Miami Heat president Pat Riley said that the team’s owner, Micky Arison, is committed to doing “whatever it takes” to help the team win a championship.
Miami is expected to be in the tax for the first time in a while, but that doesn’t seem to be an issue for Arison, which is a good sign for the Heat’s chances of contending.
Pat Riley notes that the Heat are in the tax for the first time in a while.
He says Micky Arison is "committed to doing whatever it takes to fulfull this championship dream."
— Five Reasons Sports 🏀🏈⚾️🏒⚽️ (@5ReasonsSports) June 20, 2023
The Heat have come close to winning an NBA title in the last four seasons since bringing in Jimmy Butler. Miami has made the Eastern Conference Finals three times over that stretch and NBA Finals twice.
While the team has lost in the Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers (2020) and Denver Nuggets (2023), the Heat have consistently shown they are one of the best teams in the NBA.
The Heat are paying several players hefty salaries in the 2023-24 season. Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are all slated to make $27 million or more in the coming season.
The Heat are also set to pay sharpshooter Duncan Robinson over $18 million in the 2023-24 campaign.
Arison’s commitment to winning a title – and being willing to go into the tax – is a good sign for the Heat’s chances of bringing back key free agents like Max Strus and Gabe Vincent.
It also could mean that Miami is willing to deal a player like Lowry, who is entering the final season of his deal, to take on a better player who has multiple seasons left on his contract.
The Heat have won three titles under Arison’s tenure as the team’s owner, but they are looking to add to that since they haven’t won one since the Big 3 era with LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
It’s clear that Miami is knocking on the doorstep of a title, especially since the team made the NBA Finals with Herro missing most of the team’s playoff run in the 2022-23 season. The Heat also became just the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to make the NBA Finals.
With Arison’s blessing, Heat fans should be excited to see how Riley continues to build the roster going forward.
