The 2019 LF HOF Class featured legends including Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Walt Frazier, Cappie Pondexter and Nick Young, while the 2020 LF HOF Class has the only currently active player in Russell Westbrook, plus two heavy hitters in Dennis Rodman and Magic Johnson.

This year, four new members were added to the LF Hall of Fame—and to say they just showed out in the tunnel would be an understatement. From visionaries to the most stylish of champions, here’s the official LeagueFits Hall of Fame.

LEAGUEFITS HOF CLASS OF 2019

Nick Young might not have been the first basketball player to ever dress up, but he was the first to make “swaggy” his moniker. Young was by far the best-dressed player on the superteam Warriors, a pioneer as an athlete-turned-designer and has remained a stalwart voice in the sports style community since retiring from the NBA.

MORE ON SWAGGY’S UNIQUE STYLE

Allen Iverson is the most important player in the LeagueFits Hall of Fame. His style choices sparked harsh reactions from those who couldn’t understand and even evoked a League-wide rule change. Iverson normalized self-expression for hoopers across the globe, paving the path for the viral looks we see in the tunnels on a daily basis today. 

MORE ON AI’s ICONIC MOMENTS

 As the WNBA’s first style star, Cappie Pondexter was a shoe-in for the first-ever LeagueFits Hall of Fame Class. She paved the way for today’s athletes in what’s arguably become the most stylish sports league on the planet. 

MORE ON CAPPIE’s INFLUENCE

Walt Frazier was the first basketball player to take style seriously, and he did so while being a superstar player in the Mecca. 

MORE ON CLYDE’s TIMELESS DRIP

LEAGUEFITS HOF CLASS OF 2020

Sneaker culture is nearly synonymous with basketball and its style scene. It’s only right that Michael Jordan was a first ballot LeagueFits Hall of Famer (don’t worry, dude could put an outfit together, too).

MORE ON MJ’s GREATEST FITS

Magic Johnson’s game off the court was just as the flashy one he brought to it as the leader of the Showtime Lakers.

MORE ON MAGIC’s STYLE EVOLUTION

You have to be an icon to be inducted into the LeagueFits Hall of Fame while still actively playing. Russell Westbrook created the modern, online, style era not just for basketball, but for sports period. He’s an icon.

MORE ON RUSS’ IMPACT

When it comes to self-expression, nobody has ever been on Rodman’s level and nobody ever will. Between the hair, outfits and attitude, he was uniquely and unapologetically him at all times.

MORE ON RODMAN’s AUTHENTIC STYLE

LEAGUEFITS HOF CLASS OF 2023

You had to know Dwyane Wade’s induction was coming. Wade helped break a barrier as one of the first athletes to attend fashion week and was the subject of two of the League’s first-ever viral style moments.

MORE ON D-WADE’s FLASHY STYLE

Always smooth, always efficient. Sue Bird’s wardrobe had a tendency to mirror her GOAT-level on-court game.

MORE ON SUE’s GOAT FITS

When it comes to courtside looks, nobody in NBA history has ever done it as well as Rat Riley (or even come close, honestly). Making a career in Los Angeles, New York and Miami—winning 5 championships in the process—taught Riley how to dress like a superstar, too. 

MORE ON RILEY’S COURTSIDE LOOKS

The visionaries behind LeagueFits, Ian and Joe, discuss the LF HOF Class of 2023 and their favorite fits from all of them on ‘Survival of the Fitted.’ Check it out below.

Shop our LeagueFits apparel, from Hoodies and Shorts to an exclusive collab with Famous Nobodys and MORE.

The post LeagueFits Hall of Fame: The Most Influential, Best-Dressed Basketball Players of All-Time appeared first on SLAM.

The aggressive play of star center Bam Adebayo and the leadership of Kyle Lowry have brought the team to four victories in their last five games, with the most notable one being this past Friday against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

A game that featured the return of Miami superstar Jimmy Butler saw the forward shatter the hearts of the 19-5 Celtics by hitting one clutch shot after another. After the game, he posed high confidence in the Heat and its resiliency in tight situations but most notably made a promise to team President and all-time NBA legend Pat Riley, as he hopes this season shapes up to be Riley’s 10th championship run.

“When you’re talking about the Heat,” Butler said. “Deep run into the playoffs, championship caliber, that’s the second two is about. You put the two together, Pat Riley; we’re getting your 10th championship.”

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A post shared by Jimmy Butler (@jimmybutler)

Butler came within reach of Riley’s 10th title on two separate occasions, as in the 2020 NBA Finals, the Heat came up short against the Los Angeles Lakers, losing the series 4-2. Last season, the Heat were once again in the Eastern Conference Finals against the rivaled Celtics, and in Game 7, Butler missed a critical go-ahead three-point shot in the final 18 seconds to give Boston the opportunity to ice the game and move on to the championship series against the Golden State Warriors.

Though the Heat hasn’t looked themselves this season, when Butler is on the court, his elite level of play places him in the upper echelon of star players across the League. He’s currently averaging 21.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.7 steals.

The Heat Culture embodies a ‘bounce back’ mentality through their grit and determination on the floor, and Butler has certainly embraced it. However, at 33-years-old, time is certainly closing on him to achieve the dream of winning a championship.

Butler is capable of taking on the challenge on his own, but basketball is a team game, and Heat fans know that if a championship comes to South Beach, it’ll have to be a high-level team effort.

“We’re still going to win the championship, and I don’t care what nobody says,” Butler said on the early struggle of the Heat. “Count us out. We’re going to win the f—— championship. I’m telling you.”

The post Jimmy Butler to Pat Riley: ‘We’re Getting Your 10th Championship’ appeared first on SLAM.

The Heat seemed like the clear landing spot for Mitchell as NBA fans believed they had enough assets to send the Utah Jazz in exchange for the shooting guard. A deal like that would have pushed the Heat toward favorited championship odds, especially considering Mitchell and Adebayo’s chemistry at the Miami Pro League over the summer. Mitchell and Adebayo were also seen working out with one another throughout the offseason

“I said this to somebody, I was like, ‘Man, I’m working out with Bam [Adebayo] and others, and I’m thinking like, ‘This is just preparing. This is what it’s going to look like.'” Mitchell said on J.J Redick’s “Old Man and the Three Podcast.”

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A post shared by 13am Adebayo (@bam1of1)

Adebayo wasn’t the only player in the Heat roster that would spark rumors of Mitchell joining the Heat. Jimmy Butler had spent the second week of his off-season with Mitchell at a restaurant in Miami for basketball media influencer Chris Brickley’s birthday

In that same late June period, rival Kevin Durant had requested a trade from his team and the NBA world believed Heat President Pat Riley would pull the trigger for the future Hall of Famer.

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A post shared by Chris Joseph Brickley (@cbrickley603)

The Heat ended up standing pat during the off-season, but they extended Tyler Herro to a four-year deal worth $130 million. Though securing the young star bodes well for the Heat, the East has gotten much more competitive, especially with Mitchell making the Cavs a potential top-five seed in the conference.

Cleaveland’s future success rides on the play of Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley in order to consider the Cavs the winners of the trade. As for Miami, the team’s lack of trades and signings puts pressure on them to succeed at the same rate they did last season. If this season goes any worse, the question arises of why the Heat didn’t make the effort of making the Butler, Adebayo, and Mitchell big three.

The post Donovan Mitchell Touches On Working Out With Bam Adebayo Over the Summer appeared first on SLAM.

Now, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Herro and the Miami Heat have reportedly agreed on a contract extension for four years worth $130 Million.

During the 2021-2022 season, Herro averaged 20.7 points on 44.7 percent shooting from the field, to go along with 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Since coming into the League, Herro has gone from averaging 13.5 points per game to 15.1 and, as of last year, 20.7.

Herro had even earned high praise from head coach Erik Spoelstra this past season, who said the Sixth Man of the Year “becoming one of the most skilled players in the League.”

Following the signing of Herro’s extension, Heat President Pat Riley said via NBA.com that, “Tyler is an impact multi-faceted player and we are excited to have him signed for the next five years,” said Riley. “His improvement every year since we drafted him has led to this day. We believe he will continue to get better per the Miami Heat.

Now with Herro officially extended, Heat fans are definitely looking forward to seeing many more performances this season.

The post REPORT: Tyler Herro and the Miami Heat Reach an Agreement on a Four-Year, $130 Million Extension appeared first on SLAM.

Despite his personal and team success in South Beach, Hardaway decided not to ask former Coach Pat Riley or Alonzo Mourning to be his presenters at this Saturday’s Hall of Fame ceremony. That honor will instead go to the figures that fostered his love for the game from before his time in Miami teaming up with Mourning and Riley.

Tim Hardaway explains bypassing Pat Riley, Alonzo Mourning as Hall of Fame presenters. https://t.co/mBJsfMaNHQ No, not a Miami Heat snub, but rather a tribute to those who were there for him at the beginning.

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) September 8, 2022

Hardaway’s presenters will be Isiah Thomas (Class of 2000), his Run-TMC teammates Mitch Richmond (’14) and Chris Mullins(’11), longtime friend Yolanda Griffith (’21), and former college coach Nate Archibald (’91).

“There’s one thing I do know I want to tell you; it takes a village to raise a kid; Chicago South Side raised a kid. This is Chicago South Side. This is for them,” Hardaway said of his decision, per Ira Winderman.

“Isiah Thomas, I grew up watching him play, my basketball idol, no question, from the city of Chicago,” Hardaway explained. “Nate Archibald, my college assistant coach, came back to his alma mater and coached me [at Texas-El Paso] and helped me understand. Yolanda Griffith, we went to high school together. We graduated in the same class. And I wanted to acknowledge her as being the first before me and wanted people to understand that. She was a Hall of Famer before me, and she needs to be recognized.”

The choice to bypass Riley, Mourning, and former Coach Don Nelson was difficult. Hardaway knows it and even admitted that he “can’t even mention a lot of people that I want to mention.” As a result, Hardaway’s speech will likely not “mention a lot of people” that he wants to mention.

Instead, the UTEP two-step creator will make a point to mention critical figures during his time in Miami during his HOF media session that’ll be aired on NBA TV.

“I’m sorry, everybody can’t be there,” he said of those standing alongside on stage. “And I’ll tell you this, in my speech, I can’t even mention a lot of people that I want to mention because it’s a lot of us going up this year. So I can’t mention a lot of people I want to mention.”

Hardaway’s Hall of Fame induction class includes four-time NBA champion Manu Ginobli, two-time college Coach of the Year Bob Huggins, sixth-winningest NBA coach George Karl, and veteran NBA ref Hugh Evans. Five-time All-Star Lindsay Whalen, four-time All-Star Swin Cash, and NCAA national champion and former WNBA Coach of the Year Marianna Stanley will be inducted on the woman’s side.

Mourning will attend the HOF ceremony, as well as Coach Erik Spoelstra, GM Any Ellisburg, assistant GM Adam Simon, scouting director and former teammate Keith Askins, and multiple other Heat front office members. Rily will not be able to attend due to a scheduling conflict but heaped heavy praise on Hardaway when he was interviewed for the HOF’s event program that’ll be passed around at the ceremony.

“I had just come from New York, and we had a team that was noted for defense and things of that nature, you know, rough and tumble. I needed to get a point guard, and Tim was available,” Riley said of acquiring Hardaway for the Heat from the Warriors in 1996.

“He was not the explosive, up-and-down-the-court kind of a player. He could keep a team really organized. He was tough as nails, and we were fortunate to have him.”

Hardway’s Hall of Fame induction will begin this Saturday evening.

The post Tim Hardaway Explains Why He Didn’t Pick Pat Riley and Alonzo Mourning as Hall of Fame Presenters appeared first on SLAM.

This list is also featured in our special issue, SLAM Presents TOP 75 NBA Teams of All Time. Shop here.

Check out the full list below to see who our number one is and where your favorite team ranks. We expect that there will be some disgruntled fans out there, but that’s what makes this fun, right?

No. 66-75

Last but certainly not least. From the 1997-98 Pacers who put up a fight against the Chicago Bulls’ “Last Dance” squad to the 2018-19 Raptors that made history in the 6.

READ HERE

No. 65-55

These squads set the foundation for greatness to come. The birth of the Celtics dynasty with Bill Russell to the 2004-2005 Phoenix Suns had the best record in the L.

READ HERE

No. 54-44

Rewriting history. The 2003-04 Pistons that ended the Lakers’ Finals run to Milwaukee’s first title.

READ HERE

No. 43-33

Heavyweights turned champions. From the 1983-84 Celtics that brought the ‘chip back to the Bean over LA to the 2011-12 Heat that won LeBron James his first ring.

READ HERE

No. 32-22

Tight spaces and pressure packed situations formed these teams into dynasties. From the 2001-02 Lakers completing the three-peat, to the Spurs squad that gave Tim Duncan his third ring.

READ HERE

No. 21-11

These squads made history. The 2015-16 Warriors that won 73 games to the Cavaliers team that upset them in that same Finals.

READ HERE

No. 10

Back to back. Miami became the first Eastern Conference team to repeat as champions since the “Last Dance” Bulls.

READ HERE

No. 9

At the height of their dominance in 2000-01, the Shaq and Kobe-led Lakers generated one of the best postseason runs ever when they lost just one game in the 2001 playoffs.

READ HERE

No. 8

Paid in Full. The early 80’s were mostly dominated by the Lakers and Celtics, but the 1982-83 Sixers, led by Julius Erving and Moses Malone, swept LA in the Finals.

READ HERE

No. 7

The first of six rings for Jordan, this Bulls squad redeemed themselves when they swept the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals and then defeated the Lakers in five.

READ HERE

No. 6

A revenge tour and Magic’s first regular-season MVP, this “Showtime” Lakers team returned to the Finals after missing it the previous season.

READ HERE

No. 5

A coin flip in ’69 allowed the Bucks to draft Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which brought a championship in his second season as he averaged over 30 points per game and earned MVP honors. Legendary.

READ HERE

No. 4

Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics were flying high in the mid 80’s. Larry himself won his second Finals MVP trophy in ’86.

READ HERE

No. 3

The opening act before Showtime. The Lakers capped off a tremendous season and brought vindication to the franchise. Wilt Chamberlain was the Finals MVP, and Jerry West could finally feel like a winner.

READ HERE

No. 2

One of the most talented teams ever assembled in the L, the Warriors lost only a single game during the 2017 playoffs. Adding Kevin Durant made their 2016-17 squad unstoppable.

READ HERE

No. 1

Top 2 and they’re not 2. The 1995-96 Bulls weathered a perfect storm; getting Michael Jordan back in full form, adding Dennis Rodman, the Bulls won their fourth title.

READ HERE

Photos via Getty Images.

The post SLAM’s TOP 75 NBA Teams of All Time: FULL LIST appeared first on SLAM.

On Saturday night, former NBA forward-center Chris Bosh received the recognition they truly deserved by finally getting inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame.

The former fourth overall pick from the famed 2003 NBA Draft class reached the pinnacle of success in the NBA, winning two championships during the Miami Heat’s Big 3 Era with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. Individually, Bosh holds 11-time All-Star appearances and has gotten his jersey retired by Miami, having led the team after James’ departure in the same way he led the Toronto Raptors prior to joining the Heat.

The highlight of the iconic event—in which former NBA stars Paul Pierce, Chris Webber and Ben Wallace amongst others were also inducted—came from no other than Heat president Pat Riley.

In 2010, Riley gave Bosh one of his championship rings, telling Bosh to “return it once we win one together,” igniting a fire in the Dallas native that eventually lead him to his first ever NBA Championship.

Last night, Bosh had the opportunity to finally return the Godfather’s ring on stage, living up to the promise once made 11 years ago. Bosh went on to recall iconic moments experienced in Miami, bringing up the 2011 loss to the Dallas Mavericks and winning two consecutive championships, and the Heat’s historic 27-game winning streak.

He went on to finish his speech with a very powerful message about setbacks and never giving up because of them.

One of the most skilled big men to ever step on the court, Bosh averaged 19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game over the course of his 13-year career but ultimately retired in 2019 due to ongoing health issues.

The post 2-Time NBA Champion Chris Bosh Inducted into Basketball Hall Of Fame appeared first on SLAM.

While guesting on the Woj Pod, Pelinka gave his thoughts on the championship and why exactly he thinks there shouldn’t be an asterisk.

“I think some have asked, ‘Will this championship have an asterisk on it?’ I like to say, ‘No, it has a gold star’ … Just because you had to do so much more to get to the end, and I think it was a testament to our team and the players and staff coming together in that environment.” 

For what it’s worth, Riley ended up clarifying his asterisk statement later, saying, “The asterisk is next to the Heat’s name, not the Lakers. Their title is legitimate. Our loss has an asterisk (next) to it. The Lakers were the better team. Period.”

Regardless, the Lakers were impressive on the 2020 championship run. LeBron James and Anthony Davis looked like one of the most dominant duos in recent history during the most unique postseason ever. 

The post Rob Pelinka: Lakers’ Title Deserves ‘Gold Star’ Rather Than An Asterisk appeared first on SLAM.

In a postseason press conference, Riley said that the Heat will focus on keeping their core group together this offseason.

“We know what our priorities are…It is to take care of the players that we have, that we have to make decisions on almost immediately. We know Bam has a decision to make and we do with him. We know the guys that have sacrificed for us that we really like, our free agents, especially Goran.”

With guys like Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and others, the Heat have great chemistry and play well together. Adebayo is due for a new contract, and Dragic is someone they want to bring back in free agency. 

While it’s likely that Miami is monitoring the Antetokounmpo situation, keeping their current core together will be crucial leading up to that potential opportunity.

The post Pat Riley Says Heat’s Focus Is Keeping Core Intact appeared first on SLAM.

The thought bothers him so much that he believes there should be an asterisk beside the Lakers’ latest championship, considering that the Heat might have taken the Finals to a Game 7 had they not been bitten by the injury bug at the most inconvenient of times.

Not that Riley believes Los Angeles didn’t deserve to win the championship: “They beat us fair and squarely,” Riley said this week. “They were the best team. But there’s always going to be that asterisk, that caveat.

“If we had Bam and Goran—Goran was our leading scorer in the playoffs—at 100 percent, it could have gone to a seventh game,” he continued. “But I’m not going to look back on it, I’m just going to look at all the positive things.”

“Yes, I would like to see what it would be like with everybody whole,” Riley said. “But we’ll get that shot again. I’m just so proud of what our guys did… The Lakers were great; they were a great team and they have the greatest player in the game today in LeBron [James] and Anthony Davis.”

Both Adebayo and Dragic played in the Heat’s Game 6 loss, but Dragic had missed the previous four games with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, and Adebayo missed Games 2 and 3 with neck and shoulder strains.

Neither player was able to perform up to the same level as they had been before their respective injuries. Nonetheless, this is far from the end for this Miami Heat team.

The post Pat Riley Believes Lakers’ 2020 Championship Deserves An Asterisk appeared first on SLAM.

“The point is we’re right there and we’re a contender, and I’m proud of that,” Riley said in a video released by the team Wednesday.

Miami compiled a 41-24 record, good for the fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference, before the coronavirus global pandemic shut everything down last month.

Per The Miami Herald:

“We had a very, very good basketball team,” Riley said. “Very well-coached, and I think we proved it on the court night in and night out. We overcame some adversity, some injuries. When that happened, next man up. That’s one of [Erik Spoelstra’s] sayings. I think we were [41-24] or something along those lines and headed to home-court advantage in the playoffs. It was a great year. I’m really disappointed that we haven’t seen the finish, especially after we made the trade when we brought in Andre Iguodala, Solomon Hill and Jae Crowder. I thought that was going to give us a little bit of an edge going into the playoffs.”

The NBA playoffs were scheduled to begin April 18, with the Heat owning home-court advantage in a first-round series against the Indiana Pacers based on the current standings.

“For all of us when we started the season, we thought we had something good,” Riley said. “Especially when we had the opportunity to sign Jimmy Butler. We didn’t really know how great Tyler Herro or Kendrick Nunn or Duncan Robinson, Chris Silva at times and a lot of our young guys, Derrick Jones Jr. And having Goran [Dragic] and having Jimmy Butler and having Bam [Adebayo], who has been around three years and having Meyers Leonard and his infectious personality and Kelly Olynyk. For all intents and purposes, I’m so happy that we turned a lot of things around and we found the right players, the right mix of pick-and-roll players, guys that can post up and really found a couple of guys that can shoot the ball — really shoot the ball — so we’re happy for that and we’re really optimistic about moving forward into the future with these players.”

Whether this season is saved or not, Riley’s goal hasn’t changed. At 75 years old, he wants to build another championship team.

“I don’t have much patience. You know me,” Riley said, with the Heat set to have enough cap space to sign a max player in the summer of 2021. “I want to build another championship team and we’re close. Maybe we need another player. Maybe we need less. I don’t know. The point is we’re right there and we’re a contender, and I’m proud of that.”

Related Pat Riley: Heat Drafted Dwyane Wade after a ‘Horrible Workout’

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It was also reported that “gummies” were involved, and that the 28-year-old may have had a panic attack.

Waiters, who ended up with the Lakers in March, says he still has plenty of love and admiration for the Heat’s braintrust.

Per The Players’ Tribune and The Miami Herald:

“Even the hardest motherf***ers in the world go through depression, man. No cap. You know, I think sometimes the world needs to be reminded that we’re not superheroes. I came from the bottom. I seen it all. But when I go home at night, I’m just like you. I go through depression, just like you. I go through anxiety, just like you. This last year and a half, I done been through it.

“The plane incident in Miami? It’s on me. I own that. It was idiotic on my behalf — point-blank, period. What’s crazy is, my whole life I been a leader. I’m not a follower. Pat knows me. He knows I don’t do drugs. But sometimes when you’re going through dark times, you can fall trap to things you’d never do in your right mind.

“I never had a seizure, though. Ask the doctors. Ask my Heat teammates. They can speak on it. For that b.s. to come out, it ain’t right. I made a mistake, but for someone to leak that, and for my family to hear it? Shit. It ain’t right.”

Waiters ultimately played just three games for Miami this season — three straight games in January while the Heat was short-handed — and averaged 9.3 points on 38.5 percent shooting in 14.0 minutes per game.

Waiters said he’s still on good terms with [Heat team president Pat] Riley and owner Micky Arison, although he knew even before the season his time with the Heat was nearing an end.

Related Dion Waiters Apologizes for Plane Incident

The post Dion Waiters: ‘The Plane Incident in Miami? It’s on Me’ appeared first on SLAM.

Riley says the franchise had more than enough information to convince them that picking Wade fifth overall was the right decision.

Player workouts may be shelved because of the NBA’s current hiatus due to the coronavirus global pandemic.

Per The South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

“I always go back to the Dwyane Wade workout,” Heat President Pat Riley said. “He had a horrible workout. We still drafted him.”

As part of pandemic precautions, individual team workouts and in-person draft interviews were halted by the NFL. For the NBA, it is possible the process never starts before draft time, whether that remains June 25 as scheduled, or sometime after Aug. 1, as has become the new preferred approach.

“The body of work and all the interviews and everything a player’s done will transcend a bad workout, a nervous workout, a poor interview,” Riley said. “Because by the time they come in, we have enough information. It would really take something to change that.

“That player that we really like and maybe we want to draft,” Riley said, “it would take something really bad for us to maybe not draft him.”

Related Pat Riley: Dwyane Wade ‘Was Better’ Than Kobe Bryant in 2006

The post Pat Riley: Heat Drafted Dwyane Wade after a ‘Horrible Workout’ appeared first on SLAM.

James, who scored 45 points in a historic Game 6 performance against the Celtics that pushed the Heat into the championship round, said it might’ve been the “quickest breakup in basketball history” had things gone south during a forty-five minute Instagram Live chat with fans Thursday night.

LeBron added that his legacy would “take a huge, huge hit” had Pat Riley broken up the squad.

Per The Miami Herald and ESPN:

“My mentality was if we lose, [Miami Heat president] Pat Riley may break us all up,” James said. “And I don’t want that. It might be the quickest breakup in basketball history. Not only might they break it all up, but my legacy is going to take a huge, huge hit if I don’t go out here and perform at an all-time high.”

The Heat won the series in seven games and defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games to win the franchise’s second NBA title. James was named the NBA Finals MVP.

The Heat won the 2013 NBA championship in seven games over the San Antonio Spurs, marked by Ray Allen’s 3-pointer in Game 6 that flipped momentum to the Heat as they faced elimination.

“Win, lose or draw, I had to be focused. I had to lock in and lead us to victory,” James said Thursday. “Didn’t know if it was going to happen that way, but that was my mindset.”

Related Kevin Garnett: 2010 Celtics ‘Broke’ LeBron James

The post LeBron James: 2012 Loss to Celtics Would’ve Ended Heat Big 3 appeared first on SLAM.

Butler concurs with the Heat legend’s assessment.

“This is Jimmy Butler’s era,” says Wade, who spent the 2016-17 season playing alongside Butler in Chicago.

Per The Miami Herald and ESPN:

“I think Jimmy has been very clear. Conversations that we had about Miami early on. There are certain people you just know are Miami Heat guys where you know the culture,” Wade said.

“I always thought Jimmy was that. I always thought Jimmy’s personality and his crazy was perfect for Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra’s crazy. So it’s great. One thing I told Jimmy when he got there is, ‘This is Jimmy Butler’s era. Don’t worry about people saying anything about Dwyane Wade. I’m old and retired and gone. You don’t have to worry about me anymore. Focus on what you’re trying to build with Miami in your time there. Don’t ever feel like you have to be me or anybody else that’s come before you. You just have to be Jimmy Butler.’”

After hearing about Wade’s comments, Butler agreed. When asked why he thinks he has the right brand of “crazy” for this Heat team, Butler praised the tough-minded Heat culture that has defined Riley’s tenure in South Beach.

“I think it’s all based off of honesty, truthfulness, hard work and intention,” Butler told ESPN after scoring 24 points, dishing out 10 assists and grabbing 7 rebounds in a 134-129 overtime win over the Washington Wizards. “And I feel like when you talk about myself, you talk about Spo, you talk about Coach Pat, that’s what all of this thing is based off of: how hard you work, how you can keep it real with one another and not take anything personal. It fits for me here. I’m loving it, man. They’re constantly in my ear, and we’re constantly going back and forth, figuring out ways that I can be better. How I can make everybody else better. But this culture — I’m super happy to be here. I’m fortunate to be here, man. This is a great group of guys. It’s a great organization. But like [Wade] said, this is the right type of crazy for me.”

Related Jimmy Butler: TJ Warren ‘Not Even in My F**kin’ League’

The post Jimmy Butler: Miami Heat the ‘Right Type of Crazy for Me’ appeared first on SLAM.

“It’s not the end of my story,” vowed Waiters following a visit with his college coach, Jim Boeheim.

The 27-year-old adds that he “still got those same goals, that same ambition.”

Per Syracuse.com:

He described his current mental state as “great.” He has surrounded himself with family, with friends, with his children. Their presence, he said, “keeps me sane” as he figures out how to deal with what awaits him.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I’m in a great place,” he said. “I can only control what I can control at the end of the day, so some things you just can’t allow to take your head the other way, some things happen for a reason. If you stay locked in, if you believe and trust in yourself, trust in the work you put in, you know, it’s a minor setback. It happens. It’s life. You learn from it. The only thing I can do is move forward. Stay focused. Stay even-keeled. Let everything else take care of itself.”

He is coming off a serious ankle injury and believes, he said, that he is ready and able to help his team win.

“I’m a competitor. Any time you work hard and you envision something a certain way and it’s not going as you planned and you see it, you know, you go back to the drawing board and you figure it out. That’s what it’s about – figuring it out,” he said. “So continue to work, always stay confident. Just having the right people in your corner make things a lot easier. (It’s) being a competitor and wanting to play and me being healthy. Because you set goals. It’s taking a little longer but I still got those same goals, that same ambition. It’s not the end of my story.”

Related Dion Waiters: ‘I Know the Reason Why I’m Coming Off the Bench’

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Waiters and head coach Erik Spoelstra reportedly got into it on the bench during Friday night’s preseason finale against Houston.

Dion finished finished with two points, two rebounds and one assist in 10 minutes as a reserve against the Rockets.

Per The Miami Herald:

“There were a number of unacceptable incidents this week, culminating with his unprofessional conduct on the bench last night,” Riley said in the statement issued by the team. “As a consequence, I feel we had to suspend him.”

According to a source, there was a disagreement between Waiters and Spoelstra on the bench during Friday’s preseason finale against the Rockets.

“If everybody can’t get on the same page, then we got to kind of fix that situation,” Heat team captain Udonis Haslem said Sunday. “The way we’ve been able to win championships in the past, is everybody had the same mindset for the same goal and we all were able to figure it out. Those are the expectations that we have and that’s what we want to stick with.”

Is Haslem disappointed in Waiters?

“No,” Haslem said. “I understand that through an NBA season, you’re going to have some ups and downs and you’re going to deal with stuff. Dion is our brother. We hope we get him back as soon as possible. I love Dion.”

Related Dion Waiters: ‘I Know the Reason Why I’m Coming Off the Bench’

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Wade, an NBA Finals MVP at age 24, “was better than Kobe [Bryant] at that time,” says Riley.

Dirk Nowitzki adds that D-Wade—who averaged 34.7 points in the series—was “unguardable” when he led Miami past his Dallas Mavericks.

Per Bleacher Report:

For about a three-year span Wade was, in Riley’s view, “the best player in the world.”

“Dwyane was better than Kobe at that time,” Riley says. “He had a better year by having the impact on winning—in the Finals, in the biggest moments, on the biggest stage. And you get that moniker.”

For Wade, the moment was career-defining, even if that career was just three years old.

“That first championship I got against him is something that, if I never got to the Big Three era, was something that set me up for the rest of my life,” Wade says.

Related Dwyane Wade: ‘Kobe Bryant is the Greatest Player of Our Era’

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But with the Heat’s contract books tied up to pricy long-term deals, Riley’s Heat have simply not had the cap flexibility to pursue any big-time stars on the open market.

But when those deals come off the books in the summer of 2020, Riley will be ready to pounce. In a recent sit-down with Heat broadcaster Jason Jackson, Riley said he will targeting two max free agents when that time comes.

“We’ve done this four times now, had a good group of players, young players, and then either through free agency or through trade brought the superstar in,” Riley said. “in 2020, we’ll have a ton of room. We’ll also have the possibility to have enough room to go after two max free agents. And we’re going to do that.”

Riley went on to praise Miami’s luxurious and appealing lifestyle, as well as the low Florida state income taxes and pointed out how the Heat’s burgeoning young core of Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and Bam Adebayo could be enticing to stars looking for their next team to latch onto.

“We’re chasing a playoff spot when we’re young. And then we’re going to be chasing some players that can come in,” Riley said. “If we can get one or two players to come in with this group, this young group, then I think the sky’s the limit for this team in the next couple years.”

RELATED:
Pat Riley: Heat Dynasty Flew ‘Out The Window’ When LeBron James Left

The post Pat Riley: Heat Will Pursue Two Max Free Agents in 2020 appeared first on SLAM.

Riley, however, holds no ill will towards James for his free agency decision to leave Miami.

The 73-year-old vows to remain at the helm as Heat team president until they win another NBA championship.

Per The Sun-Sentinel:

“When LeBron made that call, I saw a dynasty fly out the window,” Riley said in the clip posted Tuesday by ESPN.

“I didn’t blame him. But I knew that was a 10-year team. It was just a sad day for me and for our franchise because I wanted that dynasty. I wanted this city and this team to go 10 years and maybe be in the Finals eight times.

“I don’t know how many championships we would have won. But I don’t have any rancor toward him at all.”

Interviewed by ESPN personality Dan Le Batard, Riley, in a clip of the interview posted Tuesday by the network, referenced Dwyane Wade leading the Heat back from the brink of disaster against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals, when Wade turned to Riley, then the team’s coach, and said, “I ain’t going out that way.”

With ESPN panning across those words outside the Heat locker room, Riley, who turns 74 on March 20, said, “Maybe that’s why I’m not going to retire. I ain’t going out this way, until we win another title.”

Related Pat Riley: LeBron James Did the Right Thing Leaving Miami

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Waiters, currently rehabbing from left ankle surgery, has been sidelined for nearly a year.

I spoke to Dion Waiters about the weight jokes, his rehab, the dark times, and more. https://t.co/AlDR3TB1kM pic.twitter.com/LdNWrBZyJv

— Rohan Nadkarni (@RohanNadkarni) December 19, 2018

The 27-year-old Miami Heat guard says rehab has been a humbling experience.

Per Sports Illustrated:

“I was battling stuff within myself,” he says. “Everything was taken away. When this happens, you find out how much you really have to dig to get back.”

Waiters certainly had to dig deep. He will have missed almost a year of basketball by the time he returns to action. Fans and writers alike have begun to question whether he’ll ever return, and why the organization brought him back if his ankle wasn’t fully healthy. Meanwhile, Waiters admits the front office itself at times grew restless. There’s a reason why [Pat] Riley was running Waiters so hard—he wants to see him back on the court.

“Both sides are mad and frustrated,” Waiters says when asked about tension with the team. “But we both want the same thing.”

When Waiters is actually back, what does that mean for Miami?

“I know I’m better than a lot of these guys in the motherf—ing league,” Waiters says when questioned about what he can bring to the Heat. “I only gave y’all a taste. I know I can do more.”

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The post Dion Waiters: ‘I’m Better Than a Lot of These Guys in the Motherf—ing League’ appeared first on SLAM.

For now, anyhow.

Pat Riley tells Heat players he is 'pulling the plug' on Butler talks (for now). https://t.co/un30tmW38K

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) October 19, 2018

Riley, the Heat’s president of basketball ops, told his current roster during a recent practice that it will be staying intact.

Per the Sun-Sentinel:

In another rare confirmation of Miami Heat trade negotiations, a team spokesman confirmed shortly before Thursday night’s game that Heat President Pat Riley recently told the team’s players he was “pulling the plug” on trade negotiations regarding disgruntled Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler.

Last week, Riley refuted a report that he had used a profanity amid trade discussions with Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau, who also handles the team’s personnel decisions.

Riley then issued a statement that read, “As to what has been reported in the past 24 hours, I have too much respect for Tom Thibodeau and all that he’s accomplished in this league. Our conversations have been nothing but cordial and I have never used that kind of language in negotiations.”

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The post Pat Riley ‘Pulling the Plug’ on Jimmy Butler Trade appeared first on SLAM.

The team can offer Wade the $5.3 million mid-level exception or the $2.4 million veteran minimum, but Riley insists it’s not about the money.

Pat Riley says Udonis Haslem will be back, says the taxing situation with Dwyane Wade is the next priority. https://t.co/zqW7yTafAf … Plus, Riley offers updates on Winslow, Weber, Stokes, others.

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) August 23, 2018

Riley adds that he has a “real good feeling” Udonis Haslem will be back in the fold in 2018-19.

Per the Sun-Sentinel:

“I have a real good feeling that UD is going to be back,” Riley said at the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Miami Heat Sports Medicine Center at Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute. “There’s not been any announcement on that. It’s just a gut feeling about UD and what he wants to do.”

As for Wade, Riley said last month that he expected the situation to be resolved in mid-August, a timeline that has been extended.

“Well, I couldn’t get resolved in mid-August because I was on the Amalfi Coast with Micky, having pizza and meatballs. I was on vacation,” Riley said of his annual Mediterranean getaway with Heat owner Micky Arison. “We’ve been in constant communication with Leon Rose, his attorney. Now that I’m back, in town, and we’re really ramping up for training camp, I know Dwyane’s in California right now with the marketing team, getting ready for the season, so I’ll have a conversation with him somewhere shortly.

“I texted him after he got his long-term deal with [Chinese apparel company] Li Ning. We want him back. He and Udonis, we want ’em back, but we’re giving ’em space. We know our young guys and we need to anchor our young team with a veteran presence of the both of them.”

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The post ‘We Want Him Back’: Heat Aiming to Re-Sign Dwyane Wade appeared first on SLAM.

The big fella is coming off a frustrating 2017-18 campaign, one marred by a knee injury and inconsistent playing time.

Heat's Hassan Whiteside looking forward to returning healthy this season https://t.co/HA2TeFm952

— Shandel Richardson (@ShandelRich) August 1, 2018

Whiteside, 29, reports that he recently had a trust-building chat with team president Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra.

Per the Sun-Sentinel:

“I feel great,” Whiteside said, speaking on a conference call to promote an exhibition game in Africa. “I feel a lot better than I did during the season. I’m completely healed. I feel like my regular self again.”

Last week, Riley reconfirmed his trust in Whiteside, saying the organization still has confidence in him. The Heat have every intention of continuing forward with Whiteside, who is the team’s highest-paid player. He said he is confident his production and playing time will increase.

“We had a great talk,” Whiteside said. “I just think it’s trust on both sides. I think that’s the biggest thing … It was about a four-hour meeting. It was a lot about life. It was two hours basketball, two hours life. It was a good meeting.”

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Pat Riley: Miami Not Shopping Hassan Whiteside

The post Hassan Whiteside: ‘I Feel Like My Regular Self Again’ appeared first on SLAM.

Despite rumors to the contrary, and the big man’s frustration with his diminished role, Riley says Whiteside isn’t going anywhere for now.

Pat Riley: Waiters uncertain for camp; fences mended with Whiteside; Wade talks coming. https://t.co/iAnjcp6Y4H Heat president also discusses status of Ellington, Haslem, James Johnson, McGruder, Derrick Walton Jr.

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) June 22, 2018

Riley pushed Whiteside and head coach Erik Spoelstra to settle their differences at season’s end.

Per the Sun-Sentinel:

Having spoken at season’s end of the need for an intervention between Whiteside and coach Erik Spoelstra, Riley said it is time to move on.

“Any time you lose in the first round, there’s a lot of emotion,” Riley said. “Whatever happened then was two months ago. You move on and you make the best of it. I think that’s where we are right now.”

He said Whiteside has not been offered in trades.

“I expect a lot of out Hassan, contrary to what people might think about us trading him,” he said. “We haven’t offered him to anybody, really, to be honest with you. So you go through an emotional period with a player and you deal with it and you come back and you work things out.”

Related
Riley: Hassan Whiteside Has To Change ’99 Percent’ of His Thinking

The post Pat Riley: Miami Not Shopping Hassan Whiteside appeared first on SLAM.

Pat Riley, however, is still weighing his options with Whiteside, per Jackson.

NEW: Some information on the Heat/Whiteside situation and an interesting trade possibility worth exploring here: https://t.co/dtq5AW478R

— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) May 4, 2018

There is strong support among numerous people inside the Heat to trade Hassan Whiteside, and the question this offseason becomes this: To what measures will Pat Riley go to dump the two years and $52 million left on his contract.

Amid his public comments that he would intervene in the Whiteside/Erik Spoelstra disconnect, Riley is now mulling what to do with Whiteside, according to someone close to the situation.

RELATED:
Report: Heat To Explore Hassan Whiteside Trades In Offseason

The post Report: ‘Strong Support’ For Whiteside Trade appeared first on SLAM.

Embiid was quick to remind everyone that he balled out against Miami despite a late-season facial injury.

Joel Embiid’s pregame routine: dunking on Hassan Whiteside pic.twitter.com/9Q6c1SmpOs

— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) April 30, 2018

Riley says Whiteside and head coach Erik Spoelstra may need an “intervention” of some kind this summer.

Per the Palm Beach Post:

“There has to be an intervention and I’m going to be the intervener,” Riley said Monday, the day he met with the media to discuss the state of the Heat. “The disconnect between he and Spo that’s going to take a discussion between them and it’s going to take thought on the part of coach and also Hassan.”

Riley referenced Whiteside’s injuries – as did Spoelstra – that forced him to miss 28 games, 18 because of two different bone bruises and nine in March because of a hip injury.

“By the time we got to the playoffs I don’t think he was ready,” Riley said. “He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t in great shape. He wasn’t fully conditioned for a playoff battle mentally. He and we got our heads handed to us.”

The post Joel Embiid: ‘No Excuses’ for Hassan Whiteside Being Out of Shape appeared first on SLAM.

In his season wrap-up media session, Riley said he wants to help Whiteside, but Whiteside needs to be willing to “help himself” (via the Sun-Sentinel)

Pat Riley suggests intervention with Hassan Whiteside, Erik Spoelstra. https://t.co/62sld9cfyN. Says Whiteside was not good enough in playoffs, not in playoff shape.

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) April 30, 2018

“The disconnect between he and Spo, that’s going to take a discussion between them and it’s going to take thought on the part of Coach and also Hassan.

“How will Hassan transform his thinking—99 percent of it—to get the kind of improvement that Spo wants so he can be effective?” […]

“How does he make himself effective? To do the things he needs to do—defend, rebound, shot-blocking—all of those things that he did that we fell in love with the first year, second year?

“He had a bad year this year. He’s got to come back strong next year. I’m going to try to help him as much as I can.

“I’m going to try to help [Whiteside and Spo] so we can keep him on the court 30 minutes a game. But he’s got to help himself.”

RELATED:
Heat To Explore Hassan Whiteside Trades In Offseason

The post Riley: Hassan Whiteside Has To Change ’99 Percent’ of His Thinking appeared first on SLAM.

Pat Riley breaks news in my upcoming book, The Soul of Basketball: https://t.co/bWOTv9PSLO

— Ian Thomsen (@IanThomsen) April 9, 2018

LeBron won a pair of titles in Miami, but Riley felt the Heat could have collected “five or six championships” had the team stayed intact.

Per ESPN:

“I had two to three days of tremendous anger. I was absolutely livid, which I expressed to myself and my closest friends,” Riley said.

“My beautiful plan all of a sudden came crashing down,” Riley said. “That team in ten years could have won five or six championships. But I get it. I get the whole chronicle of [LeBron’s] life.

“While there may have been some carnage always left behind when he made these kinds of moves, in Cleveland and also in Miami, he did the right thing. I just finally came to accept the realization that he and his family said, ‘You’ll never, ever be accepted back in your hometown if you don’t go back to try to win a title. Otherwise someday you’ll go back there and have the scarlet letter on your back. You’ll be the greatest player in the history of mankind, but back there, nobody’s really going to accept you.'”

Riley also reveals that James tried to coax him back into coaching in 2010, though he ultimately stuck with Erik Spoelstra.

“The Soul of Basketball” takes us one step further. Riley revealed in the book that the day after the Heat’s loss to Dallas, he asked James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to meet him in his office for 10 minutes to check on how the team leaders felt the young season was progressing.

“They just said, ‘We’re not feeling it,’ or something like that,” Riley told Thomsen. “We talked about the typical things that we have to do, have patience and all of that stuff.

“And I remember LeBron looking at me, and he said, ‘Don’t you ever get the itch?’ I said, ‘The itch for what?’ He said, ‘The itch to coach again?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t have the itch.’ He didn’t ask any more questions, and I didn’t offer any more answers. But I know what it meant, and I always go back and wonder about what he was thinking at that time. He walked out scratching his leg like it was itching.”

The post Pat Riley: LeBron James Did the Right Thing Leaving Miami appeared first on SLAM.

In a story with Sports Illustrated‘s Rohan Nadkarni, Waiters recalls how he confidently responded, “I haven’t had the opportunity yet. But I was born to destroy.”

The confidence behind Dion Waiters: ‘I was born to destroy’ https://t.co/URn1aLv0z5 pic.twitter.com/9o7HBl0pCN

— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) October 11, 2017

“What are you going to do? What are you going to do when there’s four minutes left, and we need you to score, and we need you to lead the team?” Riley asked Waiters.

 

“I know what I’m going to do,” Waited responded immediately, “I know I haven’t had the opportunity yet. But I was born to destroy.”

 

Riley laughed.

 

“I love it.”

RELATED:
Dion Waiters Says Ankle ‘Still A Little Bit Swollen’ After Season-Ending Injury

The post Dion Waiters Told Pat Riley He’s ‘Born to Destroy’ in Free Agency appeared first on SLAM.

In an interview with SirusXM NBA Radio, Riley added that his goal for Miami’s young players is to “transcend having to have a Big Three.”

“We have a team of young stars. We have some veteran players who are stars.

 

“Will the internal growth of the team transcend having to have a Big Three, and then that will take care of itself? And then out of that, I can assure you that players will rise up and become noted as stars or All-Stars or superstars.” […]

 

“What they need to do is to transform and transcend above and beyond having to have a Big Three. And I do think we have the ability to do that internally.”

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Pat Riley on Magic Johnson: "He's the greatest player of all time."

— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) June 6, 2017

(Riley says that if both players were in their primes, Magic would beat LeBron James in a one-on-one duel.)

Magic on LeBron: "He’s definitely one of the top five greatest players even right now. He’ll continue to move up. LeBron is special."

— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) June 6, 2017

Riley said Magic would beat LeBron 1 on 1 in their prime. Riley: "He would never call a foul & LeBron would respect him as an elder"

— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) June 6, 2017

Johnson is about to embark on his first season as the Lakers’ president of basketball ops, and Riles knows that things won’t be easy.

Per the OC Register:

“When things aren’t going good the first year, he’s going to go down there and want to be Lonzo Ball’s mentor … ” Riley said, his trailing off.

 

Some in the audience for the American Express-sponsored event at the Conga Room in L.A. Live laughed. Others gasped, since the Lakers have not revealed their intentions on how they will use the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft. Though the Lakers will hold an individual workout for Ball on Wednesday, they also will work out Kentucky guard De’Aaron Fox next week.

 

Riley considered it “the best choice at the right time” for Lakers governor Jeanie Buss to hire Johnson to replace her brother Jim Buss. Yet, Riley sensed Johnson will go through a steeper learning curve than when he won five NBA championships, including four with Riley as the Lakers’ coach.

 

“My first three months I was in fits. I had lost control,” said Riley, who has been the Miami Heat’s president since 1995. “You lose control of the team and the game. You’re just selecting players. One thing you don’t want to do as president is second-guess your coach, hang out in the locker room and question him too much.”

The post Pat Riley Calls Magic Johnson the ‘Greatest Player of All Time’ appeared first on SLAM.

Riley also demurred when asked if he’ll be rooting for James against the Warriors.

Riles says Round 3 of the Cavs-Dubs championship trilogy will be an all-timer.

Per the Akron Beacon Journal:

Golden State owner Peter Guber, who walked Riley to his sports car, told Riley, “Don’t answer that question.”

 

Riley did answer, but with a twist, as the Hall of Famer made reference to the Los Angeles Lakers teams he coached.

 

“The Lakers with Magic Johnson went to the Finals during ‘Showtime’ nine times in 12 years,” Riley told TMZ.com.

 

Pressed on if he was rooting for James, Riley said, “I’d like to see a great Finals. I’m about a great Finals and I think it’s going to be one of the best ever. But I love LeBron, we all do, he was part of our team for four years.”

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The post Pat Riley Compares Magic Johnson to LeBron James appeared first on SLAM.

Though The King delivered two rings to South Beach, Heat president Pat Riley was angered by his departure, telling ESPN that “it was personal for me.”

Riley had been nervous about the prospect of LeBron resigning, but when he received the news, he still couldn’t fathom it:

The agent handed the phone to LeBron, who started by saying, “I want to thank you for four years …”

 

“I was silent,” Riley says. “I didn’t say anything. My mind began to just go. And it was over. I was very angry when LeBron left. It was personal for me. It just was. I had a very good friend who talked me off the ledge and kept me from going out there and saying something like Dan Gilbert. I’m glad I didn’t do it.”

Here’s the Dan Gilbert response to LeBron’s 2010 decision that Riley references.

The Heat have struggled overall without James, and have since lost Dwyane Wade to the Bulls and Chris Bosh to blood clots. They fell one game shy of a playoff berth this season.

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Pat Riley Says Resting Players Has ‘Become A Travesty’
Pat Riley: ‘When LeBron Left In 2014, We Should Have Given Max Deals to Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh’

The post Pat Riley Almost Responded Like Dan Gilbert Did After LeBron Left Miami appeared first on SLAM.

So it comes as no surprise that Riley thinks that resting players is overrated.

During his end-of-season interview on Wednesday, Riley said that Adam Silver needs to do something about the issue of teams resting players.

“We don’t rest, we don’t, I don’t believe in it.

 

“I think it’s gotten to the point where it’s become a travesty, an absolute travesty, and blatantly so. I don’t care how many players you are resting, or who are the ones who are entitled to get the rest versus who doesn’t rest.

 

“We don’t rest. We maintain players. And obviously, in certain situations, when a guy is playing, you know a guy is playing banged up, only you know that—then you might shorten his minutes or you might do something.

 

“But to just blatantly leave people home and not play them in that situation, I just think it’s wrong.

 

“Adam Silver has to do something about it. The owners have to do something about it. And let’s put a little integrity into the concept of rest.”

RELATED:
Pat Riley Says Heat Are Rebuilding, ‘But We’re Going To Do It Fast’

The post Pat Riley Says Resting Players Has ‘Become A Travesty’ appeared first on SLAM.

Riley claimed at the time that it “fired” him up that LBJ returned to Cleveland.

Pat Riley calls LeBron James leaving "most shocking" moment of Heat tenure. https://t.co/BoOaXQJp4r

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) March 6, 2017

The Heat are now scrapping for the final Playoff spot in the East.

Per Yahoo:

“Since I came here, we’ve had the same owner, same president, two coaches, same support staff. We’ve got a bunch of guys working for us who played for us. Players come and go, great players. When LeBron left, that was the most shocking thing to me – not to say he was right or wrong – and the most shocking thing to the franchise. But our culture is the same. You have your up years and your down years, but what can’t change is the way you do things.”

 

Beyond LeBron, the Heat also lost the other two-thirds of the Big Three, Dwyane Wade to free agency and Chris Bosh to injury. Label this season however you like: Collapsing. Rebuilding. Transitioning. By all rights, it should have been the disaster it began as at 11-30. The Heat have won 18 of 22 since, positioning themselves on the periphery of the playoffs.

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The Heat currently sit at 10-20 and Riley has been hesitant to say the team is rebuilding, but in a radio interview with Miami’s WQAM radio, the team president admitted that the franchise is in rebuild mode, but that they are “going to do it fast.”

Riley first pointed to his previous rebuilding efforts that resulted in championships in South Beach.

From the Miami Herald:

“We’ve done this twice,” Riley told WQAM’s Joe Rose on his radio show Wednesday morning of the Heat’s rebuilding project. “Basically we had to do it in 2001 when Alonzo Mourning went down with a kidney ailment. So we had two tough years which produced Caron Butler and Dwyane Wade and also Lamar Odom in free agency. That started that rebuild that turned into Shaquille [O’Neal] and the championship and the Big 3. In 2008, we took a hit and we missed on that pick in Michael Beasley. We didn’t really miss on it, but the best player was Russell Westbrook, taken with the [fourth pick].

Riley then pointed to his young core of Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson as valuable pieces:

“You go back and you look at it, we’re in a rebuild with young players that we’re familiar with and we have five or six guys that we really like. They will form a nucleus, two or three them. Tyler Johnson got 32 points coming off the bench and Hassan [Whiteside] had 32 [points] and 15 [rebounds in Tuesday’s double overtime loss to Orlando]. We have some very good young players. Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson, they have been thwarted their injuries. Justise missed [16] games [with a wrist injury]. Josh missed seven weeks with an MCL [sprain]. So, they’re a little bit behind.

Riley also commented on loving the young core, but that roster flexibility is the franchise’s best asset:

“But we love our young core. And what we have is flexibility. And you need flexibility in this league to be able to move quickly. You can’t get paralyzed by the cap or not being able to make room and being able to trade players. I think the No. 1 asset that we have right now is our flexibility moving forward. We have a first round pick this year. So we’re dealing with it. We’re dealing with that word that you hate to use – that we have to rebuild. But we will rebuild quick. I’m not going to hang around here for three or four years selling this kind of song to people in Miami. We have great, great fans. They’re frustrated. They’ve been used to something great over the last 10 years and so right now we’re taking a hit. I think we can turn this thing around. As I said, if five of those [close] losses were turned into wins we could be in the playoffs right now. But they didn’t.

 

“You can use that word rebuild. But we’re going to do it fast.”

Look for Miami to be active as the trade deadline nears.

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WATCH: The Heat Retire Shaq’s Jersey

The post Pat Riley Says Heat Are Rebuilding, ‘But We’re Going To Do It Fast’ appeared first on SLAM.

Tonight, he was honored during the Heat/Laker game, marking the second time his jersey has gone to the rafters–the Lakers had their Shaq ceremony in 2013.

In his four seasons with the Heat, O’Neal averaged 19 points and 9 rebounds and helped the Heat win the 2006 NBA title. During his speech, Shaq made sure to individually thank Udonis Haslem and Alonzo Mourning, and say that he wishes Dwyane Wade could’ve been part of the ceremony. Watch the whole celebration up top.

The post WATCH: The Heat Retire Shaq’s Jersey appeared first on SLAM.

LeBron’s longtime business partner, Maverick Carter, took offense to the Zen Master’s choice of words.

All the hard work,effort and achievement and @PhilJackson11 still calls us a "posse"every step you take they remind you, you ghetto" @S_C_ pic.twitter.com/OPsPvAvFoM

— Maverick Carter (@mavcarter) November 14, 2016

Let me be clear I'm not saying @PhilJackson11 is racist,, I'm calling out his disrespectful language

— Maverick Carter (@mavcarter) November 15, 2016

Carter, however, stopped short of calling Jackson a racist:

“I don’t care that he talks about LeBron,” Maverick Carter told ESPN.com. “He could say he’s not that good or the greatest in the world as a basketball player. I wouldn’t care. It’s the word ‘posse’ and the characterization I take offense to. If he would have said LeBron and his agent, LeBron and his business partners or LeBron and his friends, that’s one thing. Yet because you’re young and black, he can use that word. We’re grown men.”

 

Jackson, in an ESPN.com interview with Jackie MacMullan, made the statement while revisiting James’ departure from the Miami Heat in the summer of 2014 and what it meant for the tenure of Heat president Pat Riley.

 

“It had to hurt when they lost LeBron,” Jackson said. “That was definitely a slap in the face. But there were a lot of little things that came out of that. When LeBron was playing with the Heat, they went to Cleveland, and he wanted to spend the night. They don’t do overnights. Teams just don’t. So now [coach Erik] Spoelstra has to text Riley and say, ‘What do I do in this situation?’ And Pat, who has iron-fist rules, answers, ‘You are on the plane. You are with this team.’ You can’t hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland. […] I always thought Pat had this really nice vibe with his guys. But something happened there where it broke down. I do know LeBron likes special treatment. He needs things his way.”

The post Maverick Carter Balks at Phil Jackson Referring to LeBron’s ‘Posse’ appeared first on SLAM.

Wade understands Riley’s hyper-competitive mentality and doesn’t hold it against him.

Dwyane Wade hasn't talked to Pat Riley: "I know who Pat is. If you’re not with him, you’re against him" https://t.co/yI07PkSxfP via @KCJHoop pic.twitter.com/hGFzc8eDte

— ChicagoSports (@ChicagoSports) November 9, 2016

The future Hall of Famer hopes for a warm reception from the Heat faithful in his return.

Per the Chicago Tribune:

“I know who Pat is — it’s no secret to me,” Wade said after Wednesday’s morning shootaround at Philips Arena before the Bulls’ game with the Hawks. “If you’re not with him, you’re against him. That’s just the way he is. You have to understand that, man.

 

“I’m cool with it. I’m fine, 100 percent. I was there 13 years. I’ve seen a lot of video tributes. I’ve seen a lot of players come in and go out. And I’ve seen the way he has responded to them. And I know if you’re not with him, you’re against him.”

 

Wade returns to Miami on Thursday for the first time as an opponent in the second of back-to-back games for the Bulls. He knows the night will be emotional. Wade also knows it will be competitive. […] “I’m trying to beat their butt,” he said. “And they’re trying to beat our butt.”

Related
Dwyane Wade: ‘I Thought I Would Be [In Miami] Forever’
Dwyane Wade ‘Closed the Miami Chapter’ in Bulls Season Opener

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In episode four of Bosh’s Uninterrupted series, the two-time NBA champ shared his feelings about his career with the Heat being over and admitted to being hurt by Riley’s words:

“I didn’t see my career in Miami ending like this, I didn’t get a call or a text or anything like that. I mean, it’s a business. We understand that. We always say those things. But if you say certain things to the person and you win championships and you have these moments, you don’t want to find things out through the media. It’s kind of tough. We say all these things, the commitment, brotherhood and all these things. And then, for whatever reason, you find out, or I find out like this. So, it hurts.”

Bosh also reiterated that his career is not over and he plans on playing again:

“I guess my career in Miami’s done. My career’s not done,” Bosh said. “There’s 29 other teams, it’s a whole league. One team does not make up the opinion of everything.”

According to ESPN, Bosh is under contract with the Heat until 2018-19 and is owed $76 million in guaranteed money. In February, Miami can start to try and remove Bosh from its salary cap since it will be a calendar year since he last played. After that, Bosh could become a free agent and seek out a team that will medically clear him to play.

Related
LeBron James Surprised Miami is ‘Just Done’ With Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh: ‘Little Setbacks Happen’
Chris Bosh Fails Physical and Not Cleared For Training Camp

The post Chris Bosh: ‘I Didn’t See My Career In Miami Ending Like This’ appeared first on SLAM.

Bosh, 32, is owed $79 million over the next three seasons and intends to suit up again.

LeBron jabs Pat Riley for handling of Chris Bosh in Miami, says he's 'on deck' to retirement https://t.co/v7HYgJAtnu

— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) September 27, 2016

James says he’ll continue to support his former teammate, with whom he won two NBA titles.

Per the NEOMG:

“We all know it’s probably a difficult situation for him,” James said Tuesday, after the Cavs’ first practice. “(I was) pretty surprised a little bit to hear that the team is just done with him, and then to come out and say it. It’s not like I’ve been there, to know exactly what’s going on in the interior. So I’ve only seen it from the exterior like the rest of us.

 

“So, um, I just wish the best for him and he has my support.”

 

If you read James’ comments as another jab in the cold war between James and Riley since James left the Heat in the summer of 2014, so be it.

Related
Chris Bosh: ‘Little Setbacks Happen But That Doesn’t Change My Intentions’

The post LeBron James Surprised Miami is ‘Just Done’ With Chris Bosh appeared first on SLAM.

Riley says the Heat are preparing for life without the 11-time All-Star.

Pat Riley says that Chris Bosh's career with the Miami Heat is over. https://t.co/sRTwHsEYQM

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) September 26, 2016

Bosh, 32, failed a physical prior to training camp but continues to insist that he’ll play again.

Per the Sun-Sentinel:

“We are not,” Riley said in his office at AmericanAirlines Arena. “I think Chris is still open-minded. But we are not working toward his return. […] We feel that, based on the last exam, that his Heat career is probably over.”

 

Asked if he felt Bosh’s NBA career was over, as well, Riley said, “that’s up to him.” […] “It’s pretty definitive from us, in our standpoint, that this is probably going to be a time where we really have to step back,” Riley said. His health, playing and economics — it’s been health, health, health,” Riley said before the start of the team’s media day at AmericanAirlines Arena. “Whatever the cap ramifications are, they are there, but we never ever thought about that.”

 

Riley compared the mood around the team to Magic Johnson’s HIV announcement. […] “Dealing with Magic Johnson and what he went through … it’s not easy to be with a player for six years and watch him play and watch him accomplish what he’s accomplished,” Riley said of Bosh. “I can’t imagine what he’s going through.”

The post Pat Riley: Chris Bosh’s ‘Heat Career is Probably Over’ appeared first on SLAM.

The front-office are said to be in agreement with team doctors: Bosh will probably not suit up again for the Heat.

Sources: Heat increasingly believe Chris Bosh's career with franchise is over. @WojVerticalNBA on @TheVertical. https://t.co/y7AqZ1Hhif

— The Vertical (@TheVertical) September 23, 2016

Bosh is desperate to play again, and the 32-year-old has reportedly been avoiding team president Pat Riley.

Per Yahoo:

Another bout of blood clotting was a significant part of the failed physical, and Bosh’s chances of resuming his NBA career are in a perilous state, sources said.

 

There’s been a complete breakdown in communication between Heat president Pat Riley and Bosh, sources said. Bosh has been reluctant to talk with Riley, sources said, although Riley and Heat officials are hopeful for a chance to sit down with Bosh soon and discuss his future.

 

Riley, owner Micky Arison and the Heat doctors have been fearful of the potential health risks of Bosh trying to navigate the recurring blood clots with an NBA playing career, and it is unlikely that Bosh will find any team willing to clear him with the grave dangers associated with his health plight.

The post Report: Heat Believe Chris Bosh’s Career in Miami is Over appeared first on SLAM.

Here is @DwyaneWade talking about that Pat Riley email that he says never arrived #Heat pic.twitter.com/Zs97FCNxN1

— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) September 17, 2016

Dwyane Wade returned to Miami for the final time on Saturday before the 2016-17 season for his first annual six-mile CommUNITY Bike Ride.

After the event, Wade was asked if he received “a very long email” promised by Pat Riley explaining what happened this summer.

Wade said he’s been waiting for over two months.

“That’s the funny thing about phones—spell check sometimes messes up [emails],” Wade said with a smile. “I haven’t received it, but I’m sure it’s coming.”

RELATED:
Pat Riley: ‘What Happened With Dwyane [Wade] Floored Me’
Pat Riley on Dwyane Wade: ‘Good Luck. We Move on’
Pat Riley Says Shaq, Not Big Three, Was Heat’s Most Important Acquisition

The post Dwyane Wade Still Waiting on Email Pat Riley Promised To Send appeared first on SLAM.

The iconic front-office guru was initially crestfallen when Wade left South Beach for the Windy City this summer, but with the regular season looming, Riley is focused on the new-look Heat.

Pat Riley talks abt excitement for this year & celebrating Magic Johnson's anniversary #Heathttps://t.co/G3r4hu9N5I pic.twitter.com/lVjaeou6x6

— Tom D'Angelo (@tomdangelo44) September 7, 2016

Riley is already thinking ahead to next year’s free agent class.

Per the Palm Beach Post:

“No apologies, no regrets – except for one – no tears,” Riley told me (Thursday), obviously referring to losing franchise icon Dwyane Wade to the Chicago Bulls. “Good luck. We move on. Players come and go, but franchises move on.”

 

The Heat have been remade since losing Wade, Luol Deng and Joe Johnson among others. They are a mix of young athletic players with fewer veterans than Heat teams of recent years.

 

“I’m excited for our new guys,” he said before already talking about the next move. “Maybe we make a deal or catch lightening in a bottle again next summer (in free agency) like we did in 2010.”

Related
Dwyane Wade: ‘I Will Always Love Pat Riley’

The post Pat Riley on Dwyane Wade: ‘Good Luck. We Move on’ appeared first on SLAM.

The Riley-Shaq partnership ultimately soured after just three-and-a-half seasons, but Riley claims that Shaq gave the franchise “real legitimacy” and set the stage for the formation of the Big Three in 2010.

“The Big Three was a nice little thing at that time that fit in to a glove. Chris and LeBron were tired of losing in Toronto and Cleveland. Dwyane was a big asset to it. Miami was a big asset to it. Those guys were ready to move on. We had the room to do it, and they came.

 

“But the seminal moment to make us really, really legitimate, also to get us the marketing clout, the global clout, and also he delivered on the championship promise was Shaquille… Getting Shaquille changed everything.”

With Shaq set to be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame next Friday, Riley took a moment to put Shaq’s career in Miami into perspective:

This is not, Pat Riley stresses, revisionist history. And it also is not, he insists, getting caught up in the moment that will have Shaquille O’Neal this coming Friday becoming the third former Miami Heat player to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

 

“I’ll say this, and I mean this,” Riley says during a relaxed moment this past week, “Shaq’s acquisition was bigger than any acquisition that we ever made, including the Big Three.”

 

[…]

 

“The seminal moment,” Riley says, “to really make us really, really legitimate. He turned our franchise around. He gave us real legitimacy.”

The post Pat Riley Says Shaq, Not Big Three, Was Heat’s Most Important Acquisition appeared first on SLAM.

A letter from @MickyArison to #HEATNation: https://t.co/2G6B9rWgGN

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) August 12, 2016

Bosh, 32, has missed the second half of each of the past two seasons due to blood clots.

There had been speculation that the big fella might be forced into medical retirement.

Per the Sun-Sentinel:

Toward the close of the email, Arison wrote: “What won’t change is the culture of this organization. The Miami HEAT is a Championship organization. I fully expect this team, from Pat Riley to Head Coach Erik Spoelstra, to our veterans Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, Goran Dragic and Josh McRoberts, to our returning young core of Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and Tyler Johnson, to the fresh faces joining the HEAT Family to continue our mantra of being the ‘hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA.'”

 

(Bosh) traveled on Arison’s private plane to Heat playoff games this spring but remained sidelined, despite a desire to return. Heat President Pat Riley said last month a decision on Bosh’s playing future likely would be addressed this month or next month, with the Heat opening training camp the last week of September.

 

Arison also all but confirmed that the Heat would not again issue Dwyane Wade’s No. 3, writing, “For the first time in a long time, Dwyane Wade will not be part of our team, but it will be a joyous homecoming when we someday hang his #3 jersey from the rafters of AmericanAirlines Arena.”

The post Miami Heat Owner Expects Chris Bosh to Return Next Season appeared first on SLAM.

Waiters will instead wear No. 11 next season.

The 24-year-old inked a one-year, $2.9 million deal but insists that moving to South Beach had nothing to do with the dollar amount.

Per the Sun-Sentinel:

Wade had worn No. 3 for his 13 seasons with the Heat before signing this offseason as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls. Wade will continue with No. 3 in Chicago, with forward Doug McDermott agreeing to switch to No. 11 with the Bulls.

 

Waiters previously had bypassed the Oklahoma City Thunder’s since-rescinded $6.8 million qualifying offer for 2016-17 and took a pay cut from last season’s $5.1 million salary at a time when several teams have in excess of $10 million remaining in salary-cap space.

 

“Dion is not a Room Exception player,” (Heat President Pat) Riley said in a statement. “He wanted to play for the Miami Heat and chose to forgo other more lucrative financial opportunities to be a part of our championship organization. […] We are very honored that he made the commitment to come to South Florida and sign with us. Dion is young, athletic and explosive, which fits in with our roster. He will add a great dimension for us at the off-guard spot. I really like the depth and versatility that we now have in our perimeter positions. Welcome aboard Dion!”

The post Dion Waiters Won’t Wear Dwyane Wade’s Old No. 3 in Miami appeared first on SLAM.

Riley held a press conference on Saturday (July 16) and spoke on the Heat’s offseason as a whole, including DWade’s exit and Chris Bosh’s future.

Here are the highlights via the Sun Sentinel‘s Ira Winderman:

“Obviously from my standpoint and the team’s standpoint, we’ve had a tough summer. Period.”

 

“What happened with Dwyane, floored me. I’m not trying to fall on the sword for anybody. I have great regret that I didn’t immerse myself in the middle of it.

 

“I’m gonna miss what I might have had planned for him and his future and how I saw the end going for him.

 

“My responsibility was to make it happen.

 

“Dwyane left and the buck really stops here.

 

“There will always be a key under the mat. I just hope it doesn’t get too rusty.

 

“It’s not going to be the same without him.”

 

“I’ve always been reaching to get him another guy, especially after [LeBron James] left, to help him win.

 

“I haven’t spoken to Dwyane yet. I’ve been crafting a very long e-mail to him. I’m going to send it when it’s finished.”

 

Riley said he wanted to make sure Wade got paid, “but not at the expense of paralyzing our chance to win.”

 

On Chris Bosh and the uncertainty of whether the All-Star forward will be back from the blood clots that have sidelined him the second half of each of the past two seasons:

 

“It’s always fluid and it always has been. It’s a positive environment right now with Chris and his doctors.

 

“I know he wants to play and we would be open to that. Let’s allow this process to move down the road and we’ll go from there.

 

“I can’t speak medically about this thing. I can only speak from a basketball standpoint.

 

“It’s a sensitive, complicated situation.”

The post Pat Riley: ‘What Happened With Dwyane [Wade] Floored Me’ appeared first on SLAM.

Wade acknowledged that he understands the business side of the sport and said that he loves Pat Riley.

More from the Miami Herald:

“There’s going to be a lot of stuff that’s said about me and Pat. First and foremost, I love Pat Riley,” said Wade. “He’s been someone who has been a figurehead in my life since I got drafted here at 21. But at the same time, he has a job to do. He has a different hat to wear. That hat sometimes is not to be my best friend. That hat is to be the president of the organization, and to be a businessman. And it sucks. Because you love somebody so well, you guys love each other, but the business side comes out. You know? And we have to deal with that. I’m not saying we’ve hugged and cried and shared tears at this moment. But I love Pat. And I will always love Pat. And I know he feels the same way about me.”

The post Dwyane Wade: ‘I Will Always Love Pat Riley’ appeared first on SLAM.

Heat president Pat Riley refused to budge on the team’s $20-million-a-year offer for the future Hall of Famer, and says he’s heartbroken by Wade’s departure.

Relationships are important people!

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 4, 2016

Thank you @DwyaneWade for a great 13 yrs! You've had a tremendous impact on our community and our organization. We wish you all the best.

— Micky Arison (@MickyArison) July 7, 2016

While you're watching Kelly Ripa, one more nugget: Pat Riley never called Dwyane Wade during the entire process.

— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) July 7, 2016

Riles typed out an emotional response to his franchise player’s exit.

Per the Miami Herald:

Wade felt unwanted, for whatever his reasons. Wade felt underappreciated, for whatever his reasons. That’ll all come out soon enough. His relationship with Riley was in tatters by the end, damaged by the way Wade’s allegiances always seemed to be to LeBron James. The Heat’s proud reputation as loyalty lifers takes a hit today as its prodigal son leaves behind all the warmth in his past for a cold Chicago. Ego and pride and willfulness and stubbornness — some of the things that helped make him a champion — also made him pack his bags and move out.

 

Riley was too raw to talk about it Wednesday night, but I asked him if he wanted to say anything about how he was feeling, and this is what he wrote by text:

 

“SADDDDDDD!!!! SO saddddddd! I will never forget the sixth game in Dallas in 2006. DW rebounded the ball, and threw it to the heavens and the Heat universe was perfect for that moment. Our first world championship. Our universe is not perfect today. It will be fraught with anger, judgment, blame instead of THANK YOU!!! Ten years ago. Ten years older. Ten years wiser. Ten years changed. All of us. Dwyane had a choice, and he made it. He went home. Bad, bad summer for us. But there will be another 10 years, and it will be someone or something else in 2026. Move on with no blood or tears. Just thanks. I truly loved Dwyane, but families grow, change and get on with another life. He will always be a part of us. ALWAYS! And no more bruises and enough fighting. Let’s just fly above it if we can and never forget. I feel his pain and pride for what pushed him over the ledge. Been there. Forever, for always, your coach I will be. FOREVER!”

Related
Dwyane Wade: ‘I Have Made the Right Choice’

The post Pat Riley on Dwyane Wade Leaving: ‘SADDDDDDD!!!! SO saddddddd!’ appeared first on SLAM.

Afterwards, LBJ revealed some of the ugly things that were said to him after he bolted from Miami.

According to James, someone high up in the Heat’s hierarcy—*cough*Pat Riley*cough*—bitterly claimed that leaving South Beach would be the “biggest mistake” of his Hall of Fame career.

Due to popular demand: the full clip of @mcten and @MikeWiseguy discussing Lebron James's "secret motivation" to winhttps://t.co/z7Vjtwzj7m

— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) June 20, 2016

LeBron: "All the emotions came out at the end of the game. People still counting me out after 13 years." pic.twitter.com/LTw0jQWJkK

— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) June 20, 2016

Per ESPN:

His stint in Miami made him a two-time champion, but it also made him feel unappreciated on his way out the door. Ever since James left the Heat, the way his exit was received there nagged at him.

 

During last year’s Finals, after tying up the series at 1 with an undermanned Cavs team, James hinted at it, saying, “I have some other motivation that I won’t talk about right now. … I hope we win so I can tell y’all.” […] They didn’t win, and the Warriors took Games 4 through 6 and celebrated on the Cavs’ floor. James didn’t tell.

 

He held on to the secret motivation for 12 more months, declining to elaborate even when asked privately, allowing the intrigue to grow. Sunday, finally, it was time to tell the whole story. […] “When I decided to leave Miami — I’m not going to name any names, I can’t do that — but there were some people that I trusted and built relationships with in those four years [who] told me I was making the biggest mistake of my career,” James said just outside the Raiders’ locker room. “And that s— hurt me. And I know it was an emotional time that they told me that because I was leaving. They just told me it was the biggest mistake I was making in my career. And that right there was my motivation.”

The post LeBron James Was Told Leaving Miami Was the ‘Biggest Mistake’ of His Career appeared first on SLAM.

Shaq on the 2006 Finals: Riley held his head in a bucket of ice for three minutes to teach the team "to believe" when down 0-2

— Rohan Nadkarni (@RohanNadkarni) June 7, 2016

O’Neal—who also opened up on the diminishing role of the center in today’s League and his lone regular season MVP—adds that Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love must play a whole lot better if the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to make this a respectable series against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

Shaq: "The reason there are no big men is because me and Phil killed them all off"

— Rohan Nadkarni (@RohanNadkarni) June 7, 2016

Shaq: "I would've been the first unanimous MVP if it wasn't for this idiot Fred Hickman. Not that I'm still pissed about it."

— Rohan Nadkarni (@RohanNadkarni) June 7, 2016

Kyrie has shot a horrific 33 percent from the field (while getting absolutely torched defensively) through Games 1 and 2 against the Dubs, and Love is dealing with a concussion.

Per the AP:

“Because remember last year, the story line was, ‘OK, Golden State, you won a championship, but that’s because Kyrie and Kevin Love weren’t playing.’ Now they’re playing, now you’ve got to play like you know how to play,” O’Neal said Monday night.

 

(Love’s) been no match for Green, who scored 28 points in the Warriors’ 110-77 Game 2 stomping. […] “Kevin Love’s getting punked by Draymond, he really is,” O’Neal said. “I hate to be the one to say it, but he has to step up. You can’t let a guy do the muscle thing in your face and you don’t respond.”

 

O’Neal said his Miami Heat never lost their belief in the 2006 finals, when they dropped the first two games in Dallas and were in deep trouble in Game 3 before storming back to win four straight. “We didn’t feel like we were down and we knew we were better than that team,” he said. “Our whole message was just one game at a time because they’re up, the pressure’s not on them. Once you start to squeeze, the pressure starts to be on them.”

The post Pat Riley Motivated the 2006 Heat By Dunking His Head in a Bucket of Ice appeared first on SLAM.

Whiteside, 26, is headed into free agency this summer and will command a large contract on the open market.

Riley says he’s never seen a player turn his career around the way Whiteside has.

Per the Palm Beach Post:

Whiteside is finishing the final months of a deal that pays him under $1 million this season and is set to hit a huge payday this summer. The guy who was training at the Charlotte YMCA in 2014 could be looking at a four-year, $80 million contract.

 

“I’ve never been around that kind of turnaround,” team president Pat Riley said this afternoon. “We’ve had some players that we’ve opened our eyes up on, but I think what Hassan did last year and what he’s doing now, his level of play– it’s just all about more experience, more reps, understanding how important he is for us. […] But in my 50 years in the NBA, I have never seen that kind of phenomenon. I know this is hurting me right now as far as his free agency goes because I’m complimenting him, but he’s grown a lot.”

 

Whiteside has been playing off the bench since early February, but has continued his run as the most dominant shot blocker in the league. He leads the NBA by wide margin with 226 blocks, plus he is averaging 13.5 points and 11.7 rebounds in a little under 29 minutes per game.

The post Pat Riley Stunned By the Hassan Whiteside ‘Phenomenon’ appeared first on SLAM.

Riley says LeBron never told him that he wanted Spoelstra out.

— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) January 29, 2016

Riley, speaking during an event Thursday honoring him as an American Icon, said that LB’s name is being unjustly dragged through the mud.

Pat Riley compared LeBron's situation to his own in NY and LA "where a lot of stuff followed me out the door."

— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) January 29, 2016

Riles talked about championship expectations prior to the season, but now admits that Miami is in the “middle of the pack.”

Per the Miami Herald:

On a report, originating from a translation of minority Heat owner Ranaan Katz, that LeBron James asked Riley to fire Erik Spoelstra: “Not from him to me, ever. I’ve been in that situation twice. I left Los Angeles and a lot of stuff followed me out the door to New York. And obviously when I left New York, a lot of stuff followed me down here to Miami. It took about 10 years to sort of get out of that storyline. So a lot of stuff is following him out the door. Whether it’s right or wrong, it’s just the nature of it. But as far as that goes, no, he never, ever walked in and said anything.”

 

On Dwyane Wade: “I’m so proud of him. Every now and then I’ll send him a text. And the subject line, we keep texting back, it’s ‘I’m so proud.’ I’m so proud of Dwyane, and the way he has led, and the fact that he is playing every night. And getting himself ready to play every night. He knows as well as I do that nobody ever is 100 percent. And his leadership, along with Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem, has kept us afloat right now during a very trying time. […] But I’m so proud of Dwyane and how he has come back and changed the narrative about himself and worked on his body. And I pray every night that he’s ready to go, and he’s going and he’s playing. Some nights he might not play well, but other nights he plays like he did in 2006.”

 

On state of the team: “I think we’re right in the middle of the pack. It seems as though there’s one team in the East that might be, not head and shoulders, but better than everybody, that being Cleveland. But I think two to 12 (seeds), it’s going to be a fight. Unless we do something very well here in the next four or five games on the road to be able to get more of a cushion, that it’s just going to be a fight from two to 12. […] We have a very good team. A very good team. And you can see some nights, the team plays at a very, very high level, from an effort standpoint, from an efficiency standpoint, an energy standpoint. And most importantly, the players that got to play, and the players you pay to play, are having great nights. Then every now and then, you get one or two other guys that are stepping up to the plate and having very good nights. We’re going to need more than Chris (Bosh) and Dwyane, there’s no doubt. We’re going to need contributions from other guys. But I think we’re going to be right in the thick of things. I think our team is who they are right now, and they’re a contender in the East. And I think from there, we just let it go from there.”

The post Pat Riley: LeBron James Never Pushed for Erik Spoelstra’s Firing appeared first on SLAM.

Ranaan Katz, a limited ownership partner in Miami, alleged on a sports radio show in Israel that LBJ tried—but ultimately failed—to pull the same stunt with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra during their time together in South Beach.

Miami Heat part-owner Raanan Katz said LeBron had Blatt fired. In same breath: "He tried the same with Spo, but failed."

— David Pick (@IAmDPick) January 26, 2016

Katz, naturally, attempted to walk back his comments as pure speculation when contacted by reporters Tuesday.

This LeBron-tried-to-get-Spo fired story is total nonsense. The minority owner alleging it has next to zero contact with anyone on team.

— Dan Le Batard Show (@LeBatardShow) January 27, 2016

Katz is a blowhard nuisance. Arisons been trying to buy him out for years. Heat employees have not been allowed to speak with him for years

— Dan Le Batard Show (@LeBatardShow) January 27, 2016

Per the Sun-Sentinel and Bleacher Report:

Reached Tuesday, Katz said, “That was my opinion. I am very careful with what I say. I have no knowledge of what happened.” […] A Heat spokesman said before Tuesday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center that there was no such attempt by James.

 

On why James left Miami for Cleveland: “With the Miami Heat, LeBron James—before and after his four seasons when his contract was up with the team—made it clear that he wanted to dump head coach Erik Spoelstra. At one point, [Heat president] Pat Riley called LeBron into his office said that no one will tell him how to run the organization. Riley told James that Spoelstra is his guy and that firing Spoelstra is out of the question. That was the main reason LeBron returned to Cleveland.”

 

Katz does not hide his feelings over James’ departure. […] “The guy left,” he said Tuesday, “I would not talk to him again. I have my own feelings, but that is all.”

The post Heat Co-Owner: LeBron James ‘Failed’ to Get Erik Spoelstra Fired appeared first on SLAM.

Riles says the scariest thing about the Dubs’ success is that, due to the youth of their biggest stars, this could be the beginning of a long reign.

The defending champs (15-0) need just one more win to establish the greatest start in NBA regular season history.

Per the AP:

From Riley, these are ultimate compliments — comparing anyone to (Jerry) West and (Gail) Goodrich, or one team to that 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers team that won 33 consecutive games and rolled to the NBA championship. But that’s the level of the praise he’s doling out these days to Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the rolling Golden State Warriors. […] “They are the two most dynamic players in the backcourt, that I have ever seen, since Jerry West and Gail Goodrich,” Riley said. “Go back and check their numbers, 25 points apiece and Jerry leading the team in assists, Gail shooting close to 50 percent or whatever it was. Both of them could shoot it, could drive it, could pass it. That’s what you’re seeing here.”

 

And the Warriors have matched the NBA record for the best start to a season by beginning 15-0, something that Curry even called “a huge accomplishment” after Golden State got there by topping Denver 118-105 on Sunday night. […] “They are in the beginning of something that can be dynastic,” Riley said. “They’re in the beginning stages of it and that’s the scary part, versus somebody that catches lightning in a bottle one time. They’re at the beginning because all of their key players, all of them, are young and they’re talented. The ones that aren’t have what I call youth-age, like Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut, Shaun Livingston — those guys bring an element to the team is incredible.”

 

“They’re at the beginning of something,” Riley said. “It’s going to be very difficult to challenge them. But that’s what we’re here for.”

The post Pat Riley: Warriors Building What Could Be a Dynasty appeared first on SLAM.

Despite not having the salary cap room to ink LMA, Pat Riley and the Miami Heat were granted a sit-down with the 30-year-old stud, and may have ended up pushing him to sign with their arch-rivals.

Aldridge says that Riley’s pitch convinced him that joining Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich in San Antonio was the only logical choice:

The Heat didn’t have the salary cap space to sign Aldridge, and Riley’s wish for Aldridge to sign a one-year deal with Portland and wait for the Heat’s space in 2016 was a most unappealing proposition. Nevertheless, Riley made a case to Aldridge that turned out to be an immense blessing for the franchise that had obliterated the Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals. As the idea of joining the Suns gained real momentum, Riley’s message would go a long, long way toward validating the Spurs’ cause. Truth be told, Riley’s words resonated as deeply with Aldridge as anyone’s in the process.

 

“He told me, ‘You’re a good player, but you can be great,’ ” Aldridge said. “I’ve had good seasons on my own, but to win, you’ve got to have other big-time guys with you. When you have other guys who are willing to take that sacrifice with you – maybe you all go from averaging 23-24 points to 18-19 points – and you can all do it together. He was saying, ‘Hey, you might have to take a lesser role, but at the end of the day, you want to be known as a champion. Champions have to do different things.’ He brought up Chris Bosh, how he was averaging 21 in Toronto, and came to Miami, and people tried to say he wasn’t important. He told me, ‘We don’t win any of those championships rings without him,’ [and] that [Bosh] wouldn’t trade those rings for anything. […] Eventually, it becomes a road in your career, whether you have to decide whether you want to keep having these crazy stats, or do you want to win a championship?”

 

On the night of July 2, with Popovich returning for a lunch meeting the next day, Riley had delivered an unintended assist to the Spurs. He had turned Aldridge’s mind back toward San Antonio, setting the stage for Popovich to close the deal. “Yeah, the things [Riley] said were definitely more positive for me coming to San Antonio,” Aldridge said.

The post Pat Riley Unintentionally Helped the Spurs Land LaMarcus Aldridge appeared first on SLAM.

The 70-year-old coaching and front-office legend is relieved that Miami was able to retain “lifer” Dwyane Wade.

No matter what the critics may think, Riley isn’t willing to lower his enormous expectations in South Beach.

Per the Sun-Sentinel (via ESPN Radio):

“I think this team has the opportunity and the possibilities of being a contender,” he said, having yet to address the additions of (Amar’e) Stoudemire and (Gerald) Green beyond a statement in a press release. “And that’s where you start with a team like this.”

 

“There was a time when I said anything is possible because of what had happened with LeBron (James),” Riley said, with Wade in June utilizing various platforms to address opting out of the final year of his previous contract and then entering free agency. […] “Yeah, I had some concern because we have lost players before and my dream, or our dream, or whatever it was that we had put together in 2010, had not shattered, but had changed.”

 

That has Wade back in what likely will be a starting lineup with Chris Bosh, Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic and Luol Deng. Dragic was re-signed this summer, with Deng bypassing an opt-out. […] “I think this team has all of the elements of a championship team,” Riley said. “Now, whether or not you could ever win a championship will depend on a number of factors, and here we go.”

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Riley, speaking Thursday prior to the NBA Draft (during which Miami selected Justise Winslow), said he wants both Wade and Luol Deng back next season.

Wade, 33, is looking for a major pay raise this summer, something the Heat may not be able to accommodate.

Per the Sun-Sentinel:

“We respect him,” Riley said. “We want him back for the rest of his career. That’s obvious.”

 

“I’m not a pessimist when it comes to that. We have a lot to offer,” he said. “We know on July 1st, we’ll be the first ones that he gets to talk to, and we’ve go from there.” […] “He’s been here 12 years,” Riley said. “We have cordial conversations with him. We talk to his agent about other players. There haven’t been any real discussions about anything because they can’t take place until 12:01 on July 1.”

 

“Whatever I think today is really irrelevant,” he said. “I want all of them to come back. I would really like to make a deal with all of these players and keep the team that we built last year together, and we’ll find that out on July 1, and then we’ll have eight or nine days to deal with it. Before that, it really is all speculation.” […] “When a player has an opportunity to be a free agent, you give him the space and the time to think about that,” he said. “We love Dwyane. He’s probably alongside Alonzo [Mourning, as a Heat all-time legend]. Dwyane is a pillar. He’s been part of the root structure and the foundation of this franchise for the past 12 years.”

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Pat Riley and the Heat don’t seem prepared to meet the franchise player’s contractual demands; Wade, it should be noted, has left millions on the table the past two free agency periods in order to help Miami build a title contender.

Wade reportedly wants to end his career in Miami, but if things don’t work out, LA (either with the Lakers or the Clippers) could be a possible destination.

Per ESPN:

Wade has until next Monday to decide on whether he’s going to opt in for next season and earn $16.1 million or become an unrestricted free agent. […] Wade and the Heat sit far apart on their desires; the Heat would prefer for Wade to opt into the deal and Wade would prefer a new, richer and longer-term contract, sources said.

 

The sides have not formally spoken in some time. They had discussed a new contract for around $10 million per year for up to three years beyond his current deal, sources said. […] Wade, who took a pay cut in 2010 when LeBron James and Chris Bosh signed and again last summer to help make cap space to sign Luol Deng, is interested in a pay raise and not a pay cut.

 

Wade might have other options if he wants to move on from the Heat. One is the Los Angeles Lakers, who are expected to have ample cap space in July, sources said. […] Wade also is interested in the Los Angeles Clippers, sources said, but they are as limited by their commitments and the salary-cap rules as the Cavs. Getting to the Clippers would take either a massive pay cut or the Heat’s unlikely cooperation in a sign-and-trade.

The post Report: Dwyane Wade Also Interested in the LA Clippers appeared first on SLAM.

Wade, 33, may opt out of his current deal that will net him $16 million next season in search of a bigger payday in free agency.

With their eyes on the free agent market next summer, Pat Riley and the Heat would obviously like for Wade to take less money going forward—something he already did when him, LeBron James and Chris Bosh famously formed a Big Three in South Beach—but that will be a very difficult sell this time around.

Per the Miami Herald:

A Wade associate has told people that Wade would welcome a contract averaging $20 million annually over the next three years. (Note we said welcome, not demand.) If that’s true, it would be understandable, considering the year 13-15 pay ranges for Duncan and Nowitzki. Wade’s agent, Henry Thomas, politely declined to confirm that or anything regarding Wade’s specific financial expectations. […] We’ve heard the Heat would prefer Wade opt in for $16 million next season, then take a very significant pay cut over the following two years.

 

The Heat would love for Wade to take a reduced salary like two other Hall of Fame-caliber players have: Tim Duncan (who earned $10.4 million this season) and Dirk Nowitzki ($7.9 million). Wade apparently has no interest in making anything close to that low. So is that reasonable on Wade’s part? […] Absolutely. Here’s why: The comparisons between Wade and Duncan and Nowitzki aren’t fair at this point because the Spurs and Mavericks stars didn’t take big cuts until well beyond this point in Wade’s career.

 

The variable with Wade, of course, is that he missed 28 and 20 games the past two seasons, whereas Duncan and Nowitzki never missed more than seven in any of the four seasons before their 13th. […] The injuries concern the Heat, according to a Heat official, and that’s understandable, too.

The post Report: Dwyane Wade Would ‘Welcome’ a $20 Million Per Year Deal appeared first on SLAM.

Wade and the Heat are said to be far apart when it comes to dollars and cents—the 33-year old guard has until the end of June to decide whether or not to opt out of a contract that would pay him $16.1 million next season.

DWade has spent his entire 12-year career in South Beach, but his financial goals may no longer align with the those of the franchise.

Would the most popular player in Miami Heat history be willing to walk away?

Per the Miami Herald:

Last summer, in order to give the Heat flexibility to augment its roster, Wade opted out of the final two years of a contract that would have paid him $41.6 million. He instead accepted a two-year, $31 million deal, which included a player option for next season at $16.1 million. […] Wade said last summer that he was curious to see what he could command in the summer of 2016, when the cap is expected to skyrocket from $67 million to $89 million. That led to the belief that Wade would opt-in this summer.

 

But according to associates, Wade wants to opt out this summer, with the hope that the Heat would give him a lucrative three-year deal that would extend past his 36th birthday. […] That does not appear to be the Heat’s preference. The Heat apparently would be content with Wade opting in for next season, then re-signing for good, but not huge, money for another two seasons after that.

 

“With the amount of time he has spent with the organization, every effort will be made to try to work something out,” Wade’s agent, Henry Thomas said. “The five times he played for a championship, resulting in three championships, is a significant accomplishment for any professional. We are continuing to talk about a resolution that would be satisfactory to both sides.” […] Thomas declined to speculate how he believes this will turn out. “We will continue to talk,” Thomas said. “It’s relativity early in the process.”

The post Dwyane Wade Reportedly Open to Leaving the Miami Heat appeared first on SLAM.

Zero dark thirty-23 activated #StriveForGreatness

— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 19, 2015

James claims that he’s “unaware” of a perceived shot from Pat Riley, saying that his entire focus is on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first round Playoff matchup with the Boston Celtics.

LeBron isn’t concerning himself with the bitter feelings back in South Beach.

Per the NEOMG:

“Whatever he said, for me, that’s not really my concern right now,” James said this morning following shootaround in preparation for tonight’s Game 2 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against Boston. “My concern is Game 2, but I have no notion of what transpired yesterday.”

 

Riley never clarified the “smiling faces” reference, but it was widely interpreted as a reference to the drafting last summer of guard Shabazz Napier, who was a favorite of James. […] Following James’ group session with reporters, a Miami-based reporter filled James in on what was said.

 

“I don’t have no phones, no social media, I don’t have anything,” James said, explaining he sees his family and teammates in person and can get messages to family members when he’s on the road. “Because I don’t care about nonsense. There’s too much nonsense out there. Not during this time, this is when I lock in right now and I don’t need nothing creeping into my mind that don’t need to be there.”

The post LeBron James Dismisses Pat Riley’s Jab: ‘Not Really My Concern’ appeared first on SLAM.

Riley appeared to take a shot at former Heat superstar LeBron James, alluding to some kind of “hidden” agenda.

Pat Riley on the draft: "No more smiling faces with hidden agendas, so we'll be going in clean."

— Joseph Goodman (@JoeGoodmanJr) April 20, 2015

James famously pressured Miami into selecting guard Shabazz Napier in last summer’s draft before bouncing back to Cleveland.

My favorite player in the draft! #Napier

— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 27, 2014

Think Riley is still salty?

Per the Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel:

“No more smiling faces with hidden agendas, so we’ll be going in clean,” Riley said. […] Asked to clarify if that comment was about James, Riley said, “that could be anyone across the board,” before adding, “I’ve already got about half a dozen emails from people I don’t even know recommending [a player], and somewhere in that email or text is always a smiley.”

 

In those seven words, Riley delivered the message everyone in his franchise has spent nearly a year avoiding. He didn’t question LeBron’s exit. He accused him of being dishonest and duplicitous in it. […] In those seven words, Riley simultaneously became the team leader who showed why the Heat will rise again, and the spurned president who suggested he’ll never quite get over what happened. As maybe he shouldn’t.

 

The idea behind those seven words is LeBron intentionally sabotaged the Heat’s offseason to neutralize a potential rival to Cleveland. Maybe that’s the case, too. Heat fans believe Riley and so believe it. […] There’s another way to view this, though: LeBron heard out the Heat. He gave them the respect of listening to their full spiel. He didn’t cover himself in glory during the exit, but no Heat fan would have had an issue with anything if he stayed.

The post Did Pat Riley Take a Shot at LeBron James With ‘Hidden Agendas’ Comment? appeared first on SLAM.

A month later, James had to face many of his former Heat teammates at Dwyane Wade’s wedding at a swanky castle outside Miami. Awkward.

James, it should surprise no one, wasn’t exactly comfortable (or made to feel welcome) during the celebration.

Per ESPN:

Before he headed to South America for another NBA globalization tour, LeBron James joked that the league wanted to guarantee he’d be on this promotional trip, so it scheduled the Cleveland Cavaliers to play the Miami Heat months before he even became a free agent. […] “They made sure it’d be the two teams I’d sign with,” James said with a smile.

 

James flew in [for the wedding] to be there for his friend Wade, but apparently had to play a bit of a wallflower role. He never made his way over to Chris Bosh’s table because Bosh said James hasn’t spoken to him since he decided to sign with the Cavs in July. Though maybe it should’ve been Bosh who came up to speak with James; his decision to sign in Cleveland immediately saw the Heat increase their offer to Bosh by perhaps as much as $30 million. At the very least, Bosh could’ve sent over a drink.

 

James later told friends that having to share the same room with Heat president Pat Riley was uncomfortable that night. It stands to reason it was probably hard to make eye contact with Heat owner Micky Arison or coach Erik Spoelstra as well.

Related:
Dwyane Wade: Miami Heat Stopped Having Fun During the LeBron Era
Chris Bosh Hasn’t Spoken to LeBron James Since He Left Miami

The post LeBron James Felt Uncomfortable at Dwyane Wade’s Wedding This Summer appeared first on SLAM.

But it didn’t always feel great, according to Dwyane Wade.

Wade remains close friends with LeBron (and a fierce competitor of his), but says there’s a renewed sense of optimism among the Miami Heat players and coaching staff.

Per Bleacher Report:

“It was great, you know, we went to the Finals four years in a row, and it was everything we wanted from that standpoint, but sometimes throughout that run at certain times, it just wasn’t fun,” Wade said. “Individually, it was great having certain relationships, and having my best friend here with me, but all of us didn’t have fun all the time….

 

He understands that no team, even a title team, has fun all the time. Nor was he the first Heat player to allude to the absence of enjoyment last season—Chris Bosh and Shane Battier expressed that emphatically in public, while other Heat players frequently did so in private.

 

“I don’t know,” Wade said. “It’s hard to say, man, because you want it. We wanted it. So it’s hard to say that. You don’t know exactly what’s going to come with it, but we put ourselves in that position. But sometimes you can put too much on yourself, all of us, and it becomes a black cloud around. Last year wasn’t fun. I mean, there was no stretch of it [that was] fun. That whole season, to me, it’s amazing we made it to the Finals. It’s just honest.”

The post Dwyane Wade: Miami Heat Stopped Having Fun During the LeBron Era appeared first on SLAM.

Chalmers was especially awful in the NBA Finals – which ended in a humiliating five-game blowout at the hands of the champion San Antonio Spurs – putting up 4.4 points, committing 3.2 fouls and 2.0 turnovers while shooting 33.3 percent from the field.

With LeBron James no longer in the picture, Chalmers has been told by head coach Erik Spoelstra and Heat president Pat Riley that he’ll have more opportunities to showcase his game next season, and he’s confident the Heat can bounce back in a major way. Per Bleacher Report:

“You know, for the first time in my career, I felt like I wasn’t…yeah, my confidence wasn’t there,” Chalmers said. “Going through that whole San Antonio series, I just felt like in the playoffs I kept getting worse and worse every round. I just couldn’t figure it out.”

 

“Yeah, that’s the worst thing, because you never know,” Chalmers said. “Everybody in my ear, talking about ‘We need you, we need you to do this, we need you to do that.’ And then when it comes to the game, I didn’t feel involved. Like, you all talk about how y’all need me, but y’all didn’t put me in position to do anything. In previous years, if I was in that position, I would make sure I would go get the ball, I would put myself in position to score. I felt like this year, we all just took too much of a back seat in the Finals.”

 

“I feel like I’ve finally got a chance to shine, show my real game,” Chalmers said. “Me, [Chris Bosh], D-Wade and the rest of the guys, we’re going to pick it up, we’re still going to play Miami Heat basketball, and we’re still gonna be a competitor.”

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When LeBron left, Wade quickly connected with Bosh overseas, to see where he stood. Bosh told Wade he'd decide in an hour.

— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) August 1, 2014

Dwyane Wade on the doubt that he can still handle a bigger load: "I need it. I need it." Sees it as an energizing challenge.

— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) August 1, 2014

Dwyane Wade says his diet has been "1 of hardest things I've ever done." Especially the vegetables. Lighter now than at '13 training camp

— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) August 1, 2014

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The team president admits that the LBJ free agency news was a “tough blow”, but as always, Riley remains optimistic (and defiant) about the Heat’s future.

Per the Miami Herald:

“It has fired me up,” the Heat’s president said in a conference call Wednesday with several reporters, indicating he fully expects to remain with the team in the summer of 2016, when Miami could have nearly $50 million to pursue free agents if the salary cap rises as high as some project.

 

“I don’t like to get beat at anything,” Riley said. “I want this team to be as competitive as it has ever been. I want our fans to know they will see a great team every night. Every now and then you have a chance to build a generational team, where you know that team can be together 10 to 12 years. … That has been broken. We’re going to try to make it another generational team. That’s what my objective is.”

 

“We are going to build another championship team, and that’s it. After 45 years of being in this league, I’ve been around 15 transcendent players that walked out the door … and you move on. Sometimes things happen to you that you don’t like, but you’ve got to move on.”

The post Pat Riley on LeBron James Leaving: ‘It Has Fired Me Up’ appeared first on SLAM.

From blockbuster trades for Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal, to drafting Dwyane Wade, all of whom are future Hall of Famers, to executing the most significant free agency acquisitions in league history when we acquired Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, your Miami HEAT have established themselves as an elite NBA franchise and have maintained a consistent level of on-court excellence, defining our legacy as a championship organization. The fact that we have done all of this before celebrating our 30th Anniversary points out that we are the youngest NBA franchise to achieve this type of success and one of only 18 NBA franchises to win an NBA championship in the league’s 68-year history. And while those accomplishments speak for themselves, I’m here to tell you something else: we are not done; not even close.

 

Pat Riley is fond of saying that the only thing you can count on in life is change and those that embrace change are best prepared to emerge successfully. So while the names on the back of the jersey may change from time to time, the constant presence of the name “Miami” or “HEAT” on the front guarantees that our goal remains the same: to put a competitive team on the floor capable of competing for the ultimate prize. As a Miami HEAT fan, this is what you have come to expect from us. We are laser-focused on the present and the task at hand of defending our Eastern Conference championship with the East being described as “wide open,” while also positioning ourselves for maximum flexibility and maneuverability in the future.

The post Miami Heat Owner Micky Arison: ‘We Are Not Done’ appeared first on SLAM.

“I see everyone of you guys like following your Twitter nonstop trying to follow everything going on in free agency,” Ainge told reporters in Orlando. “I haven’t really been worried that much about it. That’s going to work out; we just focus on what we need to do and try to get the Boston Celtics better.”

 

“I don’t know, it depends,” Ainge said when asked about a landing spot for James. “You mean shifting from one city to another in the Eastern Conference? Wherever LeBron goes, the team is a contender. That’s how good a player he is.”

 

The Celtics assisted the Cavaliers in creating enough salary cap space to offer James a max contract via a three-team deal with the Nets and Cavs that became official today. Ainge isn’t taking any extra joy in knowing his old nemesis Pat Riley is probably sweating out James’ decision in Miami right now. […] “No, I don’t take any pleasure in anyone’s pain. I know this is a tough business and free agency and is all part of what we all go through. I certainly don’t take any joy in seeing great players leave organizations that have been good to them,” said Ainge.

The post Danny Ainge Says He’s Not Happy to See Pat Riley in Pain During Free Agency appeared first on SLAM.

James flew back from Las Vegas alongside Dwyane Wade to Miami Thursday night for a pit stop — what does it all mean?! — before he jets off to Brazil this weekend.

In the meantime, fans, players, front-office execs and the media will continue to lose their minds with anxiety. Per the Akron Beacon Journal:

James’ camp contacted police and asked for extra security around his Bath Township residence, according to Beacon Journal sources, because an announcement was expected Thursday night.

 

That announcement never came, however, and a separate source with knowledge of James’ camp insisted Thursday afternoon that no announcement was planned.

 

Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic called James on Thursday, wished him well and offered his support, the city of Akron wrote on its official Twitter account.

The post LeBron James Expected to Make Decision Before Flying to World Cup Final appeared first on SLAM.

Miami’s approach with James has been respectful to the point of reverential, while stopping short of coddling. James had appeared to respond well to the team’s culture, embracing more leadership responsibility with each passing year. Most importantly, he improved as a player, especially in terms of his efficiency.

 

But he also showed some signs of discomfort and even discontent this season. He wasn’t able to hide his frustration with Micky Arison’s decision to use the amnesty clause on his friend Mike Miller. Nor with Wade’s frequent absences, made worse by Miller not being around to offset them. Nor with some of Erik Spoelstra’s strategic decisions, especially during the NBA Finals.

 

Nor, according to multiple sources, did he receive Riley’s “get a grip” end-of-season press conference (the one that challenged the Heat stars not to run from a challenge) especially well.

The post Report: LeBron James Didn’t Like Pat Riley’s Angry Press Conference at Season’s End appeared first on SLAM.

The meeting lasted over an hour, with James emerging without immediately committing to a return to the team he has led to the NBA Finals in each of his four seasons in South Florida, winning NBA titles in 2012 and ’13, the first two titles of his career.

 

The Decision has been made. LeBron James is returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers, a league source tells SheridanHoops.com.

 

James met with Miami Heat president Pat Riley today in Las Vegas to deliver the news. A contingent of other Heat officials were informed they were not welcome at the meeting, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity. […] An official announcement will be made on www.lebronjames.com.

The post LeBron James Prepared to Sign With the Cleveland Cavaliers? appeared first on SLAM.

LeBron James will meet with Heat president Pat Riley on Wednesday in Las Vegas as the first week of the free-agent negotiating period winds down without a decision from the four-time MVP.

 

James was in Las Vegas on Tuesday for a Nike photo shoot, and his annual skills camp also is being held there this week. He has yet to meet personally with any potential free-agent suitors, though his agent, Rich Paul, has spoken with the Suns, Rockets, Mavericks, Cavs and Lakers. Some of those teams were told that James would entertain meetings with them in person this week.

 

“It’s like ‘American Idol,'” one Eastern Conference executive said. “Everyone is waiting on LeBron.”

The post LeBron James to Meet With Pat Riley in Las Vegas appeared first on SLAM.

Of course, Riley’s confidence doesn’t guarantee anything. But right now, he isn’t scrambling.

 

Reaching deals with forwards Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger is step one in making the necessary roster additions to improve the Heat. At the very least, Riley has tangible evidence to show James when they meet in the next couple of days to discuss the future. He is letting him know the Heat will spend what is required, including top dollar on Bosh, to win another title after two in four years together.

 

In the big picture, the Granger and McRoberts agreements give Riley room to present James with a couple of different spending options, including the ability to give Bosh a big contract, too.

=

The post Report: Pat Riley Confident the Miami Heat Big Three Will Re-Sign appeared first on SLAM.

Listening to Miami Heat team president Pat Riley and owner Micky Arison’s public statements, there’s little-to-no reason to believe that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh won’t be hooping in South Beach for the foreseeable future. Arison feels extremely confident that the Big Three will all re-sign this summer. Per the Palm Beach Post:

Based on everyone’s comments throughout the season, everything points toward LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh staying in Miami beyond this season. All three are on long-term deals with the freedom to opt out after this year.

The most recent indication that those three will stay, be it through not opting out or by opting out and signing longer contracts, is from owner Micky Arison. When asked Monday by 790 The Ticket to give a percentage chance of keeping them with the Heat, he responded, “100 percent.”

Arison also was asked about the biggest challenge to resigning the Big Three.

“I hope it’s not gonna be a challenge at all,” he said. “We’ll see. Our challenge right now is the Charlotte Bobcats.”