After a disastrous season, Miami Heat president Pat Riley believes he’s made the necessary moves to re-enter the NBA Championship picture
Whether they’re willing to admit it in public or not, both LeBron James and Pat Riley are in a race – a race to win an NBA Championship first after their messy breakup.
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And while LeBron James enters year 2 of the return with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, Riley knew he couldn’t sit idly by this summer. Even though he didn’t have the opportunity to make a huge splash this summer – something that will present itself next summer – he did the next best thing. He reloaded.
The Heat managed to re-signed Dwyane Wade, even though at times that appeared unlikely, and rebuilt the team’s bench with veteran role players and a highly touted rookie – Amar’e Stoudemire, Gerald Green and Justise Winslow, respectively.
Those moves, along with re-signing Wade and Goran Dragic, has this Miami Heat team as one of the most intriguing teams in the NBA.
With all that said, are the Heat good enough to contend with LeBron in the East and, most importantly, win an NBA Championship?
According to Riley, yes. That’s what he told Dan Le Batard on ESPN Radio.
"[transcribed via the Miami Herald]“I think this team has all of the elements of a championship team,” he said. “Whether or not you can ever win a championship will depend on a number of factors. I can list them and you can list them. It’s going to come down to this, health,… performance and this guy and that guy. It’s going to come down to can you make shots?…“I think this team has the opportunity and the possibilities of being a contender. That’s where you start with a team like this. We have an opportunity to create a new first. That’s how I feel about this team…. I’m excited about this season.”"
Of course, what did you expect to hear from the team’s president? It was almost assumed that Riley would say that he believes his team could win an NBA Championship.
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It would’ve been more interesting to hear that Riley doesn’t believe his team could compete with the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls. Though, for a team that missed the playoffs this past season, albeit mostly because of injuries, it’s going to be interesting to see if the Heat can carry out with Riley’s proclamation.
On paper, they certainly look good. But, as we’ve so frequently come to realize, that usually isn’t a huge indicator of anything.
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