Riley's Leave of Absence

Pat Riley will reportedly leave the team for a short period so he can get a chance to personally take a look at potential draft picks during the conference tournaments.

This is an interesting development because it can mean so much, but in reality probably means next to nothing. You may remember that there were rumors that this was Pat Riley's last season as head coach and that he was ready to turn the team over to Spoelstra. He immediately shot that notion down, but now here he goes leaving the team.

Personally, I don't make anything of this. As GM and Coach, Riley has the unique luxury of being able to do what he wants. In this case, it's probably best for the team that he take a break and get a good look at the prospects we have a chance to draft. There is no hope for this team and by now, it is all but certain we will have a Top 5 selection.

Riley is instrumental in the decision process so it's important he is familiar with all the options. It's no big deal if he isn't with the team for another series of losses. I wouldn't take this situation too seriously if I were you. I think he sees this team has a chance to be really good next season and I doubt he would leave them high and dry like he did back in 2003.