“This stuff is hard. And you got to stay together, if you’ve got the guts and you don’t find the first door and run out of it.”
That, according to Miami Heat president Pat Riley, who spoke today at his end-of-the-season press conference.
In case you weren’t listening while you are preparing for your vacation, Riley was talking to you, LeBron James. Riley just called you out and challenged your manhood and questioned if you have guts.
“This is four years now into this era, this team,” Riley said. “Four Finals. It’s only been done three other times before. Two championships. From day one, to the end, it was like a Broadway show. It sort of ran out of steam. We need to retool, we don’t need to rebuild. We need to retool, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
The question is, will Riley and the Heat be forced to rebuild, or will James and Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh return to Miami so that the Heat simply do need to retool? Either way, it will not be easy for Riley to keep this team at the top of the NBA landscape.
Well, at least second. Congratulations, once again, San Antonio Spurs.
Riley would go on to say that he would be surprised if Wade does not return. Whether or not he opts out to sign for less remains to be seen, but he knows that he would not receive anywhere near as much as he is signed for on the open market. The same can possibly be said of Bosh, although, at least at this point in his career, his value figures to be higher than that of Wade.
James holds the key. If he and Wade and Bosh all decide to return to Miami, they may have to first opt out and then sign more cap-friendly deals, If all three return under their current contracts, the Heat will be extremely limited in what they can do on the free agent front this summer.
If James leaves, then the Heat may ask Wade and take a paycut. The same could be asked of Bosh. If not, even without James, the Heat will not have the flexibility to retool or rebuild. They will be more or less stuck in NBA limbo.
Pat Riley is to professional to call out James. Wade needs to retire . Its his knees.James needs to go back to Cleveland.