Q: Pat Riley spoke like he knows his team needs help. You know what, it’s his job to get that help. Last summer, the help was Alec Burks. He better do better than that. – Eddie.
A: Except it comes down to what he has to work with, including whether the Heat will use exception money, based on where they stand against the tax. But based on how it ended, this is not a one-piece-away roster. This is where the creativity of Andy Elisburg is needed. The Heat need something complex, complex to a degree of impacting multiple players at multiple positions. What the Heat need in camp are unfamiliar faces, not a group too similar to one that last walked off the court after a 55-point loss. Running it back would mean running back a foul taste.
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Q: So Pat Riley said the Heat are trading for Kevin Durant. Pat Riley didn’t say it, but he gave all the clues, talking about age and short contracts and a veteran who can help win the playoffs. Read the tea leaves. – Carl.
A: If you’re into connecting dots, there certainly were clues about Kevin Durant being the type of connector in the Heat’s wheelhouse of need. But wanting and getting are two different things, with the Heat with plenty of history when it comes to pursuits of Durant. As with many of these cases, it’s not as if this is solely in the Heat’s hands, even with it apparent the Suns will be moving on Durant. To reiterate the position here: No issue with including Kel’el Ware and Nikola Jovic as well as the contract of Andrew Wiggins. But getting beyond the 2020 first-rounder from the Warriors and perhaps a highly protected future first-rounder, that’s where the line should be drawn on draft capital.
Q: Your recent article on whale hunting suggested that as a possible course for the Heat. But hasn’t that tactic been failing in the NBA as of late? The Suns, Sixers, Lakers, Bucks and Clippers all obtained a supposed whale, yet none of them made it past the first round of the playoffs this year. Why commit such resources for small results? – Bobby, North Miami Beach.
A: Because you win with elite talent, and the only other way to get highly elite talent is to tank to the lowest of depths.
