Miami Heat Team President Pat Riley: "I'm Very Optimistic of What's Ahead of Us"

Miami Heat team president Pat Riley is past thinking about how the team came up short by losing in the NBA Finals.

He's already thinking forward.

"I was very disappointed and I think a lot of other people are that we couldn't finish the year with a championship," Riley said in his first comments since the season ended. "I feel so good about this team and where we're going and what's ahead."

The Heat, who entered the playoffs as the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, lost 4-2 to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals earlier this month. Riley said he's changed the franchise motto from the "main thing" to the next thing, which is building a team that can win a championship. The Heat return a core that includes Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro and they have six first-round picks in the next eight years.

The offseason priorities now turn to how they want to shape the rest of the roster. The Heat have to make a decision on whether to sign veteran guard Goran Dragic or create salary cap space to chase a coveted free agent and make a trade.

"We have a lot of assets and we have a lot of good players," Riley said. "We have great leadership. I'm very optimistic of what's ahead of us."

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