The general public goes crazy at the mere mention of the summer of 2016’s impending free agent frenzy, but beyond Kevin Durant there are really no franchise-changing players. All it takes is a minute to flip through the list of potential targets to see that.

Gems like Damian Lillard and Anthony Davis — who are about to sign contract extensions — would have been restricted free agents and not able to switch teams until 2017. Players like Kobe Bryant and Joe Johnson will be over the hill, Joakim Noah, Mike Conley and Al Horford will not be able to help the Miami Heat and others like Nicolas Batum and Danilo Gallinari are simply bit role players. In other words, if they miss out on Durant, Pat Riley cannot sign his game changer. And that’s why he is swinging for the fences right now.

For all intents and purposes, everyone thought that Riley was heading home on Thursday to vacation with his family for the holiday weekend with Goran Dragic signed and a one-year, $20 million contract for Dwyane Wade on the back-burner.

Then all of the news began to break.

Riley placated his star with a huge contract, for the season, to make him whole. Not only will Wade be the second-highest paid player on the team, but he will be recovering some of the money that he chose to leave on the table last offseason. He also will be able to net an extension next summer, while allowing the team to still have flexibility for 2016.

That was all great, but expected over last past days. What was not expected was Riley being in Los Angeles to have dinner with the league’s most sought after free agent, LaMarcus Aldridge.

The fact that the Heat president could even get a meeting with no cap space speaks to the power in the words he gets paid millions to speak. Like a true puppet master he was able to get him in a room, even though the only position available would be the one that caused Aldridge to cancel a meeting with the New York Knicks because he wanted nothing to do with it. But you can be assured that Riley sold him on Chris Bosh being the true center, as he has been the past few years, and that Hassan Whiteside would provide the backup minutes to keep him out of the slot.

It would be the second-biggest coup for the godfather of Miami basketball, if he could sneak in, create the $15 million cap space by moving Chris Andersen, Mario Chalmers and Josh McRoberts at the last minute and steal Aldridge from under the noses of the San Antonio Spurs.

It may not happen, but the fact that it is even a conversation shows the power of Mr. Riley.

Richard Nurse is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @blackirishpr or add him to your network on Google.