Riley's maneuvers will be very telling
Current slide makes trade deadline decisions tougher for president.
Pat Riley is on the clock
MIAMI — when it comes to Thursday’s trading deadline. But what does the most successful executive in South Florida sports history do? How does he proceed in his latest attempt to reboot the Miami Heat?
Riley has some decisions to
make that appear a lot harder today than just a week ago. The Heat were rolling way back before the calendar flipped to February. Less than a week ago, Miami was walking tall into Cleveland with third place in the Eastern Conference on the line and had the ball with a chance to end that game
and overtake the Cavaliers. But James Johnson ran into LeBron James as the buzzer sounded and the Heat season hit a wall as well. Four losses in a row, and now Miami is closer to falling out of the playoffs than it is to a top
four seed.
Riley has to decide which way this team is headed. The Heat cannot be blamed if they look at the upside, which is a team that won seven in a row, was eight games over .500 and had every reason
to believe it could grab a topfour playoff spot in a confer- ence that has no clear favorite. Boston and Toronto may be perched solidly atthe top, but neither is unbeatable. In fact, part of that optimism is a 6-4 record against the top five teams in the East. Basically, the East is wide-open.
If that is the way Riley prefers to look at this team as he assesses any moves made in the next few days, then the pressure is on to improve its chances. And he has done it before in February. Riley cemented his reputation during his first trade deadline in South Florida with three deals involving 10 players within hours that netted the Heat Tim Hardaway.
Of course, times are much different now. The challenge becomes pulling off a deal with the short term in mind. Miami clearly needs a scorer, one that preferably can deliver in the clutch. That could not have been clearer during Monday’s 111-109 loss to the dreadful Magic when the Heat missed their final five shots and were scoreless for the final 2:53 of the game.
Many names have been floated as trade targets — Jabari Parker, Tyreke Evans, Lou Williams and even at different times Paul George and C.J. McCollum. But just who is truly available is unknown. And at what price?
The Heat are handicapped by this roster and a lack of draft picks. The lone expiring contract that matters belongs to Wayne Ellington, and several other players are virtually untradeable or would be difficult to move for varying reasons ranging from injury to performance to contracts. The Heat do not have a firstor second-round pick this year and cannot include a first-round pick in a trade until 2023.
And, of course, there is another way to look at this trade deadline. Nobody is untouchable at this point other than Josh Richardson, and that is only because he cannot be moved until the summer because of his contract. But it would take an overwhelming offer for the Heat to move Richardson and Bam Adebayo. Still, should the Heat focus on improving for the next two months to possibly win a playoff round or even two? Or should Riley be looking beyond this sea- son, figure out a way to gain flexibility and be looking to shed Miami’s two most prohibitive-contracts in 2018-19; the $25.4 million owed Hassan Whiteside and the $19.2 million due Tyler Johnson?
If the identity of this team is more like theteam we saw that won 10 games in January and earned Erik Spoelstra coach of the month, is there a way to enhance the chance of a playoff run while improving the outlook for next year? That is Riley’s mission between now and 3 p.m. Thursday.