Bam be developed in a way to improve his consistent shot ability every night — getting 15 shots every night, quality shots that he can get and create. He can be very prolific at times. But it can’t always be effort, on running, on lob dunks, on little floaters. There is another level we need more consistency to create good shots [with our help] and score.”
▪ On how long more he will continue: “I’m 77 years old.. I can do more push-ups than you [a reporter] can... I definitely feel an obligation to finish this build. If we are three years into this build, I think we’re in that window of internal improvement.
“We have a great, great player in Jimmy Butler and real experienced veterans. It was a bitter loss. The dragon hasn’t left my body from that loss. I was stunned, frustrated, angry the last week and know I’m beginning to move on from all of that.”
▪ On Udonis Haslem: “We want him to be in this organization as long as he wants to be. He has more talent than he has ever been given credit for.”
▪ Did you ever think during the playoffs that you need to acquire a big-time scorer to play with Jimmy Butler?
“That’s a valid question. It’s a consensus around the league by people who know what they’re talking about and know what it takes to be successful. Jimmy has a very unique game. Not having Tyler [at full strength against Boston]. Having Tyler at his best, which could always [help]. They [Butler and Herro] can play together.
“Maybe this is where internally it’s time to go in that direction for Bam with more [offensive] responsibility. If there is something from outside that doesn’t cost us an arm and leg [to fill that need], I would always be interested in looking at that. We’ll see. If you have a perfect replacement” it’s worth exploring.
▪ On Max Strus and Gabe Vincent: “Gabe has something about him as a competitive, as does Max, that eventually he can get there. Max has a very unique game and a very unique shot. Max has to be able to go downhill and finish. He’s got to make a little pull up jumper. His game has to change a little bit and he knows it. He’s got the ability to do it.”
▪ On the March sideline incident with Butler and Spoelstra: “It was handled quickly and they got beyond it... I don’t think anybody liked it.”
▪ On Omer Yurtseven: “He did show a double-double game for 14 games, as many games as Bam missed. He was prolific as a rebounder and scorer. He definitely needs to improve in strength, mobility, footwork, back to the basket, defensively.
“That will all come with him. I avoided the question whether Omer and Bam can play together. Probably they could. Depends on who the other three guys would be. You hate to experiment during the course of the season in a way where it’s going to cost you wins.
“Dewayne Dedmon had a great year. That was a good combination. Will Spo go bigger thinking I need to have a stretch five that can make threes? Sometimes we may have to play big but you have to make sure you make the right pick on the two bigs.”
This story was originally published June 6, 2022 at 1:14 PM.
