NBA fans are not very happy with the most recent admission made by Miami Heat President Pat Riley. As many of us should be aware, the team was given a significant amount of attention from the media this offseason. This was due to the fact that Damian Lillard had requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers and made his desire to join the Miami Heat public.
Since the Heat had managed to make it to the NBA Finals twice over the recent years but fell short both times, many assumed that Miami would do whatever it took to acquire Lillard from the Blazers. We all know that this didn’t go as expected since Dame is now playing for the Milwaukee Bucks.
While one would assume that the Heat were prepared to do whatever it took to get Lillard, recent statements from Riley seem to challenge those notions. With that being said, let us take a closer look at what Pat Riley had to say and how the Miami Heat fans feel about all of this.
Pat Riley reveals that the Miami Heat would not give up more to get Damian Lillard
Getting Lillard would undoubtedly make the Miami Heat the favorites to win an NBA title. However, the Heat president revealed that they were unwilling to give up all of their assets in any trade discussions, “We were very reluctant this summer in giving up all of our assets in any kind of discussions with anybody.”
Pat Riley admits that he didn’t want to give up a lot of assets for certain players on the trade market this summer
“We were very reluctant this summer in giving up all of our assets in any kind of discussions with anybody,”
(Via The Miami Herald) pic.twitter.com/gngHQfgVAG
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 23, 2023
Upon finding out about this statement, fans instantly attacked Riley for not doing whatever it took to win an NBA championship, “Can’t believe this. Pat don’t wanna win.”
Can’t believe this. Pat don’t wanna win
— Emo Jimmy (@WheelerJaylen) October 23, 2023
Many Heat fans were quite upset to hear these words from Riley. However, some of them saw the reasoning behind his words. After all, the Heat managed to make it all the way to the NBA Finals with one of their best scorers missing.
Very smart. Both Lillard and Beal can’t defend which is 50% of the game…
— Jeremy Berman (@_SportsTruther) October 23, 2023
Giving up Herro and all the other assets that the Blazers were expecting was a decision that Riley simply did not want to make. Changing the balance of the team’s chemistry and risking a lot of future assets is a risky move that should be made only with due diligence.
Since the Heat are the defending Eastern Conference champions at the moment, the bar is set quite high for them. If they end up falling short this season, there will be a significant amount of scrutiny against Riley and the Miami Heat management.