South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Living in the moment
Building another ‘generational team’ might not be possible for Riley in today’s NBA
It is the context Pat Riley chose in thewake of LeBron
James leaving the MiamiHeat during the 2014 offseason, following four consecutive trips to theNBAFinals and championships in 2012 and ’13. “Generational team.” ItwaswhatRiley said hewas attempting to build with the collaboration of James, DwyaneWade and Chris Bosh, andwhat hewould attempt to build again.
“Every [so often], you have a chance to build a generational team,” he said on July 30, 2014. “You’re not going to win 10, 12 years in a row. That chain has been broken prematurely.
“We are going to try tomake it another generational team. That’s whatmy objective is.”
And so he built back methodically, keeping an eye on the next opportunity he could turn salary-cap space into something generational.
That opportunity could come during the 2021 offseason, when theHeat— pandemic economy allowing— could have sufficient cap space to sign at least one elite free agent to place alongside Jimmy Butler and BamAdebayo.
Such an approach, however, also can comewith sacrifice, perhaps not as stark as the type theHeat made in advance of the 2010 offseason (15-67 in 2007-08) but still something that could potentially put amore immediate championship chase on the back burner.
That brings us to theNBArumor mill returning to full rev this pastweek, with concurrentword (not denied by theNew Orleans Pelicans) of JrueHoliday being available on the trade market and of Giannis Antetokounmpo leaving his 2021 free-agency options open.
For theHeat, that could mean pulling back this offseason to instead go all in during the 2021 offseason, when the freeagency class could include Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Victor Oladipo and James, among others.
Thatwould correspond with a “generational” focus.
Except . . . is that still a thing? Consider that the only repeatNBA champion since theHeat doubled up in 2012 and ’13was the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and ’18. Then, a year later, Kevin Durant, with a chance for his own generational statement with theWarriors, departed for the BrooklynNets in free agency. And afterLeonard won the 2019 title with theToronto Raptors, he leftweeks later for the Los Angeles Clippers.
So if the players themselves seemingly no longer are prioritizing “generational,” then should teams?
For example, if theHeat’s 2021 cap space goes to anyone beyond Antetokounmpo, would that put them on a path toward “generational,” even with Adebayo andTylerHerro in place (with all due respect toButler, whowill turn 32 prior to the start of 2021-22)?
Or has this become about living in the moment, like the moment theNets are attempting to create withDurant and Kyrie Irving?
Then look at some of the recent contracts taken by some of the league’s leading men.
Leonard, for example, took a threeyear, $103million deal fromthe Clippers in the 2019 offseason that included a 2021 opt-out.
James signed a four-year, $153million contract with the Lakers in the 2018 offseason that included an opt-out after three seasons. George, similarly, gave himself an opt-out after three seasons on the four-year, $137 million contract he signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2018 offseason.
And that’s not even getting into players forcing trades ahead of expiration, with Georgemoving on fromthe Thunder a year after signing.
The point is today’s players hardly appear to be thinking “generational” but rather are keeping an eye onwhat could come next.
The Leonard deal with theClippers is the perfect example of one foot out a door shortly afterwalking through the door.
So while “generational” might have been the approach that fueled Riley and theHeat toward the 2010 offseason, and while it left Riley heated during the 2014 offseason, now, asmuchas ever, theNBA appears to be an in-the-moment league.