MIAMI — For as cogent as Pat Riley was on a variety of subjects in his emotional, forthright, candid conversation at Friday’s state-of-the-Heat address at Kaseya Center, not all was clearly spelled out by the franchise patriarch.

And in one respect, it came off as alpha-beta soup.

Are Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo the cornerstones?

Is the duo that Jimmy Butler left behind viewed as ample enough?

Or is this team back where it was before the arrivals of Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James and, yes, Butler, in need of a leading man to the rescue?

When it comes to the regard of Riley, his respect for both Adebayo and Herro was undeniable.

“Who’s to say who’s an alpha and who’s a beta? I don’t know,” Riley said amid an overarching discussion of Adebayo and Herro as foundational pieces. “Bam’s an alpha guy. He’s got an alpha personality. And Tyler has the alpha confidence, the most confidence of somebody I’ve seen, almost irrational confidence.

“So that’s a good question. So do we inject an alpha, a great, great, great player to help maximize in those double-digit leads that were lost in fourth-quarter closures that can make a difference? It could be that simple.”

Only it’s not that simple — particularly in today’s NBA economy, one of tax aprons and limitations on the very types of super teams Riley previously has constructed for the Heat, including the Big Three of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Already locked into a max extension is Adebayo. That was done as soon as that window opened last July.

In October, such a window opens for Herro, who, coming off an All-Star season, is positioned for his own deal in the $50 million annual range.

Which is all well and good if Adebayo and Herro are viewed as Alpha 1 and Alpha 2.

Only they weren’t that this season, confirmed by the 10-game losing streak in the wake of the Feb. 6 Butler trade, the 37-45 10th-place finish in the East and then the first-round playoff annihilation at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

A year ago, the mere attempt by Riley to play the waiting game with Butler turned nuclear. Three team suspensions later he was dealt to the Golden State Warriors, with the Heat basically held hostage to that outcome.

Riley doesn’t see it the same way with Herro, who a week ago said he could appreciate the waiting game.

“We’ve already talked about it and I’ve talked about it with Tyler,” Riley said. “So we’ll see what happens as we plan. The numbers are getting pretty big for a lot of guys and max salaries in this league, who does that go to?

“Definitely Tyler is deserving of the talk of the extension. But are we going to do it? We haven’t committed to it. But we’re going to discuss it and we’re going to talk to him about it. He’s cool.”

In discussing Herro, who did everything asked this past season by Riley, mainly acing his attendance, Riley offered a somewhat interesting word choice.

“I will steal one of Spo’s favorite Spo-isms, ‘ignitable.’ He’s one of the most ignitable guys offensively in the league and we’re happy to have him,” Riley said.

Only when Heat coach Erik Spoelstra talks “ignitable,” it often is about players capable of instant offense, more in the role of sixth man, more of when Herro thrived in such a role.

Riley continued of Herro, “He’s pivotal for us as an offensive player. We just need more around him that can do a little bit of what he does, because now he’s getting beat up, he’s getting schemed, overly schemed and so we’ll learn a lot about that. Tyler is a player. And I hope he can stay here the rest of his career and we can build a team that he’s part of.”

Part of?

Or anchor of?

Buying time with a possible Herro extension allows not only deeper consideration for the financials, but also to better assess what could augment Adebayo/Herro or, frankly, supplant Adebayo/Herro.

“Maybe,” Riley said, “this is the window.”

Not maybe.

It is.

A year ago, a waiting game with Butler turned toxic.

This time around, a waiting game might provide the path to salvation.

And perhaps allow time to properly develop a needed recipe for what at the moment stands as alpha-beta soup.

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