Tag Archive for: Pat Riley

Why is Pat Riley assisting the enemy?

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One of the remarkable things about the late-career Pat Riley story is that he keeps getting asked for his advice about other franchises — even as he’s uncharacteristically struggling to fix his own.

First, there was all that Los Angeles Lakers chatter, following the resignation of Riley favorite Magic Johnson — and reports that owner Jeannie Buss wanted to bring Riley back aboard.

And now, the organization that supplanted the Heat as the power brokers in the NBA apparently has consulted with Riley as well.

This was an interesting nugget from the only person on ESPN, Stephen A. Smith, in reference to scuffling Warriors guard Klay Thompson who, like Kevin Durant, is due to become a free agent.

“Even folks like Pat Riley have spoken to folks within the Warriors organization to say, ‘Your priority had better be keeping the Splash Brothers together. Not only have they heard that from Pat Riley, they’ve heard it from Jerry West, they’ve heard it from others. Keeping the Splash Brothers together. Obviously you know that Kevin Durant is the best player on the team, he’s one of the top two players on the planet. But the point is they anticipate — although they hope otherwise — they anticipate that he may leave….”

That is typical Riley thinking, it would seem, not wanting to sink to the bottom. Recall that after the Heat added Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger in the summer of 2014 — and then watched LeBron James walk — Riley immediately maxed out Chris Bosh to top a competing offer from Houston, while giving Dwyane Wade just enough to stay. (Riley has later said he regretted the decision not to max Wade first, which ultimately contributed to the fractious negotiations in 2015 and the ugly departure of 2016).

But there’s a deeper question here:

Why is Riley, the man who would fine his players for picking opponents off the floor and scowled every time BFF’s Alonzo Mourning and Patrick Ewing went to dinner during a Heat-Knicks series, helping the team he and the rest of the NBA have been chasing? West, Riley’s mentor, isn’t even with the Warriors anymore, but now with the Los Angeles Clippers, who are far better positioned than the Heat. Did anyone — save perhaps Riley pal Gregg Popovich — offer the Heat advice during the Big 3 run?

No. They were all too busy legislating against the Heat, voting through punitive luxury tax penalties to ensure the Heat’s eventual breakup. If the Warriors are dying their last breaths, let them die Pat. Don’t throw them a lifeline. Or just tell them to sign a contract equivalent to James Johnson’s.

Dwyane Wade continues telling the tale of 2010

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There will be a 30 for 30 someday — and maybe a book, if I can find all my notes — but in the meantime, the story of the formation of the Big 3 Miami Heat continues to take shape.

There’s long been a question of whether Dwyane Wade or Pat Riley was more responsible for the formation of the Heat’s villainous superteam. Riley got the majority of the credit early, but those more aware of the process knew that — while Riley’s presence as the grand poobah of a successful, structured organization was a plus — it was always more about two things:

— The cap space the Heat created, which was Riley’s vision yes, but which Andy Elisburg actually was most responsible for executing.

— LeBron James and Chris Bosh wanting to play with Wade.

This credit question became a point of contention for Wade — and even more for the people in his circle — during the difficult summers negotiating with Riley in 2015 and 2016. (Just trust us on that.)

Wade and Riley have appeared to largely reconcile, with Riley doing something unusual and actually spending time at an All-Star Weekend (Wade’s last as a player) and then gushing about Wade again in the post-season press conference.

But Wade is still on the interview circuit, and this was interesting.

Miami wasn’t initially even second on he and James’ list when they were deciding where they could play together in 2010.

Click on it to listen to the clip.

Riley deserves a lot of credit for what he’s done with the Heat over the past 24 years. He made basketball matter here, and the Heat’s record of sustained success is second to only the Spurs during his tenure.

But there’s some mythology that gets in the way of the truth.

 

 

The Pat Riley to the Lakers thing won’t die

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South Florida sports fans are particularly sensitive about this stuff.

After all, they thought they had a championship coach for the Miami Dolphins when Nick Saban signed on in 2005. He started slow that first season, but won his last six behind Gus Frerotte, signed Daunte Culpepper and seemed poised for greatness until that season soured. Then, toward the end, with rumors swirling, Sun-Sentinel columnist Dave Hyde had the guts to ask him flat out if he would be going to the Crimson Tide.

And you recall the answer…

Soon after, Saban was the Alabama coach.

Still is.

With all those championships.

Recently, as the Los Angeles Lakers have continued to melt down — they’re interviewing Ty Lue for head coach, for bleep’s sake — Pat Riley’s name has been linked on social media to them again. Yes, that Pat Riley. The Heat-president-since-1995-Pat Riley.

Riley, of course, made his name with the Lakers, sort of as a player — and Jerry West’s practice dummy — and then as a broadcaster and the slicked back savant of Showtime. He also stumbled into a discussion about returning in 2004, before Jerry Buss ended up sending him Shaquille O’Neal instead. Jerry has passed, but his daughter Jeanie is trying to recreate the past, and so the reunion story won’t go away. Especially now that Magic Johnson has gone, to tweet inanities instead. And especially since it appears that LeBron James and Riley have patched things some, after Riley was red hot about him for the past few years, and James was annoyed by Riley continuing to mention him.

Riley’s been making overtures like this one (see link).

Oh, and there was this…

That’s why I felt the need to get Riley on the record about the Lakers, and his own future.

Here it was, Saturday:

But you knew it wouldn’t end there. Not with Riley in Malibu already for much of the summer. Not with ESPN’s ridiculous obsession over the Lakers, above all teams currently in the playoffs. Not with it possibly serving his interests to make the Heat, um, sweat a little, as the succession plan still needs to take shape.

So Jeannie wants him back?

That’s not a surprise.

But if Riley goes now, he’s at risk of Saban-ing himself.

Yes, there is an infinitely greater record of goodwill here. Saban was 15-17. Riley has won three championships, and made the playoffs 80 percent of the time.

That, though, is why it will hurt some fans more.

Especially after Riley ripped LeBron for taking off.

Marc Stein on Pat Riley: “I won’t doubt him again”

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The newly-minted Basketball Hall of Famer, Marc Stein — long of ESPN and now of The New York Times — joined the Five Reasons Sports flagship on Thursday to discuss the NBA playoffs, NBA player movement, the Miami Heat and Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade.

You can find the full episode here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marc-stein-on-nba-playoffs-riley-wade-dirk/id1336060206?i=1000435259473

Here are some highlights:

On Pat Riley…

 

On Kevin Durant and the New York Knicks….

 

On the Miami Heat’s trade for Jimmy Butler falling through with the Minnesota Timberwolves….

Pat Riley y la encrucijada del Miami Heat

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Pat Riley ofreció una extensa rueda de prensa el pasado sábado para analizar la temporada del Miami Heat.

El fracaso de la eliminación hace que la fanaticada busque a los culpables de esta debacle.

Un equipo que se suponía debía clasificar sin problemas en la Conferencia del Este terminó despidiendo a Dwyane Wade con una amarga despedida.

Ahora hay que responder de alguna manera, y ese camino aún no parece despejado.

Ethan Skolnik y Chris Wittyngham analizaron las ambiguas palabras de Riley en su último episodio de Five Reasons:

Con el Miami Heat luchando con el tope salarial por diversas circunstancias, Pat Riley parece aferrarse a la esperanza de que tanto Hassan Whiteside como Goran Dragic no ejerzan sus respectivas opciones para continuar con el equipo.

Whiteside quiere ser titular y en el Miami Heat de la 2019-2020 parece que ese no será su rol.

Dragic, por su parte, estaría mas abierto a renegociar su actual contrato, dejar pasar esta opción y volver a firmar con el Heat por mas años y una cantidad similar de dinero.

Estos dos escenarios combinados le abrirían la posibilidad a Pat Riley de tratar de buscar a algún pez grande en la agencia libre.

De lo contrario, se tendrá que conformar con lo que tiene disponible.

¿Hay un Dwyane Wade en este roster?

Riley afirmó el sábado que los contratos de cuatro años de James Johnson y Dion Waiters se materializaron tras la negativa de Gordon Hayward hace un par de años.

Así, tras ese 30-11 estéril, se comenzó a confeccionar la ensalada de roster que le tocó manejar a Erik Spoelstra esta temporada.

Justise Winslow, Bam Adebayo y Derrick Jones Jr. dieron pasos importantes hacia adelante esta temporada y junto a Josh Richardson son los llamados a ser la nueva cara de esta franquicia.

¿Hay un Dwyane Wade en alguno de ellos?

Ricardo Montes de Oca, Leandro Soto y Alejandro Villegas lo ponderaron en el EP 30 de Cinco Razones Podcast :