First, appreciate that Erik Spoelstra stands these days far less rigid than when his rise among the NBA all-time leaders in coaching victories began.
He now utilizes zone defense to a staggering degree. While there still can be the occasional, as he calls them, “Hunger Games” practices, they are the exception. There is far more delegating to assistants.
But one aspect where it is particularly difficult to get the Miami Heat’s sideline leader to venture is future thought. It remains about this moment, this season, this attempt to climb back to championship success.
And yet, as the Heat attempt to right their record amid this uneven 2022-23 start, also undeniable is there also is a future to speak about, with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro developing into an elite pick-and-roll combination, their combined $300 million-plus in extensions seemingly a bridge to the next chapter of Pat Riley’s roster makeovers.
Herro is 22, Adebayo 25.
Which brings it back to Spoelstra, who these days merely is attempting to manage the moment.
“That’s not even on my mind right now,” he says, somehow both politely and curtly. “Yes, if you’re a Heat fan, you can feel great about the future with the young talent that we have under contract and then the young, talented players that we’ve developed.
“I think we have a very good blend of veteran, experienced playoff-tested players. But also our youthful players have significant playoff experience, more so than a lot of other younger players at equivalent age. And I think that makes our team unique.”
While Spoelstra has made his youth earn their way, be it Adebayo having to wait out Hassan Whiteside for a starting role, or Herro not becoming a full-time starter until this fourth NBA season, Spoelstra says general manager Andy Elisburg has skillfully crafted a formula that addresses both present and future.
“Andy always talks about that,” Spoelstra says during a break on this four-game trip, “putting together a roster of veteran talent, guys mid-veteran in their prime, and youth that can give you energy, give you that enthusiasm in the middle of the season.
“What makes Tyler and Bam so unique is that they’re 22, 25 years old, with considerable playoff experience that makes them veteran players in my mind, playoff-veteran players, but they also have the youthful legs and youthful ambition and exuberance.”
When it comes to Adebayo’s $163 million, five-year extension signed in 2020 or the $130 million, four-year extension Herro signed in October, such decisions are handled by the highest level of the management and ownership suite.
But it is Spoelstra charged with making it work — now and then.
“And it’s getting better,” Spoelstra says of the Herro-Adebayo chemistry. “That’s what happens with younger players. As they get more experience, they get more confident and nuanced in how they can manipulate the game.
“And again, I keep pointing to the playoffs, but not only do they have considerable playoff experience, but they’ve really had impactful playoff moments that have led to winning. That’s hard to do for a young player. And that is something that we’re encouraged on, that they can continue to build on and help us win ultimately at the highest level.”
But that’s also where Spoelstra turns the conversation, the type of conversation to play out on the Heat’s schedule in coming games as they face rebuilding teams with prospects who only are about the future, prospects such as the Detroit Pistons’ Jaden Ivey on Tuesday night, the San Antonio Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan next weekend, and then the week after that the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Jalen Williams and the Houston Rockets’ Jabari Smith, among others.
“That’s not how we’re wired as an organization,” he says of teams utilizing the present moment solely to prepare for well into the future. “We’re wired to try to compete for a title. I’m feeling extremely grateful that where we’ve been able to draft that we were able to acquire players like Tyler and Bam, where we did. Those could be empty draft picks.
“We have impactful players, winning players that we’ve been able to develop now for several years. They’re much different and much better than they were when they first got here. You can’t take that for granted.”
