Pat Riley, holding back tears and trying to regain his composure as he talked about Stan Van Gundy’s family and the happy times they’ll have now, agreed Monday to return as coach of the Miami Heat.
Van Gundy, speaking about his life with passion matching Riley’s, criticized reporters as pursuing wrong-headed, self-fulfilling prophecies about him being forced out as coach to serve Riley’s personal needs and ego.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers said they would honor Ron Artest’s request to be traded, and teammates condemned Artest for betrayal.
We’re back, baby! We’re back!
Monday was quite a day for the NBA, which has spent much of the season at odds over its new dress code . . . turns out NBA players don’t like to wear suits. And you say the Clippers are in first place?
But here was drama, pathos, suffering.
And that was just with Riley and Van Gundy trying to come up with a good cover story.
Look, everyone knew this was going to happen. After the Heat lost to the Pistons in last season’s Eastern Conference finals, there were murmurs throughout the league that Riley was unhappy with Van Gundy’s offensive tendencies in the playoffs, especially his use of Damon Jones, who couldn’t guard a chair if it were chained to a skyscraper. No surprise Jones was traded.
Shaquille O’Neal, who returned Sunday after missing 18 games with a sprained ankle and could start Tuesday when the Heat play the Bulls at the United Center, also mumbled to his friends about Van Gundy. Shaq always mumbles in interviews, but this was private mumbling.
Not that he didn’t like Van Gundy, who is the most likable Van Gundy in the NBA, but Shaq likes to be coached by famous guys with titles. He worked to dump Del Harris and effectively ordered the Lakers to hire Chuck Daly or Phil Jackson in 1999. He wants to be coached by Pat Riley.
Riley, in his apparent frustration last summer, also made the mistake of saying he needed to be more involved in the “day-to-day” activities of the team. He immediately knew he’d made a major blunder. It had been no secret around the NBA that Riley was growing anxious to return to coaching someday with his equity vesting in the Heat.
He’d talked to the Lakers about coaching and running the team before Rudy Tomjanovich was hired, and Lakers insiders say the job would have been offered to Riley last summer if Jackson hadn’t been hired. They believe Riley would have accepted.
And Riley revealed at Monday’s news conference in Miami he is building a home in Malibu, Calif.
To take over the Lakers after Jackson leaves?
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Also, Riley knows there is a short window of opportunity with O’Neal. Although he signed a five-year contract extension, few expect Shaq to finish it now that he is packing heat while playing for Miami. O’Neal talks more about his future as a sheriff than basketball these days, and he has slowed considerably. Even when his ankle isn’t puffy.
That’s why Riley changed the makeup of the team with players like Antoine Walker, Gary Payton, James Posey and Jason Williams. Shaq doesn’t run the court anymore, and the Pistons are the only true Eastern threat. Forget the Pacers for now. They’ll get something decent for Artest, but they’re still in too much turmoil for a deep playoff run.
Riley always has been good at identifying the enemy, and it’s the Pistons. He’ll try to match their power and turn the Heat into something of a Knicks South with Posey a defensive spider and the others ready to bang or sit. Xavier McDaniel wasn’t a thug until he played for Riley at New York.
Riley’s most revealing comment about the team during the news conference was “the team’s a mess.”
He backtracked a little so as not to fault Van Gundy, pointing to injuries. But then he fired a shot aimed at the likes of his new hires.
“I think the team has a chance for greatness,” Riley said. “[But] I do believe this team is going to have to make a decision on whether or not they want to be part of greatness.”
Translation: Guys, get ready for six-hour practices.
“It’s not about winning a championship,” Riley said. “That’s just the symbol. Players who care want to be part of something great and want that experience of being part of a great team and with that comes the residuals of maybe a championship.
“But unless you are willing to be a part of a team or make it a great team and sacrifice and do things you have to do that you may not have done before . . .
“Stan has been clear about this all year with guys who have to change roles. We don’t want to hear it. We’re only interested in what you’re going to do here and sacrifice for this franchise.”
In other words, Antoine, get away from the three-point line and get to the basket.
The Heat does lead its division but just went over .500 with an overtime home win over the Wizards on Sunday with O’Neal back. Hardly inspiring. It hasn’t been working. All the pieces Riley brought in to ensure excellence with O’Neal out have not produced.
Still, it’s hard not to believe Van Gundy when he said it was time to be home more and offered a nice story about the hourglass running out on quality time with his 14-year-old daughter.
But the one-word description for that is burnout. It’s an affliction of the Van Gundy family–Jeff Van Gundy, now coaching the Rockets, quit the Knicks almost four years ago to the day with the team 10-9.
“People speculate I’m getting forced out,” Van Gundy, a forthright person, acknowledged. “If I’m getting forced out, I would have gotten absolutely every dollar on my contract and walked out the door.
“That’s not what happened. (Van Gundy will remain a lesser-paid staff member, a consultant of sorts.) I was flattered they still wanted me in the organization. Anyone speculating otherwise has to do so in total disregard of the facts of the situation, which I know hasn’t deterred many of you in the past.
“If you have to do it that way again, if that’s the story line you want to take, you go against all the facts. Hopefully, some of you will be deterred.”
Nah.
Van Gundy is sincere. Brother Jeff is extremely likable, but not so much when he’s coaching, which seems to make him crazy. Stan has year-round humanity, but there’s this exasperation gene. He has long been awed by his position and good fortune. At February’s All-Star Game, he constantly addressed veteran reporters as “Mister” before answering questions. Is that a guy who’d lie?
But he’s also insanely intense, and Riley has privately described several instances of talking him off the ledge–when the team was winning.
Undoubtedly, the stress of the situation hung over him: Riley’s presence, Shaq’s concern, and the personnel moves that had Van Gundy in training camp trying to get Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem on his side to send messages to the new players.
The players read the newspapers too. They believed it was just a matter of time. Van Gundy did an amazing job under the circumstances. His Miami coaching obituary had been written. Just the dates needed to be filled in.
Riley said he has been trying to talk Van Gundy out of resigning all season and finally gave in to Van Gundy’s insistence. Riley probably wasn’t ready to take over the team at this point with O’Neal not playing at full strength. But his taking over seemed inevitable.
And it’s good for the NBA.
Don’t worry about Van Gundy. Once fired at Wisconsin and a longtime Riley assistant, Van Gundy has moved to the top of the short list of future coaching candidates with a work ethic and knowledge of the game any organization would covet. He said he may coach in high school someday, but one suspects he’ll miss the big time too much.
The NBA desperately needs an attraction like Riley, Shaq and the Heat.
Riley, 60, is one of the best coaches ever, perhaps the most colorful with his elegant style, demanding ways and prestigious record of success: 1,110 wins, eight times in the NBA Finals with four coaching championships, three times coach of the year, recognition as one of the top 10 coaches in NBA history.
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He suffered his own burnout after two losing seasons in Miami and handed the job to Van Gundy just before the opening of the 2003-04 season.
Van Gundy’s Heat, led by exciting rookie Wade, recovered from an 0-7 start to finish 42-40 and get to the second round of the playoffs. Last season, they were 59-23, with O’Neal acquired from the Lakers, and leading 3-2 in the conference finals before Wade was hurt and they lost in seven games. Van Gundy, 46, leaves with a 112-73 record.
No offense, but he’s no Pat Riley. Few are. So now what? Trade for Artest? The show continues Tuesday in Chicago.