Defiant Rather Than Defeated, Pat Riley Presses Forward with Reload: MIAMI — Without seeing the inside of Pat Rileys wallet, theres no way to know for certain if he still he keeps any of the custom cards there, the ones that say Forever. But he did. At least, thats what he revealed forever ago, before LeBron James had won two championships for the Miami Heat, and before he embarked upon the nearly-impossible project of replacing him. You see, the Miami Heat president has coined the phrase Forever Men to describe his favorite players, those who have given the most to him during his four-plus decades in the NBA, the ones he sees as most like himself. Magic Johnson is a Forever Man. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a Forever Man. Patrick Ewing is a Forever Man. Alonzo Mourning is the ultimate Forever Man, parroting so many of Rileys principles as a player, and now working with him in the Heat front office. And, even if they havent always agreed on everything, Dwyane Wade is a Forever Man, too. You dont need to be a superstar to be a Forever Man, if you embody his ideals. Udonis Haslem, a symbol of sweat and sacrifice, is for sure a Forever Man, as will become evident when Haslem returns to the roster on another new contract. So is Brian Grant, who played for the Heat in the early 2000s. He had a lot of the same characteristics that I had when it came to losing, Riley told me early in 2011. He hated it. So, after traveling to Oregon to support Grants event for Parkinsons disease four summers ago, Riley handed him one of those cards, to show that relationships really are forever. That men and women like him are forever people, that he and I will have a forever relationship for the rest of our lives. It is clear that Riley wanted nothing more than for James to be his ultimate Forever Man, even if it wasnt always clear, while James was with the Heat for four seasons, just how close they were. Riley isnt coaching anymore, hasnt been for six seasons, and hes largely stepped aside to allow Erik Spoelstra to have the Heats singular voice. Thats why I asked him in mid-June, after the Heat lost the NBA Finals to San Antonio and before a free-agent period that he never expected to go so poorly, to characterize his relationship with James. Im an arms-distance guy, Riley said. I was in the pit for a long time. Its a texting relationship, its a short meeting in the hallway or at practice or something. I dont bring him in for long dissertations because I think he would yawn at me in five minutes. But I think its borne out of great respect. He knows I love him, he knows I respect him. I think one of the important things about having a relationship with your players as a coach or as a president is you dont pander and you dont punish. And theres a fine line in between. And theres got to be a tension between what it is you want as an organization and what it is that the players want. Players today are different, theyre a little bit different in what they think and what they expect. Then he paused briefly, and made sure he summarized correctly. Ive always felt that I had a great relationship with LeBron and respect him very much as a great leader, he said. That relationship will always be different now, now that James has returned to Cleveland, to his roots. No matter how valid his reasons, theres no question he broke Rileys most enduring, repeated rule. There are only two options regarding commitment, Riley wrote in The Winner Within. Youre either in or youre out. Theres no such thing as life in-between. So there shouldnt have been much question about how Riley himself would respond. Sure, hes had a couple of controversial walkaways, once from the New York Knicks in 1994—by way of fax—and then again when he ceded the coaching reins to Spoelstra in 2008 after two miserable Miami seasons. But this didnt strike me as the sort of challenge that Riley would cower from, this chance to prove that the Heat organization can survive the shunning of any single player, even an all-timer in his prime. He split his statement into two paragraphs. The first was full of praise for James, calling him a fantastic leader, athlete, teammate and person, and we are all sorry to see him go. The second was all Riley. Not defeated. Defiant. Over the last 19 years, since Micky and I teamed together, The Miami HEAT has always been a championship organization; weve won multiple championships and competed for many others. Micky, Erik and I remain committed to doing whatever it takes to win and compete for championships for many years to come. Weve proven that we can do it and well do it again. So that is what he is trying to do now. Thats why there was no chance he would go the full rebuild route, not at age 69 and with his legacy on the line for the 3,000th time, not with so many season tickets already sold and fans calling for a competitive squad, and not with the world watching to see how the Heat will recover. To see how he will recover. Instead, he has embarked on Plan C, one that, so far, makes perfect sense. He locked up Chris Bosh for five years at a premium price of $118 million, but one that can could turn out much better than Boshs recent statistics suggest. The presence of James and Dwyane Wade, and the absence of called players—ones that run to him rather than just through him—has forced him to adapt, to improve in other areas. He has extended his range and refined his defending, and now he will be forced into an aggressive offensive posture, as he was in the games James or Wade missed and he excelled. Hell also age better than if hed been pounding in the post for the past four seasons. That gives Riley a stable piece, another possible Forever Man. And hes trying to supplement Bosh with For-Now Men, those who will preserve flexibility going forward, but mostly for the summer of 2016, when many teams figure to be flush with cash due to an infusion of national television rights revenue, and when Kevin Durant may be among an elite set of targets. Riley has never swung for singles or doubles, but he can settle for that for the next two years, on the chance that another hanging curveball comes. And it helps to keep the Heat viable and attractive until then, especially since he owes another first-round pick to Cleveland, and he doesnt much care for the draft anyway. So, as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, he closed the deal on Luol Deng, a proven professional who had turned down a three-year, $30 million extension to stay in Chicago several months ago, which led to a trade to the Cavaliers, but took two years at $20 million from Miami. Deng plugs the starting hole at small forward and, while hes not an ideal floor-spacer, hes still a quality wing defender and a versatile offensive player who will benefit from less excessive usage than he experienced under Tom Thibodeau in Chicago—especially since the Heat could be deep at forward with Danny Granger and Josh McRoberts also added. And Riley is continuing to try to stay solid but also lean, offering two-year contracts to several of the Heats useful free agents, including Chris Andersen (who is believed to be seriously considering it), Mario Chalmers and James Jones. Some of this will require some persuasion. Two of the aforementioned Forever Men, Wade and Haslem, would prefer at least a third season, which is one reason, along with cap timing, that their deals arent official yet. Miami doesnt appear to have the financial wherewithal to add another frontline piece. So, to earn a top-four seed in the East, they may need an upside surprise from someone such as first-rounder Shabazz Napier, summer league sensation James Ennis, or, if he re-signs, Greg Oden. Even if Riley can add another rotation factor, and create a team with considerable depth, that wont diminish the disappointment over James unexpected departure. Little could. But something was happening in the past 24 hours, even before Riley got happened in the past two days, something that will only build now that Deng has turned down other suitors to suit up for the Heat, and for Riley. James departure has energized South Florida has energized behind Pat Riley, rather than against him. After all, for all hes done over the past two decades, he is its Forever Man. Ethan Skolnick covers the Heat for Bleacher Report. Read more NBA news on BleacherReport #Basketball #NBA #NBASoutheast #MiamiHeat #fantasybasketball
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 22:39:14 +0000
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