Shaq Likely to be Traded?

Here's a stunning article from the Herald. Apparently the Heat have informed Shaq of the very serious possibility that he will be traded. They have actively been shopping him and Phoenix has been linked to a potential deal that would bring Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks in exchange for O'Neal.

This is absolutely shocking. I've been calling for Shaq to retire or be traded for months now, but I never thought it would actually happen. If it does (and by no means is this a sure thing), then it will be a bittersweet day for Miami Heat fans.

Let me say this: Shaquille O'Neal brought this city a championship, just like he promised. The Big Fella did everything he had to as a player. He listened to Pat Riley and followed his wishes. Aside from a few demands for more touches, he's been a model player on this roster. Losing him will be tough.

But the sad reality remains: Shaq's contract is a hindrance to this team, and he no longer produces enough to warrant earning that much. The Heat seriously needs some help. They lack both talent and cap space, a deadly combination for a franchise.

Landing Marion would be absolutely huge. Even if he were to stick around only a year, it would free up cap space after next season. That's the year guys like Baron Davis, Elton Brand, and Gilbert Arenas become free agents.

Hopefully this turns out well for everyone. Sending Shaq to Phoenix would be a brilliant move on the part of Riley, and in turn it gives O'Neal a good team to play for. It would be an insult to send him to a bottom feeder. He's earned that much at least.

In the end, I hope the trade goes through. However, I would take all these rumors with a grain of salt. That trade is so one-sided that I think Riley would have accepted it on the spot. It's just too good to be true. Plus, acquiring Marion might mean we actually can win some games and lessen our chances of landing an elite guy in June. We'll see.

Pat Riley Denies He is Leaving

According the Pat Riley, the report yesterday that he was on his way out at the end of the year is false. Obviously, regardless of the validity of yesterday's news, Riley has to respond with an emphatic denial to questions regarding his supposed decision to step down as head coach.

For now, it's just PR coachspeak. Who knows what will really happen at the end of the year. For now, Riley has to do the best he can with what he's got. By openly stating a desire to get away from this miserable situation, he would only make things worse.

Riley's Flip-Flop

Earlier this season, Riley spoke of his intention to fulfill his duties as coach through the rest of his contract, which was to run through the 2009-2010 season. However, he has now changed his position and claims that the dual-role as GM and Coach is too much to handle and that serving as the team's coach has clouded his judgment as the team's general manager. Therefore, he has been reported to be leaning towards stepping aside after this season.

This revelation will create a division amongst the media and fans. Some will agree with Pat's assertion that it's time to step aside, and others will see the same Riley who bailed out on the team before the 2003-2004 season because the roster was so bad.

My take is that it isn't necessary to look too far into this decision. What everyone needs to do is understand that those associated with the Miami Heat and the decision making process there are ensuring the future of this franchise is in good hands.

Nothing else matters, motivations behind the decisions being made are irrelevant. Riley wants the Miami Heat to win more than he cares about looking bad as the head coach of a losing team. Believe that, because that's the truth.

I love Pat Riley. I grew up watching Heat teams flounder every season and get knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. Then he came in with his slick hair, Hall of Fame resume, and promises of championships.

He brought in Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning and provided this city with a team it could really have faith in. All those battles with the Knicks and Bulls. The Dan Majerle game winner vs Chicago. Lenard's miracle shot vs Cleveland. All the good times were thanks in part to Riley's presence.

So I'm going to biased. Sure he left the team a few years ago. But coaches get burnt out. They deserve the benefit of the doubt sometimes. After retaking the position from Stan Van Gundy, he was crucified by the media and fans. He might have deserved it. Nobody really knows the true story of what happened there, but honestly does it matter? He took over and won the NBA title after being behind a desk for 2 years. Stan Van Gundy wouldn't have been able to motivate or coach up that roster to a title. So for that, everyone needs to thank Pat.

Now that he plans on leaving again, we have to wonder if this is a repeat of 2003. Has he seen the writing on the wall and figured he might not want to exert all that time and effort into a losing cause? Perhaps.

Or maybe he understands that his offseason moves haven't been the most productive and that the team has ceased to respond to him. How many more motivational ploys can the man come up with? It might be time for a change.

Maybe if Riley were to step aside he could clearly decide the best way to surround Wade with talent without having to worry about managing players' moods and desires. He wasn't coaching after 2010 anyway, so it might be a good time to see if someone else can handle the head coaching duties. We've all heard about the brilliant young Erik Spoelstra, so why not just hand over the reins to him?

The biggest risk in doing that is in Shaq not respecting the young coach, but Shaq will be gone soon enough anyway. The important thing is that Wade, from what I've heard, respects Spoelstra. If Erik can coach a team with the support of Wade, I think the franchise will be fine.

More than anything, the team needs talent. Coaching is important, but without talent you can't get very far. Granted, without a good coach the talent might not come together, like in the case of the early 2005 season with Miami. But the players are the key. Right now we don't have the players. Worry about that more than if Riley is quitting on this team or not. That's irrelevant. It's not working with him in there anyway.

The one thing I'll say is that I will miss Pat Riley. I'll miss the camera switching over to a shot of him on the court, deep in thought, looking like he belongs in his Armani suits. I'll miss the security blanket he represented for fans, knowing we had a legendary coach leading our team out there. I'll miss him and Alonzo Mourning, being the last links to the teams of the late 90s that I loved so much.

But I think above all I'll miss the fact that his presence around the team will be gone from the public eye. We won't get to see the man who finally brought a title to this star-crossed franchise. He'll be in the background running things, but like I said, seeing him on television gives me a sense of security that our franchise is in good hands.

Compare it to the feeling of seeing Dave Wannstedt on the sidelines and watching a Rick Spielman press conference. Regardless of his true intentions on stepping aside after the season, I'll thank him for what he's meant to this team.