As the Miami Heat’s core trio — Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro — gears up for its fifth season together, team president Pat Riley believes this could be a pivotal year for the franchise. In an interview with The Associated Press, Riley expressed confidence in his team’s chances in the Eastern Conference but also hinted at potential changes depending on this season’s outcome.
“If you build a team around one or two players, three players, and you don’t win the championship, then you might have to start thinking: ‘OK, this is not going to work. This is not going to happen,'” Riley said. He cited the examples of Milwaukee and Boston, teams that made significant moves after reaching “those windows.”
Herro, who is making $27 million this season, was the subject of trade rumors over the summer. “We have never shopped him and had no interest in ever trading the guy,” Riley clarified. “But when you’re talking about acquiring one of the top five players in the league, there isn’t anybody on our team that won’t be discussed.”
Riley acknowledged that recent moves have put Milwaukee and Boston in strong positions. However, he emphasized that the Heat have won the East twice in the past four seasons. “To win it, it’s going to take this mentality on the part of our team and on the part of our three best players — most importantly, Jimmy and Bam and Tyler,” Riley stated.
He elaborated, “They’re the guys we really look to, the guys that are getting paid, they have to have far and away their career-best years that impact winning. So, whatever that is, scoring, rebounding, assists, not turning it over, defensively, whatever it is … that’s what it’s going to take.”
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