Now that is more like it.
When the offseason started, we all knew Miami had to get younger and more athletic. Not for the reasons you may think – the Heat’s foundation is not deteriorated or old, but rather because they just needed to change things. Youth tends to lend you more athleticism but also more hunger – which is what the Heat really need. To get back on that championship diet.
In comes Ricky Davis, the former Heatian who did not stick because he was, well, too young and probably too athletic for Riley to coach up. Now he’s a vet, and things are different. He is a bit more mature, but still quite brash – something Miami also could use these days. We need some head-banded attitude. Now we got Smush Parker and Ricky Davis.
Also in the deal Minny threw in Mark Blount. All it cost the Heat is Antoine Walker, Michael Doleac and Wayne Simien. Let’s face it, Walker was fun to watch when things were going good, painful to watch when they weren’t. He is always going to be a member of the Heat’s only (for now!) championship team. His Walker Wiggle still gives me the giggles, but his game is highly inefficient and sometimes God-awful to watch. His contract, soaring up to $10M per is just as bad.
As for Doleac and Simien? Expendable. Doleac for Blount is actually an upgrade as Blount has a better arsenal and could be an excellent addition coming off the bench. Upgrade. As for Simien, he just seems to not be able to get it together in Miami. That and we have a very nice prospect in Alexander Johnson who could hold his spot on the bench instead.
This is a great move all around as it gives Miami more options to play with. The Heat need a SG to start the season and frankly, they didn’t have a really good option until they traded for Davis. Now, they could start Davis at the 2 or the 3 – depending on whether or not Dorrel Wright can wrestle the starting job. Of course, this was the biggest question for Miami – Wright had to be the starter coming out for them to really have any kind of success. Now, things aren’t as dire.
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Heat Getting Jolt of Energy
Let’s face it, Pat Riley knows what he is doing.
He is like that guy that quietly sits down at the bar, nestles on up and asks for his drink. While he does so, everyone stops what they are doing and watches for his next move.
You can feel the anticipation in the air.
Riley has not blown the doors off by simply pulling the trigger on an easy, big ticket deal that would instantly make Miami the favorites in the East. That would be too easy, and too amateur. If anything, Riley is no amateur. Besides, he has pulled that old trick before in the past – trading for Zo in the earlier heydays of the Heat team which lead to a series of successes in the mid to late 90′s (and some heartbreaks) and also with the most recent trade of Shaq. Been there, done that, got the ring.
Other teams might feel the need to shortcut their way to the top – like Boston – but it is always a risky deal because you have to have the right components in place: a coach that can coach, a team culture that is about winning and pride. The Heat have that, and have always had that – except for last season the mix wasn’t there. The team was bloated on its championship and believe it or not, one of the key components to last season’s disaster is gone – James Posey. This isn’t to knock Posey but failing to come in to camp in shape is one thing. A guy like Antoine Walker will never be that chiseled because of his body type, but the effort was there. With Posey, is just looked like complacency. This year’s camp is already looking drastically different.
And it is the unsung, unknown young guys that are making the difference.
What Riley is quietly doing is taking the old recipe and infusing it with new ingredients. This is a factor that most of us mere mortals chose to ignore and instead whine about not getting the big trade that would instantly improve the team. Yet it isn’t about instant gratification if you are trying to do something right, it is about a system and the process of executing that system. You need the right components.
You could add the right component by making a trade and also give up some of your talent that is currently in house.
Or you can fill the tub with your own water, and develop the talent to fit into your system.
The latter works especially well if you believe it is just a minor tweak that is needed rather than an overhaul. And this is in fact what Riley believes. Trading for a Zo or a Shaq is a statement about turning over the team’s culture. When you have both of those guys on your roster, you really only need to tweak things.
The real difference between a good player and a great player is intrinsic motivation. If you have it, you don’t need a guy screaming in your ear telling you to shoot 1000 more free throws or to go to the gym at 4 in the morning. You do all of that because you want to be great. You know nothing else.
In that category are players like Wade, Shaq and Zo. Others on the roster may have delusions of granduer, but because of Shaq, Zo and Wade they will be raising their play much in the same way the moon orbits the earth – because of gravity. Riley understands this principle, he has developed a system and has won everywhere he has coached. Having championship bookends on your coaching career only validates that you know what you are doing.
And Riley is up to something. He has taken this team and injected it with an infusion of youth in order to push the great players and the hoi polloi into getting back to the level they were in 2006.
It might come down to a guy like Brian Chase ultimately shaping the focus of this team more than Riley can do. And that is essentially what a great coach does – he puts things in place and stands aside while the team takes over its own destiny.