On Friday afternoon, HEAT President Pat Riley spoke to the media on a conference call to discuss the roster and his outlook for the 2018-19 season.
Check out some notable quotes below.
On Dwyane Wade
I want him back as a player. I want him back as a competitor. I want him back as a guy that wants to have the greatest year he ever had as a player. I read more articles about Dwyane being done, ‘he’s lost a step, he’s not the same player, he might not have the same motivation.’ There’s been a lot of things that have been written about him in that context, but I still see a player who can contribute heavily if he really wants to. And I do believe if he plays, he’s going to want to do that. We don’t want him back just as a placemat holder or somebody who’s going to be a veteran in the locker room. I mean, Dwyane is a great player [and] is a great talent. He’s not the same guy he was in 2006, but he can be a very good player for us and [can] make a big difference.
On the moves he’s made the past few years and his thoughts on the current roster
Continuity, to me, is important…when Dwyane accepted the offer with Chicago, we moved forward with putting together a team that we felt we could build with [and] take a look at the team for two to three years. Guys that had made it or didn’t make it or guys that were in the middle of their careers that just needed an opportunity. And I think you have seen with these players who got a real legit opportunity that they could perform, and also they could perform on a playoff team.
I think this year is a pivotal year for these guys when they come back and to try to dispel the notion and the perception out there that we are who a lot of people think we are. And to me that’s a great challenge on the part of the team and the coaching staff.
We are going to be a very, very competitive team, and I do hope that through the continuity and the belief that we have in this roster, that they’ll be better.
Once we made all those signings after Dwyane left, and then after they had a great 30-11 second half of the season and after making the playoffs last year with this team and also having Dion play hardly at all, that we got to give it another shot. You can’t just keep ripping things up every year and changing your roster, and so continuity is important.
I feel good about where we are right now. I don’t feel any tremendous anxiety to go out and do something big because quite frankly, we can’t, but we will again one day.
On Justise Winslow
Justise has been working very hard this summer, as he always does. All of our guys are working their a** off…we look at Justise as one of our anchor pieces.
On Hassan Whiteside
I’m convinced and I’m confident that if he just comes and plays every night as hard as he can play and do what he does best, which is rebound the ball and block shots and be a rim protector, go rim to rim, be a hard pick-and-roll player, defend, all of those things, and if he does it with a pure heart…I think he’ll have a great year. And I think he’ll go back to that first year and a half when people were talking about him being defensive player of the year. He has that in him, but it’s up to him…Hassan simply has something to prove.
On guys who were injured at the end of last season
I saw Tyler [Johnson] in Sacramento, and I made sure I didn’t grab his left hand. He’s fine. He’s doing very well. Most of our guys will be back probably in mid-August and start to really get ready for Training Camp. JJ [James Johnson] is coming along great. Dion Waiters is now ramping up his efforts to heal and get better and put more work into being able to get out on the court, so he’s coming along. There really weren’t any other real significant injuries to any of our players that haven’t healed by now.