ShareThisThis is the year Pat Riley makes the Hall of Fame, a first-ballot automatic who next week should be named a finalist for enshrinement and seven weeks later have his rightful place in Springfield, Mass., made official in the announcement at the Final Four in April.
This was the moment Pat Riley made his legacy.
Five championships as a coach and the third-most wins in history are nothing compared to the acrobatic move he just pulled off in his other job as president of the Miami Heat -- getting Shaquille O'Neal and then getting away from Shaquille O'Neal within 3-1/2 years with a title in between and no body parts lost along the way.
"Riles" giveth and Riles taketh away. Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, a first-round pick and a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers to acquire O'Neal on July 14, 2004. Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks from the Phoenix Suns to dump O'Neal on Wednesday.
He got in, he got out. Riley made the move that helped deliver the 2006 NBA championship to South Florida, overly committed to O'Neal on a contract extension, then flipped Shaq without any of the back-end payments in grief and money that seemed inevitable. Genius.
Suddenly, the Suns have a lot of explaining to do, dramatically altering the team that had the best record in the West and the third-best in the league at the time of the deal, and the Heat has a future again. O'Neal wasn't just breaking down and in career free fall, after all. He was disintegrating at the rate of $20 million this season, $20 million next season and $20 million the season after that, clogging up Miami's salary cap to such an extent that it made rebuilding nearly impossible.
Instead, the Heat potentially will be in position to rebuild quickly, two summers after winning the title behind Dwyane Wade and O'Neal. The uncertainty is Marion, who can opt out of his contract in July and become a free agent at the risk of leaving $17.8 million on the table to get more -- more money and more long-term security -- with a new deal in Miami or elsewhere. If he goes, on his own or in a sign-and-trade, Wednesday's deal will result in a huge financial saving.
Wade plus the great chance of a top-five draft pick plus the cap space for a free agent plus South Beach as a recruiting tool plus the advantage of Florida tax rules that can add millions to the value of a contract. It's how Riley goes from this bloodletting of a season, with the Heat at 9-38 after Wednesday's loss and on pace for a 16-66 finish, to reclaiming control.
Even if Marion stays, Miami's flexibility is limitless. He will be a huge trade asset able to be converted into prospects or draft picks, a talented, versatile player with the added attraction of an expiring contract. Or, at worst, an All-Star as recently as 2007 becomes part of the solution.
Either way, the Heat got away from O'Neal before things got really ugly, and 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in 28.5 minutes is nothing compared to what could have been. The numbers actually would be respectable if not for the expectations that go with the name and the contract, meaning he could still contribute somewhere.
The worst of it so far was complaining to South Florida reporters in December that he wasn't being involved in the offense enough, but that was misdemeanor stuff. Hurt and angry at the Lakers for not giving him an extension, the overly emotional O'Neal screamed at owner Jerry Buss during a game and became a play toy for Phil Jackson, at various times swearing by Jackson and other days trashing him, not coincidentally depending on whether the coach was heaping praise or criticizing Shaq. When O'Neal left the Magic to sign with the Lakers as a free agent, he called Orlando a dried-up pond.
Miami, the team and maybe the city, got off easy, avoiding a verbal confrontation that might have been worse, considering Shaq's mood swings, aching body and contract. They all had their championship together and it was grand, but the Heat is back in position to reload and Riley just had his forever moment.
(Contact Scott Howard-Cooper at showard-cooper@sacbee.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
