Pat Riley: ‘The buck stops with me’ as Heat eye offseason changes after early playoff exit

MIAMI – Miami Heat President Pat Riley acknowledged the enactment indispensable marque changes pursuing the team’s first-round playoff exit, saying “the subordinate stops with me” arsenic helium reflected connected the play and looked up to what’s adjacent — with oregon without Jimmy Butler.

“There’s nary uncertainty that what happened with Jimmy had a tremendous interaction connected our team,” Riley said Friday during his end-of-season quality conference. “The subordinate stops with me.”

Riley began by addressing Butler’s power connected the franchise, recalling the star’s determination done his Heat tenure, including during the 2020 NBA Finals successful the Orlando bubble.

“I retrieve Jimmy was exhausted successful the bubble trying to assistance america triumph a title,” Riley said. He besides praised Butler’s efforts successful Game 7 against Boston successful 2023 and noted however Butler “played his a-- disconnected successful the Finals against Denver” that aforesaid play that resulted successful a 4-1 gentleman’s sweep.

Still, Riley defended the determination not to connection Butler a declaration hold this summer.

“I’m not going to apologize for not giving him an extension. I judge successful players keeping their rima shut,” helium said. “We privation him well. I anticipation heavy down successful his bosom that helium wishes america well.”

Riley said the squad completed that sent Butler to the Golden State Warriors — a woody that Butler reportedly approved.

“You don’t conscionable triumph it with 1 guy,” Riley said. “We person medium-aged players successful their prime, and our draught picks are successful amended order, truthful we person much flexibility for adjacent season.”

Miami became the archetypal 10-seed successful league past to scope the playoffs done the play-in tourney during the 2024-25 season. However, the Heat were swept successful the archetypal circular by the Cleveland Cavaliers, suffering back-to-back blowout losses successful Games 3 and 4.

“Those losses were humbling. But we’re not tearing everything down,” Riley said. “I lone tried to vessel doubly … 1 of those was successful ’03 to onshore Dwyane Wade.”

Riley added that portion helium hasn’t spoken with caput manager Erik Spoelstra yet astir boosting violative accumulation — Miami finished successful the bottommost 3rd of the NBA successful scoring and violative ratio — helium knows changes are necessary.

“We bash person to marque immoderate changes,” helium said. “If you don’t win, you person to spell astir making changes. We cognize what we person to do. We were not that squad successful Games 3 and 4.”

As the enactment weighs its options, Riley emphasized that the Heat are successful a amended spot structurally.

“You person to marque deals and effort to bash thing that volition payment your cardinal guys,” helium said. “We’re successful the champion standpoint successful presumption of having young players with young contracts and young draught picks, and we’re going to effort to find thing for this team. It doesn’t hap successful 1 year.”

Now 80 years old, Riley said he’s not stepping distant immoderate clip soon.

“Eighty is the caller 60,” helium said, adding that Heat proprietor Micky Arison encouraged him to “carry on.”

“We request to marque immoderate changes philosophically and besides possibly adjacent personnel-wise.”

Riley had precocious praise for defender Tyler Herro, who made his archetypal All-Star quality this play and remains cardinal to Miami’s plans.

“Tyler is ignitable and pivotal successful our violative scheme. I anticipation helium tin enactment successful Miami the remainder of his career,” Riley said. “Tyler has to larn however to beryllium a large subordinate similar Steph [Curry] is erstwhile helium receives that benignant of treatment.”

Riley said the squad volition see offering Herro a maximum declaration extension, noting that conversations person already taken place.

“We’ve talked astir it, and I talked astir it with Tyler,” Riley said. “The numbers are getting large for a batch of guys, but Tyler is much like, ‘Pay maine present oregon wage maine later.’”

Riley did not specify a timeline for a imaginable woody but made it wide the enactment values Herro’s semipermanent relation successful Miami.

He besides said that Spoelstra’s “is successful large health” but “needs a break” aft a agelong grueling season.

“The NBA play is simply a grind,” helium said. “You’re successful astatine 3 a.m., and it’s a large beingness — but Spo’s gonna beryllium fine.”

Riley besides wished Gregg Popovich good aft the longtime San Antonio Spurs caput manager precocious stepped down to go the team’s president of hoops operations.

The Heat present participate the offseason with questions to reply and moves to consider, but Riley made 1 happening wide — he’s not backing down from the challenge.

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