Trade period can’t arrive quickly enough for Pat Riley and the Miami Heat

Following another embarrassing loss on the road, serious questions are going to be asked regarding the future direction of the Miami Heat roster.

Earlier this year, Miami Heat president Pat Riley was featured in a lengthy piece in ESPN, titled “Pat Riley’s final test.” Among other things, the lengthy piece by Wright Thompson detailed how Riley is consumed by winning a final title having nearly walked away on top following the Heat’s last title in 2013.

But as he text messaged Thompson one day after discussing an assortment of issues:

"“I NEED ONE MORE. AND I KNOW THIS WILL BE THE TOUGHEST TO GET.”"

Following their latest loss to the New York Knicks, the Heat are now placed 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 10-11 record. After the game, Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald tweeted the following:

Overall, this is an accurate assessment of both the team and Riley.

In the previous game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Heat trailed by as many as 34 points in what was a trouncing despite the final 11-point margin.

The theme continued against the Knicks, with the Heat on the end of a 115-86 thumping. During play, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweeted the following to reflect just how poorly the Heat fared on this road back-to-back:

But while the Heat were missing center Hassan Whiteside due to knee soreness, the Knicks lost their best player Kristaps Porzingis, just minutes into the game due to an ankle injury.

Considering the Heat’s haphazard play thus far this year, Riley will be well aware that he is further away than ever from achieving “one more.” As Navarro mentioned, Riley likes to use the 20-game mark as a barometer of how a team is faring, and therefore what adjustments need to be made moving forward.

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While the defense these past two games has been terrible, the offense has been far worse. Currently ranked 26th in the league with an offensive rating of 100.6, head coach Erik Spoelstra has truly been unable to predict his team’s shooting proficiency from one game to the next.

In particular, two key rotation players have suffered the worst shooting seasons of their careers. Swingman Josh Richardson is shooting 36.8 percent from the field, while backup guard Tyler Johnson is converting at just a 34.6 percent from the field. Furthermore, this duo is shooting at a combined 28.3 percent clip from 3-point range on 9.4 attempts per game.

But as Riley is aware, if he is going to make some noise, it’s going to require likely multiple key pieces in order to land a player able to make a significant impact to the franchise. When going back through history, Heat fans will be aware that Riley is certainly unafraid to pull the trigger when he sees fit.

Names such as Glen Rice, Lamar Odom and Caron Butler are just some of the players Riley has dealt in order to shake up the franchise. It’s a real possibility that his next big move could be his last, with the Heat tied up in contracts for several years due to their activity this past summer.

However, Riley is certainly not wrong when he states that “I know this will be the toughest to get.” Without an All-Star on the roster, landing his “whale” is going to be awfully difficult to pull off.

With the magic date of Dec. 15 arriving shortly in which players signed this offseason are eligible to be dealt, all Heat fans will be looking on in anticipation if Riley has one last big move left in him.

Next: 2017-18 Week 7 NBA Power Rankings

Judging by the past two performances, that date can’t come quickly enough.