Miami Heat president Pat Riley, one of the best head coaches and executives in league history, recently suggested that after all the big transactions that went down this summer, the Eastern Conference is wide open.
Riley said that one cannot really predict what will happen in the league. He singled out last year's deals involving Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Though many initially thought that the Indiana Pacers will be heading to rebuild mode, the two, especially Oladipo, turned their game up a notch. Riley observed that instead of talking about the Pacers, many spoke about either the Boston Celtics or the Philadelphia 76ers.
With regard to the blockbuster deal involving Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan, Riley said that he's not sure how will it go for the Toronto Raptors. Still, he's aware that all the deals each team made were all done to make themselves better.
Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Riley said:
“With the trade of Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan, you don’t know how that’s going to play out [with Toronto]. I think there are a lot of teams in the East that have made, whether it’s upward moves or lateral moves, are having a feeling about themselves that they’re going to be better.
Given all his assumptions, Riley reverted the discussion back to his organization. While his team didn't necessarily get involved in big deals this summer, Riley says that the Heat have familiarity and continuity.
One thing we have going for us is we have familiarity, we have continuity. There is a system that’s been intact here. If it’s a free for all, I’m all for that because I think the door is wide open for almost anybody to do something very good.
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