Pat Riley Discusses Gap Between Warriors and Rest of NBA

Miami Heat team president Pat Riley has seen his fair share of dominant NBA teams during his time as a head coach and front-office executive. 

While Riley balked at calling the Golden State Warriors a dynasty, he said Thursday night they have "built something special," per the Miami Herald's Manny Navarro:

Riley's comments about continuity are particularly applicable since the Warriors can seemingly keep their core together for the foreseeable future.

Klay Thompson is signed through the 2018-19 season, while Draymond Green has three more guaranteed years left on his current deal.

Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are both free agents. It's a near certainty Curry is re-signed, while ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne and Chris Haynes reported Durant is willing to take less money in order to help the team keep role players such as Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala.

Riley is correct in that re-signing Green and Thompson in a few years will be extremely expensive. Warriors ownership should have more than enough money to pay whatever costs come with exceeding the luxury tax, though.

The franchise will presumably have the extra revenue that comes with making deep playoff runs, and the Chase Center, which is set to open in 2019-20, will be a huge revenue generator for the Warriors.

Of course, the landscape of the NBA could change significantly in the next four or five years. More superteams could be formed, while the Philadelphia 76ers' stable of young stars could make them a force out of the Eastern Conference.

Sooner or later, somebody will catch up to Golden State. When that happens is anybody's guess.