Pat Riley did it again.
Nearly two years after he dug the Miami Heat out of what felt like a really tough salary cap situation with the brilliant Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade, he made another brilliant move acquiring Victor Oladipo from the Houston Rockets.
All it cost was vet Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and swapping first-rounders with the Rockets. That’s it. No Duncan Robinson, no Tyler Herro, none of the other kids on the roster. How did he pull that off?! Of course they were on our list of winners from Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
There’s an answer to that, per a report from NBA reporter Evan Massey — an agent anonymously told him that Riley waited out the Rockets, who might have been concerned about losing Oladipo for nothing in free agency this summer:
#NBA agent on the Victor Oladipo to #Heat trade. @HoopAnalysisNet
“Miami played this exactly right. Up until the last second, the Rockets were demanding Duncan Robinson. Heat waited and Houston knew they’d lose Oladipo for nothing. Big win for Pat Riley.”
— Evan Massey (@massey_evan) March 25, 2021
Brilliant! And he made sure the message to Herro and Robinson — who have had some struggles here and there a year after their respective breakouts — was how important they are:
Pat Riley says of Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson: "You can't let go of those two assets because they can become truly great." Adds that he has confidence that Herro and Robinson will snap out of their shooting slumps (they kind of did tonight).
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) March 26, 2021
Pat Riley talking a lot about protecting the Heat's young assets and adds that "I think there's a line with any move."
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) March 26, 2021
And now the Heat could end up signing LaMarcus Aldridge after the San Antonio Spurs bought the veteran out.
You couldn’t play this any better. Along with adding a stretch 4 in Nemanja Bjelica and a small forward who can defend in Trevor Ariza (earlier this month), the Heat suddenly look like the kind of team that — like last season — can make a surprise run to the Finals while also being set up to succeed in the future as Herro continues to develop.
I know, I know — the Brooklyn Nets and their Big 3 loom. The Philadelphia 76ers look like they could be the No. 1 seed in the East, and there’s always the Milwaukee Bucks.
But the Heat have every base covered with the Oladipo trade — offense inside and out with him, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic. Shooting with Herro and Robinson that should open up even more. Defense with Butler, Ariza, Adebayo and Andre Iguodala. Depth for days.
It’s gotten to the point where if your phone is ringing and it’s Riley, you know it’s all over. You’re going to get the short end of the deal.
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