TheUsualQuestions

88 | 8 hours ago

They made it to two Finals in one of the hardest eras of basketball to have repeated success in the playoffs, they’ll be fine

Coolsun13

16 | 8 hours ago

And both times they had no supporting cast to work with. It was Butler + Bam plus a bunch of G league guys. Nobody other than coach Spo could have gotten them to the Finals.

TheUsualQuestions

27 | 8 hours ago

I think the past few playoffs have shown that the Miami team was deeper than most people think, Spo is awesome for sure but Pat Riley has a great vision for talent

sewsgup

18 | 7 hours ago

Duncan Robinson and Max Strus for example both showed they are still playoff risers

Gabe Vincent unfortunately just had the knee injury take him out for nearly 2 seasons and didnt get back to that level

tman37

16 | 7 hours ago

Kyle Lowry Tyler Herro Duncan Robinson Kevin Love Victor Olidipo Caleb Martin Cody Zeller Max Strus Gabe Vincent

Those are some only those G leaguers you speak of. A lot of teams would have loved to have those guys on two ways. That Miami team was deep, experienced and made an amazing run for a 7 seed. Why do people have to denigrate such a great accomplishment just because they didn’t win a championship? 29 teams fail to do that every year, it’s not a failure to “only” make the finals.

Coolsun13

5 | 7 hours ago

Herro was injured and wasn’t even playing in 1 of those trip to the Finals and was a reserve in the other. Oladipo was injured and barely played in the playoffs. As for Love and Lowry, they only participated on the 2nd trip to the finals and were both close to retirement age. Max Strus and Gabe Vincent were G league guys that they picked up and hadn’t developed into good players yet.

You obviously didn’t watch the games and just pulled the names from online data.

tman37

2 | 3 hours ago

You were complaining about Riley constructing the team around Butler, Bam and “a bunch of G-leaguers”. All of the people I mentioned either have had long NBA careers or are currently NBA players. Lowry and Love were multiple time all-stars and had rings. They were at the end of their careers but they were definitely not G-leaguers.

You can’t blame Riley for Herro and Olidipo getting injured. It’s professional sports, people get injured. You are moving the goal posts. First it was g-leaguers then it was they were too old or too young or too injured.

The fact was that the 2019 and the 2023 teams had great runs for low seeded teams. That is a testament to Riley constructing teams for the playoffs. They both contained a mix of veterans and young talent. That should be celebrated not denigrated. Maybe Riley should move on, he is really old at this point but not because he doesn’t know how to construct a winning roster.

9061xRG | Wizards

1 | 2 hours ago

That’s really diminishing how well a lot of those fringe guys played. You don’t make the finals in this era with G leaguers.

MddlingAges | Knicks

-1 | 2 hours ago

There was so much luck in acquiring Butler, and then advancing past the flaky Celtics and hurt Giannis, that it hides Pat’s real flaws.

He’s had a couple superstar coups but couldn’t even hang onto Jimmy (probably a good thing) or LeBron (horrible franchise altering mistake).

Artimusjones88 | Raptors

0 | 3 hours ago

And lost… nice stories, but not real contenders contenders

KL2ConspireLLC | San Diego Clippers

79 | 8 hours ago

What if Spo is one of those coaches who is great as a coach but is bad as a team exec like Phil Jackson?

CommodoreIrish | Spurs

6 | 5 hours ago

Why can’t he be like Popovich and do both jobs?

RedHammer1441

14 | 4 hours ago

I feel like Pop is also one of a kind in that regard. Brad Steven’s is one who did both jobs well but who knows if he could’ve done them both at the same time.

ekray | Spurs

9 | 3 hours ago

Still it was RC Buford doing most of the work. Pop helped of course but he was only in both roles for what, 2 years?

Coolsun13

-10 | 7 hours ago

That’s certainly possible but they have to move on from Riley at some point and there is no better candidate to replace him than Spo.

Half_baked_prince | Clippers

11 | 7 hours ago

What about replacing him with a guy who has front office experience? Last thing I would want in the modern NBA is having one person in both of those roles

nezaposlen

1 | 7 hours ago

it worked out for the celtics, brad stevens is a great exec

nevermindthatyoudope | Celtics

1 | 3 hours ago

Stevens wasn’t in both positions simultaneously though.

9061xRG | Wizards

1 | 2 hours ago

I think they’d like to keep the same culture and that starts from the top. I agree doing both sounds terrible but Spo is the natural candidate to take up that mantle and to have a similar aura. Surviving the LeBron year and Butler years does a lot for how people view him.

cottonmane8 | Heat

11 | 8 hours ago

Spo is only 55 and is signed until 2032

DecentDiver458

3 | 7 hours ago

Bro I expect the AI drones to wipe us out by the time Im 55

AsPeHeat | Heat

11 | 8 hours ago

Probably not. A lot of Heat fans only point out to the negative things Pat has done while ignoring everything that he’s done well.

People love complaining, which is sad

Coolsun13

-17 | 7 hours ago

Name me 1 other roster that Riley put together that was good as a unit since the 2006 one that was led by Shaq and Wade. Even the dynasty years with the Big 3, they didn’t have great supporting players and only won thanks to star power.

001503

12 | 7 hours ago

I have to respectfully disagree. The Heatles roster was beautifully constructed. Ray Allen, Birdman, Battier, Mike Miller, James Jones. People underestimate how hard it is to build a championship roster when 3 guys eat most of your cap. Not only did the front office do it, but they purposely went after guys that allowed them to run a certain system. I also think you, OP, and others in this comment section are overstating Pat’s authority and confusing it with Elisbergs and Arisons.

LastPhoton | Heat

1 | 3 hours ago

Lmao you just proved AspeHeats point

Clear_Lead

6 | 7 hours ago

Pat is the GOAT

Not-JustinTV

3 | 5 hours ago

Pat is doing a good job,OP should be a Kings or Wizards fan then come talk.

Resident_Durian_478 | Spurs

7 | 6 hours ago

Spo is a great coach, that doesn’t always translate to front office position, look at steve Kerr for example.

Nuclearsunburn | Heat

2 | an hour ago

Yeah, also, Spo isn’t even Pat’s successor, it’s Alonzo Mourning.

Trobbio9000

1 | 8 hours ago

They will be better once they figure out that tanking works

randomstring09877

6 | 7 hours ago

I think you just miss the play in and tanking is done.

nixhomunculus

2 | 8 hours ago

Ainge styled tanking?

FlipMoBitch | Bucks

1 | 2 hours ago

I doubt Spo is on board for a tear down/rebuild

Klonomania | Warriors

1 | 8 hours ago

I don’t think they should mess with success by taking one of the best coaches in the game away from that role unless he insists on a promotion. However, I do agree that Pat Riley’s time is up and Miami will be mired in mediocrity for as long as he is there, much like us just praying for a superstar to become available on the cheap.

clownus | Knicks

5 | 7 hours ago

They just went to two finals in the last six years.

Mediocrity is certainly not the words to describe Miami in the last decade.

Not-JustinTV

1 | 5 hours ago

They think miami is LA

-Sofa-King-Vote | Knicks

1 | 7 hours ago

You would have to pry the armani suit off his back first no way

D1HATER3002 | Thunder

1 | 7 hours ago

Not all coaches turned into president of basketball operations is good lol, Brad and Pop are rare cases lol.

BackendSpecialist | Lakers

1 | 5 hours ago

Yes. Absolutely. Riley should retire.

Is spo good as president? Maybe. He can’t perform worse than Riley has over the last half decade.

shawhtk | Celtics

1 | 3 hours ago

Not every coach is a great exec.

AllDayEnJay | Nets

1 | 3 hours ago

Wouldn’t matter all that much considering Nick Arison has been in charge of personnel for a while behind the scenes with the Heat while Pat Riley is the public face.

heatrealist

1 | an hour ago

No. Not sure it even makes sense to assume Spo will get that job or is even qualified for it. It is not like the coach is the automatic successor to that position.

gdex | MIA

1 | 26 minutes ago

Pat isn’t the issue, it’s the arsons being cheap that’s killing the heat

nixhomunculus

0 | 7 hours ago

It’s surprising that Riley couldn’t stand tanking given how Pop tanked hard for Wemby

Comprehensive-Bar804

0 | 7 hours ago

Riley should step down but idk if Spo should take his job tho

Upstairs_Display_697

0 | 7 hours ago

You don’t move your top-tier head coach to an executive role with no reason.

Stevens got moved to president because Jaylen Brown wanted a Black head coach, but Celtics / Ainge felt Stevens was too valuable a personnel to part with.

I do agree it’s time for Riley to delegate more power to someone else.

CHEVIEWER1

0 | 3 hours ago

Looking from afar…Yes

ZasdfUnreal

-1 | 7 hours ago

LeBron would have won ten championships in Miami if Riley let him have chocolate chip cookies on the plane.

TrapAHolic_ttv

-1 | 7 hours ago

Yeah. Pat Riley is senile and stuck in his ways

Do you think that the Heat organization would function better if Pat Riley finally retires and let Spo take over as President?