Pat Riley was adamant. He's not thinking about coaching.Unless he changes his mind. Unlikely as it seems, the twice-retired Hall of Fame coach might contemplate un-retiring again. Insisting his focus is on this summer's NBA free-agent bonanza and nothing else, the Miami Heat president acknowledged Monday that it's possible he could return to the sideline, despite saying when he stepped down in April 2008, "I don't want to do this anymore." Not even a week after it began, the most crucial offseason in Heat history just got a lot more intriguing. "I'm not thinking of anything but building this team," the 65-year-old Riley said. "If I were to leave the team and go somewhere else in a year or two from now, if I got tired of reading books on the beach, excuse me, the Kindle, I might want to coach again. I don't know. But don't say that I won't ever do that or that I can't do it. If I say yes or no, then you get condemned for it."There's no indication Riley is planning to leave. Riley and team owner Micky Arison recently agreed to extend his deal as president, something that was considered to be a formality, especially because the Heat have spent years planning for this summer, when Miami will have enough salary-cap space to not only re-sign Dwyane Wade but also potentially acquire two star-level players to join him. And there's also no indication Riley is unhappy with coach Erik Spoelstra, who worked his way from an entry-level job in the Heat video room onto Riley's staff and ultimately became his handpicked replacement. Spoelstra has a 90-74 record, guiding Miami to the playoffs twice, though not past the first round.The NBA's youngest head coach, Spoelstra is under contract through next season. "I thought he had a great year," Riley said. "I'll do whatever is in the best interest of building the team here. Period," Riley said. "Whatever it takes, OK? I'll let you fill in the blanks. ... If some free agent were to say 'I will come here but you must do this,' well, hell, if that happens that day, then I might have to give it some thought. He did say that the job of building a championship contender won't end in early July. "I think we'll be able to build a very good team over the next 18 months," Riley said. I definitely wouldn't argue against the idea of Pat Riley taking over as the coach this season, but I would feel very sympathetic towards Erik Spoelstra. He has done a great job building this team up the last couple pf years and leading them into the playoffs. If you look at the other side, it would be great for the Pat Riley to coach the Heat because he is one of the greatest coaches of all time and when he took over in the 05-06 season the Heat went on to win it all. The question is, do you do the right and fair thing by keeping Spoelstra or do you go to the experienced and secure route by taking over as the coach of the team.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Pat Riley Might Coach Next Year?
Pat Riley was adamant. He's not thinking about coaching.Unless he changes his mind. Unlikely as it seems, the twice-retired Hall of Fame coach might contemplate un-retiring again. Insisting his focus is on this summer's NBA free-agent bonanza and nothing else, the Miami Heat president acknowledged Monday that it's possible he could return to the sideline, despite saying when he stepped down in April 2008, "I don't want to do this anymore." Not even a week after it began, the most crucial offseason in Heat history just got a lot more intriguing. "I'm not thinking of anything but building this team," the 65-year-old Riley said. "If I were to leave the team and go somewhere else in a year or two from now, if I got tired of reading books on the beach, excuse me, the Kindle, I might want to coach again. I don't know. But don't say that I won't ever do that or that I can't do it. If I say yes or no, then you get condemned for it."There's no indication Riley is planning to leave. Riley and team owner Micky Arison recently agreed to extend his deal as president, something that was considered to be a formality, especially because the Heat have spent years planning for this summer, when Miami will have enough salary-cap space to not only re-sign Dwyane Wade but also potentially acquire two star-level players to join him. And there's also no indication Riley is unhappy with coach Erik Spoelstra, who worked his way from an entry-level job in the Heat video room onto Riley's staff and ultimately became his handpicked replacement. Spoelstra has a 90-74 record, guiding Miami to the playoffs twice, though not past the first round.The NBA's youngest head coach, Spoelstra is under contract through next season. "I thought he had a great year," Riley said. "I'll do whatever is in the best interest of building the team here. Period," Riley said. "Whatever it takes, OK? I'll let you fill in the blanks. ... If some free agent were to say 'I will come here but you must do this,' well, hell, if that happens that day, then I might have to give it some thought. He did say that the job of building a championship contender won't end in early July. "I think we'll be able to build a very good team over the next 18 months," Riley said. I definitely wouldn't argue against the idea of Pat Riley taking over as the coach this season, but I would feel very sympathetic towards Erik Spoelstra. He has done a great job building this team up the last couple pf years and leading them into the playoffs. If you look at the other side, it would be great for the Pat Riley to coach the Heat because he is one of the greatest coaches of all time and when he took over in the 05-06 season the Heat went on to win it all. The question is, do you do the right and fair thing by keeping Spoelstra or do you go to the experienced and secure route by taking over as the coach of the team.
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