ASK IRA: Is there sufficient oversight when it comes to Heat’s decision making?

Q: OK, Ira, I will take the bait. I am a 36-year season-ticket holder going on my 37th year. Yes, I would have preferred to have not made the playoffs this year. The Heat were not going to repeat their 2023 performance in the playoffs. Let’s not forget that Giannis Antetokounmpo got hurt in 2023 and missed 2 1/2 games, thus opening up the chance for the Heat to go on their playoff run. This year’s draft is deep with talent. It was worth the risk to possibly end up with one of the Top 4 picks. Don’t forget we tanked in 2008 and ended up with Michael Beasley. (But the Heat didn’t do their homework on Beasley and didn’t realize how immature Beasley was.) As a season-ticket holder, I am not asking the Heat to tank for three or four years, but when there was a chance to move up in a deep draft, it would have made sense to not make the playoffs this year. What the Heat need to do is stop overpaying players. Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are not max players. They are worth $30 million and if they don’t like it, let them leave. Max players are LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum. Riley should never have paid Duncan Robinson $90 million. The Heat should just sign players to one-year contracts until all 15 contracts expire at the same time and then there would be money to sign two max players and then fill in the roster with complementary players like they did in 2010 to 2014. Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra need to be held accountable for their personnel decisions and in-game coaching decisions. This stuff about Heat Culture is a bunch of malarkey. Pat Riley knows what malarkey means.  – David, Fort Lauderdale.

A: First, this was a unique situation for the Heat when it came to pushing for the playoffs. Without that push, it would have meant an unprotected first-round pick to the Thunder next year and one to the Hornets in 2028. Protecting the future was part of the equation made with the playoff push, and therefore bypassing the lottery. Yes, a lottery pick would have helped this mix, but missing out on the potential for the top of the lottery in 2026 and ’28 could have been just as devastating. (Granted, no one knew the Heat’s lottery spot would have been the winning spot.) But when it comes to the other issues you cite, Pat Riley said he has been given full clearance from ownership to move forward with his planning. This would have been a time when it could have been preferable to hear directly from ownership, to get true perspective and what has come before and what will follow.

Q: I hate tanking. It is miserable as a fan to watch a terrible team year after year. And it only works a small percentage of the time; ask Philly about Trust the Process. I do have my concerns about the decisions from the Heat’s office: Bam Adebayo is overpaid, Duncan Robinson’s awful contract, letting Max Strus walk, the Terry Rozier trade, the Jimmy Butler debacle, multiple free-agent whiffs, etc, etc. You cannot make mistakes year after year and expect to put a championship team on the floor.  – Chadwick, Lake Worth.

A: But at some point you also have to move forward, because you can’t undo the past. Then again, perhaps such a change already is afoot, with Pat Riley bypassing Jimmy Butler’s extension last summer and sounding like he will put Tyler Herro’s on hold this time around. After 37-45, there seemingly has to be a degree of reset, even if the same front office is doing the setting.

Q: Cooper Flagg should be required to wear jersey number 1.8 so that the fans are reminded that the Mavs’ future success is a matter of dumb luck. – Ray, Deerfield Beach.

A: Or based on how the Mavericks operate, perhaps just give Cooper Flagg Luka Doncic’s number and pretend that trade never happened.