00:00Clay, is there anything, this is a conversation that we started having yesterday and we've continued today.
00:06Is there anything that Pat Riley could have said yesterday at his end of season presser that would have satiated
00:13the Heat fans who are tired of him?
00:19Probably not.
00:20I mean, I think at this point people want to see actions.
00:24Words don't do a whole lot of good.
00:26I mean, I like the tone.
00:28I also liked the idea that he did mention that they're going to start looking at player availability and stuff
00:34like that.
00:34I think when you look at some of the comments that he made, I think it certainly lines up with
00:39the idea that, you know, Tyler Hero, he's been unable to stay on the floor.
00:45And so like when they start to look at the players that they may be targeting, I don't think it's
00:49just about that.
00:50I think it's also about players who are currently on the roster who have trouble staying on the floor.
00:54So I felt like there were a few things in that message that, you know, I thought Riley needed to
01:00say.
01:00But I also, to answer your question, I don't think any of it matters until we actually see the actions
01:05back it up.
01:06And Clay, would that turn off potential free agents or, you know, or trades and stuff where, is that an
01:11outdated thought?
01:12Because guys aren't playing 80 games anymore.
01:14We were watching Michael Jordan in the 90s.
01:17Guys don't play 80 games any longer.
01:19That might, you know, would that turn off potential free agents when he brings that up about Jimmy, Tyler, and
01:24now this year he brought it up again?
01:27Well, I think it depends on the type of player you're looking for.
01:31And I think, man, they want to get back to their identity.
01:34And I will say this.
01:35I feel like the identity has eroded over the last couple of years.
01:39And, you know, the identity has always been based on the tough defense, the, you know, I know the whole
01:45toughest, hardworking, best conditioned, all that stuff.
01:48But, you know, if you're going to preach that, then I also think that you've got to be about it.
01:53And if you look back at the last couple of years, you have some players who are, I mean, certainly
01:57I think Bam Adebayo is about that.
02:00Pella Larson is somebody that I feel like, man, the identity is there with those two guys.
02:05And yet then when you see players missing so much time, I feel like if there's a player that would
02:10be turned off by that, I don't know that necessarily that's a player that you want to go after.
02:14I feel like those are the types of guys that are going to be going to be winners and they're
02:19going to fit into this culture in this organization.
02:21Say what you want about heat culture and all that stuff.
02:25But I feel like at the very least in the past, you could lean on that and you would know
02:31what this team was going to bring to the table.
02:33I just feel like despite the fact that, you know, the team won more games this year than they did
02:37last year, it just felt like that identity had gone away a bit.
02:41And I think the sooner you can get back to that, the better.
02:44Yesterday, Clay, Pat Riley made it very clear, A, he's not retiring.
02:49B, he'll quit before he is a part of a tank.
02:53And we know the heat aren't going to tank.
02:55But do you believe that everybody top to bottom in terms of the decision makers, the people at the table,
03:02right?
03:02The Erisons, Adam Simon, Spoh, Andy Ellisberg, Pat Riley, are they all aligned with that philosophy?
03:09I know what they say, but do you believe they're aligned in the philosophy of right now in the modern
03:16NBA, you can still do it the way that they've done it in the past, which is via trade and
03:23via free agency?
03:24I think their actions are going to tell us, you know, I think the actions recently have told us they
03:29are aligned for better and in recent years worse.
03:33You know, so let's see what happens.
03:34I also think the idea, the word tank is is one that I think you can take any number of
03:40ways.
03:41And I think, you know, they're going to say they're not going to tank, but that also doesn't mean that
03:46you're not going to be realistic about where you are right now and what you may need to be.
03:50When Pat Riley comes out and says something about wanting to have salary cap space in 2027, I don't know
03:57how you do that unless you're getting all guys on a one-year contract or, you know, so I, my
04:02feeling is that, you know, I don't see them tanking per se, but look what the Miami Dolphins are doing
04:09right now.
04:10Are we going to call that a tank or is that, and I get it, it's a different league, different
04:14salary cap rules, but I feel like that was a, this is a needed reset for that organization.
04:20And, and I feel like maybe that's something that we could see the Miami Heat do this year if they
04:25can't go out and get one of those top end players that, that you're hearing all the names circling right
04:30now.
04:31And to do that, they got to have the young guys play.
04:34And do you, do you feel as if Pat and Spoh on the same page about Kalil?
04:38Cause it sounds like, you know, he kind of said like, I don't know why he wasn't getting as many
04:44minutes, but you know, we'll figure that out, dude.
04:46Cause Pat is buying the groceries, Clay, but Spoh has to cook them and it don't seem like he wants
04:51to cook Kalil where anymore.
04:53Well, yeah.
04:54And I think that's, that is something they have to figure out.
04:56And, and again, this is, and I hate sounding like a broken record on this, but the actions have to
05:00back it up, not just from an organizational perspective, but also from a coaching perspective.
05:04And I could, I could see a world chanting where what they decide to do this year.
05:10And frankly, I think this may be, would be the best thing to do play Bam and Kalil together, lean
05:15into the guys on your roster that you feel like fill that identity that you've tried to build for so
05:21long.
05:21And you did build for so long and, and record wins and losses be darned.
05:27I don't think that's tanking.
05:28I think if you go out there, you put together a core of some of the young guys that you
05:32really like Bam.
05:33And then, uh, you know, lean into the toughness, the defense, the stuff that you've tried to do.
05:38Then come 2027, you try to make yours.
05:40But to me, that would be better than, than what they did this year, which is tinkering.
05:46Stop tinkering.
05:47Don't do that anymore.
05:47Don't, don't try to, to bring in veterans that, that, you know, you don't know if they're going to align
05:53with, with what you're doing long-term.
05:55Have a year where you do that sort of a thing.
05:58And, and again, to get back to your question, I think that has to be with Bam and Kalil together.
06:02And you have to figure out a way to make that work.
06:05Kalil's young, like very impressionable.
06:07Just because there may be a few things here and there that, that you didn't like this, this past season.
06:12And, you know, I, I think those are the types of players that, man, you, you keep working with them
06:17and, and building that identity in the building and building that identity with the player.
06:22But things can turn and they can turn pretty quickly, but it only happens if, if you play them.
06:26Do you like prime rib?
06:30It's fine.
06:33It's overblown, right?
06:34People get so excited, you're, you're leading the witness, you're leading the witness.
06:40You're just, that is fine.
06:41It's overblown.
06:42People get all excited about that.
06:44National prime rib day was yesterday.
06:46And I was saying to Crowder, I think that prime rib is this overrated meal that, and I find it
06:51to be a bloody wet mess.
06:53That's disgusting.
06:54Anyway, I think it's riddled with fat.
06:58You're out of line.
07:01But again, you gotta, you gotta remember who you're talking to.
07:04Here, like I'm, I'm taking a cheeseburger over a steak all the time.
07:07Well, that is true.
07:08You've told us that before, but prime rib, it's how people get like, just wildly excited when they see a
07:15prime rib carving station.
07:16And me, it turns my stomach when I see a prime rib carving station, because it's just this fatty, gelatinous,
07:24wet blood mess.
07:27As always, you find a way to take things just a step too far.
07:34Like, I could, I'd be happy with a prime rib sandwich with au jus.
07:38Like, I'm, I'm good with that, but I'm not, I'm not going out of my way to build my meal
07:42around, around prime rib.
07:44But, but it also doesn't make me vomitous.
07:47Like, I'm not going to, I'm not going to like walk by the station.
07:50But you would acknowledge if you do go to the, if you end up at that carving station, because there's
07:55nothing else.
07:56Everything on the plate gets defiled by the bloody water mess.
08:00That's like soaking all through.
08:02So your, your, your, your, your, your potatoes and bread, everything is just soaking in this prime rib blood water.
08:14Wouldn't you just get a second plate?
08:18Settle down, Clay.
08:19Not all of us have faculties.
08:24I just wanted, I just wanted to get your opinion.
08:27The Dolphins, the Dolphins draft.
08:29How do you feel like John Eric Sullivan did in his first draft as Dolphins GM?
08:34Do you feel like, do you see the vision?
08:38Do you feel like it's headed in the right direction?
08:40I, I see the vision.
08:42I feel like, I feel like they're heading in the direction that they've told us they're going to.
08:47Now, like his background, I love the NFL draft.
08:50I love studying this stuff.
08:51I get into it hardcore, but the more I have, the less I realize I know.
08:56And so like to, to sit here and give out the draft grade stuff and, and say, ah, this is
09:01like, man, we have no idea.
09:05There is no way that we have the, the information that they do.
09:08With that said, I would have taken Caleb Downs with the first pick.
09:12I just think he's going to be so good in the NFL.
09:15I just love everything about the guy.
09:16Uh, yes, yes.
09:18Huge fan of, of Downs.
09:19And I, the, the thing about Bain is you have to have a vision for, for what you're going to
09:23do for, with him.
09:25And I, I do think that, man, Tampa, I think he's in a great situation there.
09:29Um, I don't know that the Dolphins are in a position to draft players that like you, you need to
09:37kind of plug into certain spots.
09:40And what I mean by that is, look, the short arms thing, I know there was a lot of talk
09:44about it.
09:44There was, there was some analysis on him and, and specific metrics in where he lines up.
09:49And there are certain times where, when he lines up, it does show up in, in, uh, in, uh, win
09:56rate and stuff like that.
09:57Like, so it does, it does cause issues when he's in certain spots.
10:00And so you have to have a vision for him.
10:02And if Jeff Haffley looks and he says, yeah, you know what?
10:05I don't, I don't know that that's going to fit what I want to do on defense.
10:08I'm okay with that.
10:09When you draft an offensive lineman, like Caden Proctor, assuming you feel good about the makeup.
10:14And I know a lot of the questions about the weight and things like that, but if you feel good
10:19about the makeup of, of Proctor, the physical gifts are just undeniable.
10:23And so I, but look, I am all on board with building from the offensive line, doing the stuff they
10:29did.
10:29I like Rodriguez a lot.
10:31Um, Chris Johnson talk about like vision for the player.
10:34Halfley was raving about him.
10:35So we just have to admit that we don't know as much as they do with, with what they want
10:40to do.
10:40Um, but I, I love that they not only used all their picks, but, you know, again, I would have
10:45taken downs, but at least they got a couple of fists that they're able to, to bring in guys there.
10:50So this is a, this is a full on reset for the organization.
10:55And, and so I think the more picks you can get, the more you can start to build the culture
10:59with those news, new guys, the better.
11:01And, you know, the real results, the real grades will be three, four years from now.
11:05Yeah, Clay, a hundred percent.
11:06We don't know what these young guys can do.
11:08Rodriguez Proctor's big.
11:09Like they look good on paper, but I did see the change in philosophy where we were a track meet
11:15team.
11:16They didn't draft anybody under six feet till the fifth round.
11:19We have eight picks over six feet that thought that we're going to get bigger now.
11:24That's what I saw in the draft.
11:25Do you like that approach?
11:26Cause I do, but I'm old school.
11:28No, I do a lot.
11:30I love it.
11:31And I also think that it's, it's needed.
11:34It's, and, and when, what I love about what the dolphins with John Eric Sullivan and Jeff
11:40Halfley have done.
11:41And again, I, I hate saying this because it's like, ah, we got to wait for the results, but
11:46they came in, they told us what they were going to do and they did it.
11:49And everything that they have said has made a lot of sense.
11:52Everything they have done has backed up the sensical things that they have said so far.
11:57Now that, that purely sensible line of thinking and actions could lead to six and 11 for the
12:05next three years.
12:06And I'm an idiot, but I just really think that, that what they're doing is, is building
12:11a foundation, a core that, that is going to be sustainable, which is all the Dolphins fans
12:16have wanted for a long time.
12:18Get build a team that can get back to the playoffs consistently.
12:21That's the only way that you can start winning playoff games again, and then we'll worry
12:25about winning a Superbowl down the line, but I, I'm with you.
12:28I like what they did.
12:29So no Superbowl next season though.
12:31I know, no, that's not happening.
12:33All right.
12:33Just checking.
12:35Clay Ferraro.
12:35When you talk Miami, you do not talk Superbowl.
12:39Yeah.
12:40That's it.
12:40That's going to be the next year's theme song.
12:42When, when you talk Miami, you're not talking Superbowl.
12:47I'm talking somewhere, nowhere near Superbowl.
12:51It's a terrible song.
12:53Yeah.
12:53Is it five and 12?
12:55This song needs to be massaged.
12:57Clay Ferraro.
12:58Watch him on local 10.
12:59Thank you, Clay.
13:00All right.
13:00Take care, fellas.
Comments