The High Court

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Bon Voyage, Stan

December 13, 2005

 

Different day, same story.  With the departure of Stan Van Gundy from the Miami Heat sideline, the national media responded as we knew they would…predictably.  Yes, story after story has been churned out over the wires, indicting old Heat coach/new Heat coach (and still Heat president, to boot) Pat Riley for being more slimy than his slicked-back hair.  Despite Van Gundy’s assertion that he was resigning from the Miami bench to spend more time with his family, a feeding frenzy ensued, with every sportswriter (well, almost every…The Miami Herald’s Greg Cote wrote a fine piece on the matter that explored an original viewpoint) on the planet targeting Riley as the man who had stabbed his loyal aide in the back.

 

And of course he did.  That happened months ago, in the aftermath of the Heat’s agonizing loss in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Detroit Pistons.  Shortly after, Riley announced his intention to be more involved in day-to-day operations with the club, which everyone viewed as Riley’s first move to reclaim his old spot in the Heat’s head chair.  The High Court’s own Powdered Wig broke it down months ago; he even suggested that a Riles return might be the only way we would see a championship parade in South Beach.  Now Riley is back on the sideline, coaching the team of ill-fitting pieces he acquired.  And that only seems fair.  But will it all come together in the form of a championship?  Sure…A Southeast Division Championship…

 

Is Pat Riley a scumbag for throwing Stan Van Gundy overboard?  Sure he is.  But Riles didn’t come down with that affliction overnight.  Riley is an egomaniac (his vanity ought to tell you that), but at least he came by it honest.  Riley was a fine college player at Kentucky, a solid role player in the NBA.  And oh by the way, he owns four NBA championship rings as a head coach.  So the man is good at his job, despite a slew of playoff misfires in New York and Miami.  Look, Stan Van Gundy seems like a good man, and I know he is a good coach.  But he isn’t Pat Riley.  And I am not saying Riley is a better coach than Van Gundy.  But being a great coach has never been a prerequisite for winning NBA titles.  Being able to handle grown men and balance massive egos and complex personalities is.  And like Phil Jackson, Riley has always been a master of psychology.  While it’s true that Riley, like Jackson, has only won titles with the very best talent, that isn’t as easy as it sounds.  Riley hitched his star to Magic and Kareem (and they were able to win a title for the immortal Paul Westhead…like I said, being a great coach isn’t a prerequisite), and Kareem may well be one of the most peculiar superstars of all-time.  Being able to balance the wants and needs of an aging star (Kareem) with that of a young one (Magic), is a very delicate task.  The same challenge (with Shaq and Dwyane Wade) awaits Riley now.

 

I feel bad for Stan Van Gundy.  I really do.  But I don’t feel that bad for him.  The man was well-compensated.   The man did get to coach a terrific professional basketball team.  And all of that happened because of Pat Riley.  Riley hired Van Gundy in Miami when he couldn’t bring his brother Jeff along from New York (as Jeff was still under contract to the Knicks at the time), and Riley handed the reins to Stan when it appeared that a terrible Miami roster was going to ruin Riles’ legacy.  All Van Gundy did was improve the team by 17 games each year, topping the Eastern Conference with 59 wins a year ago.  But Van Gundy wasn’t coaching that team this year.  He was coaching a team with an injured Shaq and a ridiculous group of losers assembled by his friend, Pat Riley.  Gee, thanks, Boss…

 

Bottom line…this is a business…and if Pat Riley felt the best thing for the business was for him to return to the sideline to try and fit Gary Payton, Antoine Walker, and Jason Williams alongside the championship duo of O’Neal and Wade, then so be it.  Payton is well past his prime, Walker fancies himself as a three-point marksman (he isn’t), and Williams is a character (as opposed to having character) best described as erratic.  Coaching them would make me want to spend more time with family, too…and it wouldn’t matter if it was my family, your family, or anybody’s family (Hell…it could be the Sicilian family...anything would be better than watching Walker chuck nine threes a night)…Riley has the team he built (and we must give him credit for drafting Wade and bringing the Big Fella to town) and the expectations that come with it.  And that is probably just how it should be.

 

To wrap it up, let’s address a popular conspiracy theory and address one more suspect that nobody has mentioned thus far.  Was Shaquille O’Neal somehow responsible, directly or indirectly for Van Gundy’s departure?  Directly, no.  Indirectly, perhaps.  The Diesel and Van Gundy have never seen eye to eye since The Big Officer hit South Beach.  Last year Van Gundy was interested in obtaining home court advantage; Shaq was interested in getting ready for the playoffs and thought rest was more important than one more home game.  O’Neal often bristled about not getting more touches late in games, especially following the Game 7 loss to the Pistons.  For the record, Shaq has always complained about late game touches, even in his partnership with his beloved Zen Master.  And Shaq, as much as I admire and respect you, there is a reason you don’t touch it much in the fourth quarter…you cannot shoot free throws.  At all.  So don’t be surprised if Riles doesn’t want you touching it much late, either (And I don’t want to hear Shaq’s crap about making them when they matter…they all matter…if you made them in the first half, then they might not matter in the fourth quarter).  Anyway, forgive the digression...I will return to focus…I don’t believe Shaq had Van Gundy run out of town because of their philosophical differences.  I do believe that Shaq could have helped Van Gundy stay by voicing strong support for him.  But I also don’t believe that anyone can suggest (and that means you, ESPN’s Ric Bucher) that Shaq’s preference for Riley led to a Van Gundy’s ouster. 

 

If indeed Van Gundy was forced out, the blame falls squarely on Riley and that unnamed suspect I mentioned above.  And that suspect is…Heat managing general partner Micky Arison.  The Carnival Cruise Lines mogul is the man who signs Riley’s checks, and I have to think every major decision Riley makes at least gets bounced off the boss.  I would be willing to bet Arison hated to see his coaching icon step down from his sideline post, and I be equally willing to wager that Arison was thrilled to hear Riley would be returning to duty.  Yet not one major columnist or analyst I have seen or heard has even mentioned Arison’s name.  Arison is well-know for letting Riley run the basketball operation as he sees fit, but come on…do we really think his hands were clean here?

 

But in the end, here’s the thing…The Heat is Mickey Arison’s franchise.  He can do what he wants.  Pat Riley is Mickey Arison’s president.  He can do what he wants.  And so Arison’s South Beach Love Boat has a new Captain Steubing.  How long will it take him to get his sea legs back?  Can he handle rough water?  And most importantly, can he handle the Detroit Pistons?  Stay tuned…

 

 

Contact The Chief Justice at chiefjustice@thehighcourtofsports.com.