Miami Heat Focus On Future, Stand Pat

Standing Pat

Although Heat team president Pat Riley has a rich history of midseason trades, there were several factors working against Riley pulling one out of the hat. And hence he stood pat (pardon the pun).

Firstly, Riley signed a number of players this past offseason to one-year contracts. Dion Waiters, James Johnson, Wayne Ellington and Willie Reed are all due for new contracts this coming summer. With their deals expiring, their trading value for Riley was hence diminished. And as Riley stated in his press conference shortly after the deadline:

"“If we get those players that we think can be part of a future to perform at a high level and make the playoffs, that’s what we’re looking for and that’s why we didn’t make trades for the sake of making trades…I’m glad we didn’t do anything stupid.”"

Therefore, Riley is essentially saying that he would like to give the current group at his disposal the opportunity to finish the season and potentially push into the playoffs.

Furthermore, the Heat’s recent 13-game streak winning streak is still fresh in their minds. Capitalizing on the chemistry built during this time after a terrible 11-30 start to the season is an added bonus of not breaking up the current core. As Riley also noted:

"“This was not smoke and mirrors over the last five weeks. This was some very good basketball, some very good performances.”"

This form has now extended past the All-Star break. The Heat hit the ground running with a 108-90 road victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Despite just two points from center Hassan Whiteside, six Heat players scored in double figures. It’s been the well-rounded, team concept that has seen the team flourish over recent weeks.

They backed this up the following night with a 113-95 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Marking their 16th consecutive game of scoring 100 or more points, the Heat won for the 15th time in their last 17 appearances.

Furthermore, the inability to trade their first-round draft this year due to the Stepien Rule decreased the value of any trades they could offer other teams. Point guard Goran Dragic was widely seen as the most likely key player to be moved. Despite his career season, Whiteside is still not what you’d regard as a Riley “Miami Heat player.”

But according to Dan Le Batard on ESPN’s The Dan Le Batard Show, the only players teams enquired about were Dion Waiters and James Johnson. However, the offers received were not going to move the needle one way or the other. Furthermore, head coach Erik Spoelstra felt that keeping the team intact  would be great from a morale standpoint. Spoelstra noted:

"“Guys are very excited about the opportunity of being together and having an opportunity to play for the playoffs. From a human standpoint, it was great to see everybody get on the plane last night. We’ve been through a lot and everybody in this gym wanted this group to continue to go forward.”"