Майами Хит багийн ерөнхийлөгч Пэт Райли Янис Адетокунбог эгнээндээ нэгтгэсэн нь багийн бүрэлдэхүүнийг чанаржуулж, ирэх улирлын өрсөлдөөнд чухал түлхэц болно гэдгийг онцоллоо.
Пүрэв гарагт болсон хэвлэлийн бага хурлын үеэр Пэт Райли Янис Адетокунбог багтаа элсүүлэх хэлэлцээрийг амжилттай дуусгаснаа зарласан юм. Тэрээр энэхүү томоохон наймааг хийхэд тусалсан Энди Элисбургтэй хамтран ажиллаж, “онгоцыг газардлаа” хэмээн сэтгэл хангалуун байгаагаа илэрхийлэв. Хэдийгээр багийн бүрэлдэхүүн өнөөдрийн байдлаар хангалттай хүчтэй байгаа ч Райли дараагийн нэгэн чухал зорилт байгааг нуусангүй.
Тэрхүү зорилт нь чөлөөт агент болсон Леброн Жэймс юм. Леброн Жэймс ирэх улиралд тоглох багтаа шийдвэр гаргаагүй байгаа бөгөөд Майами Хит түүний сонирхож буй таван багийн нэгд багтаж байна. Райли багийн удирдлага одоогоор хүлээлтийн байдалтай байгаа бөгөөд энэ асуудал аяндаа шийдэгдэнэ гэдэгт итгэлтэй байна.
Леброн Жэймс 2026-27 оны улиралд Лейкерс багт эргэн ирэхгүй гэдгээ мэдэгдсэн бөгөөд одоогоор Голдэн Стэйт Уорриорс, Филадельфиа Севенти Сиксерс, Кливлэнд Кавальерс болон Майами Хит багуудыг сонирхож байгаа аж. Жэймс өөрийн шийдвэрээ удахгүй олон нийтэд зарлана гэдгээ илэрхийлээд байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
MIAMI — During the introductory press conference for Giannis Antetokounmpo on Thursday, Miami Heat president Pat Riley revealed how he found out that a deal for the two-time NBA MVP was done from Andy Elisburg, but also revealed where the team’s pursuit of another NBA MVP currently stands.
“I got a call about after a month of discussion,” Riley said of the fateful phone call from Elisburg. “And the call came late and he said to me, we have a deal. He closed the deal and we both sort of screamed out loud. Yeah, we landed the plane.”
Landing the plane is how Riley and Elisburg have often discussed finishing a big transaction over their years working together, but then Riley made a quick aside.
“There’s another one we have to land,” Riley said.
Riley was, of course, referring to LeBron James, who has yet to make his free agent decision and made the Miami Heat one of the five teams he might potentially join next season.
“That definitely helps when you have a top-five player in the world,” Riley said of what already having Antetokounmpo on the roster means for the recruitment of James. “As far as the 24-year veteran, that is something that would happen organically.”
Adding James would serve as a massive boost for the Heat roster, but Riley made it clear that adding Antetokounmpo had already made him quite confident about where the roster currently stacks up in the Eastern Conference.
“I hope I’m not talking out of both sides of my mouth here, but you never know that you’re ever going to win a title until you win one, but you’ll never win one if you don’t have the talent and the coaching to do it,” Riley said. “From that standpoint, this is a team that we have right now and I’m happy with it. And I think this is Spo’s challenge.”
Following the press conference, Riley spoke with a smaller group of reporters, where he was asked to clarify where he believed the Heat stand in their pursuit of James.
“I don’t know. I really don’t,” Riley said. “To be transparent about it, we’ve had discussions over a week ago, maybe a week before that about it, but right now, I think we’re like everybody else. We’re just waiting to see what he does, and then we’ll see what happens. I really can’t answer that right now.”
Earlier this offseason, James announced he would play in the 2026-27 season, but would not return to the Lakers. The Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Heat are thought to be the teams James is considering.
During a live taping of his “Mind the Game” podcast Thursday afternoon at Fanatics Fest in New York, James refrained from announcing a decision on his next stop. But later in the day during a panel at the CNBC/Boardroom Game Plan event at the same venue, James indicated that his decision would be coming soon. “I won’t hold you guys up too much longer,” he said.
