Pat Riley Reflects on Three Decades in Miami as Arison Prepares for Hall of Fame Enshrinement
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With Miami Heat owner Micky Arison set to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend, team president Pat Riley looked back on his 30-year partnership with Arison and the franchise’s willingness to embrace risk.
“If he didn’t like something, he would tell me, ‘I don’t think we should go that way,’ and I wouldn’t go that way,” Riley told The Miami Herald. “If he said, ‘Go for it,’ then damn right, let’s go for it.” Riley added that bold moves—such as acquiring LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Lamar Odom, Shaquille O’Neal and Jimmy Butler—have been central to the organization’s identity, even if not every gamble paid off.
Since Riley took charge of basketball operations, Miami has reached the NBA Finals seven times and captured three championships.
EuroBasket Showcases Heat Role Players
While EuroBasket 2025 unfolds, Heat contributors Nikola Jović (Serbia), Pelle Larsson (Sweden) and Simone Fontecchio (Italy) are logging larger roles than they typically see in Miami. The uptick in usage has produced eye-catching numbers, though The South Florida Sun Sentinel cautioned that international success does not guarantee a breakout in the 2025/26 NBA season.
Trade Buzz Surrounding Fontecchio
The Stein Line reported that Miami had explored trading Fontecchio prior to sending Haywood Highsmith to the Brooklyn Nets. With the Highsmith deal now pulling the club under the luxury-tax threshold, league sources told Marc Stein there is little immediate pressure to move the Italian forward.
Lineup Questions: Jović or Ware Next to Adebayo?
In a separate analysis for The Miami Herald, Barry Jackson examined whether Miami should start Jović alongside Bam Adebayo instead of second-year center Kel’el Ware. Last season’s data showed the Heat fared better when Adebayo shifted to power forward with Ware at center than when Adebayo stayed at center and Jović started.
The Heat will continue evaluating those options as training camp approaches, balancing roster flexibility against the organization’s long-standing appetite for calculated risk.
Source: Hoops Rumors
