Since trading away All-Star forward Jimmy Butler, the Miami Heat have struggled to get back to their winning ways. The Heat are currently on a nine-game losing streak and have only won once in March. They have fallen to the 10 spot in the Eastern Conference standings with a 29-40 record.
While the organization’s current status does not appear to be favorable, former NBA player Chandler Parsons believes it can be revived. On Thursday’s episode of FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back,” Parsons discussed how Miami won’t be at the bottom for long.
“When the Heat are trying to look for blame, ‘Oh, Pat Riley was wrong.’ I don’t see it like that,” Parsons said. “I see like his hand was forced, he got the best non-leverage deal that he possibly had at the time.
“But at the end of the day, you have Tyler Herro, they have Bam [Adebayo], they have the city of Miami that’s always going to attract free agents and this is something that they had to do this summer or they were simply going to lose him for nothing.
The Heat are on a 9-game losing streak, and have struggled greatly since trading Jimmy Butler.
Is it time for Pat Riley to step away from the team?@MichelleDBeadle | @ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23 pic.twitter.com/IYsEk9zmaI
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) March 21, 2025
Parsons talked about how the Heat may be experiencing something terrible now, but it won’t last long. After all, they have stars like Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, who have a deep postseason experience that could attract stars in the future.
“I doesn’t look good right now, it doesn’t feel good right now because they’re losing and then you look over and the Warriors are winning. That sucks. But at the end of the day, you have two building blocks in Herro and Bam that guys are gonna want to play with.”
The Heat will play against the Houston Rockets on Friday and will try to break their losing streak.
Former NBA player suggests the Miami Heat president should have a decreased role
A lot of the Miami Heat’s success can be credited to their team president, Pat Riley. He coached a young Dwyane Wade and a veteran Shaquille O’Neal to earn the franchise’s first championship. In the 2010s, he assembled one of the most iconic trios with Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
After that, the Heat found gems in various draft classes when they acquired Herro and Adebayo, forming a Big 3 with Butler. However, the organization has struggled to finish their seasons strong over the past few years.
This led former NBA player Kendrick Perkins to suggest that Riley should have a decreased role within the organization. According to him, being a consultant would fit best in the team’s current state. Perk said that the executive’s time has passed and it’s time for him to hand over the torch.
However, neither the Heat nor Riley has hinted that a demotion could happen.
For other sports-related content:
Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignamuraonba@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
