Riley Staying in Miami Through 2010
Pat Riley, the Miami Heat’s dapper coach, has stated that he will fulfill his contract through 2010. After the Heat’s pitiful showing in the playoffs last year where they were swept by the young Bulls, questions abounded about Riley’s future. They grew even louder when he refused to comment during the offseason. The Heat won the 2005 NBA Championship with the young legs of Dwayne Wade, and the experienced savvy of a group of veterans like Shaquille O’Neil, Antoine Walker, and Alonzo Mourning. Last year, Shaq showed his age, Wade broke down, and the veterans looked their age more and more as the season progressed.
By staying through 2010, Riley will be in Miami through the duration of Wade and Shaq’s contracts. But what then? Shaq will by lucky to still be able to play in three years, Mourning will be gone by then, and the rest of the Heat will certainly be on the backside of their careers. Miami has no one to trade, and is just good enough to qualify for useless draft picks. If the Heat don’t win this year, then it may be a decade before they are a competetive team again. Their offseason pickup of Penny Hardaway goes to show their woes. They are maxed out on their payroll, and have no player–other than Wade–who any GM would consider trading for.
Riley says he will be there through 2010, but does he have any players that can last that long?
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