Pat Riley wants everyone to calm down. Yes, the Miami Heat fell short of winning their third straight NBA championship, but no, they do not need to rebuild their entire roster. With LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all getting the chance to test the free agent market, Riley has no worries about the future of Miami, predicting everything will work out with the Big Three.
Riley feels no need to recruit Wade, Bosh and James. He believes their success together and championship jewelry speaks louder than any sales pitch he might give. Despite the tight salary cap, Riley is confident that he can re-sign everyone, noting he at least does not expect Wade to head anywhere else this offseason.
"It's not about options. It's not about free agency," Riley said, via ESPN.com. "It's about what we've done over four years. It's about looking around the room now and seeing who is going to stand up. Those four years we've had with LeBron, we're hoping to turn them into eight or 10. We're not walking around on eggshells anymore. How can we keep the guys together? We're prepared. We've got the main thing all written up. Whatever it takes to keep them together, we're ready for. Let's stay here and try to keep this thing going."
The Heat players have until June 29 to announce whether or not they will opt out of their current contracts and test the market. If all of the Heat's top players opt out of the $20 million salary next season, the Heat will have around $51 million to retool with. That could include re-signing all three players. It could also include attempting to get Carmelo Anthony who has reportedly been interested in teaming up with James. Riley would not address that rumor.
"That's a pipe dream," Riley said. "But everyone thought 2010 was a pipe dream. That's not where we're headed."
If the Big Three are going to re-sign with the Heat, they likely will have to accept pay cuts once again, something they might not be so keen on doing a second time around. Riley does not anticipate any drastic drops in salary just re-sign them. However, pay cuts mean more players and the Heat could easily sign Wade, James and Bosh while then targeting other free agents like Kyle Lowry, Eric Bledsoe or even Luol Deng to get more scoring.
For now, Riley is not panicking. The Heat have a lot of decisions to make in the near future, but he is not concerned about where the team is headed. He remains confident the Heat will stay contenders in the league for many years to come.
"I think everybody needs to get a grip," Riley said. "This stuff is hard. You have to stay together and find the guts. You don't find the [exit] door and run out of it."
