|
|
will be his second go a
in General Discussion Sat May 05, 2018 5:37 amby jokergreen0220 • Farseer | 295 Posts | 2950 Points
MIAMI -- Pat Riley walked into the room to begin his end-of-season availability annoyed, and armed with history. Ken Crawley Jersey . There have been franchises that have enjoyed prolonged runs of greatness during his 45 years as a player, coach and executive in the NBA -- the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Spurs and his Miami Heat among them -- and Thursday Riley pointed out each shares a trait. They all lost sometime. "I think everybody," the Heat president said moments after smacking the table to begin the news conference, "needs to get a grip." With that, Riley was off and running on a message-sending session that lasted nearly an hour. No players were there, but they surely heard his themes: He saw his teams mental fatigue during the year, but doesnt accept it; he isnt willing to let Miami fall from the ranks of the NBA elite, and the organization will do what it can to keep LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade together. "We have a tremendous opportunity here for long-term success," Riley said. "Dont think were not going to get beat again, so just get a grip, everybody. Thats my message. Its my message to the players, also." It was one of his many messages. Riley, who gets a reported $75,000 when hired to deliver motivational speeches, worked in anecdotes on everything from sipping Johnnie Walker Blue to playing James Ingram records to how even at 69 years old he still finds himself dreaming big. He was speaking with reporters, but clearly talking to players through the cameras. "Youve got to stay together, if youve got the guts," Riley said. "You dont find the first door and run out of it if you have an opportunity. This is four years now into this era, this team. Four finals -- its only been done three other times before -- and two championships. From day one to the end, it was like a Broadway show. It sort of ran out of steam. And we need to retool. We dont need to rebuild." How to retool is the question, but the answer isnt up to Riley yet. James, Bosh and Wade all need to decide if theyre going to opt out of their contracts, a choice that was probably going to be complicated even if the Heat hadnt lost the NBA Finals to San Antonio, ending Miamis two-year reign as league champions. From those decisions, Heat free-agents-to-be -- Ray Allen, Mario Chalmers, Chris Andersen and others -- may start charting their futures. Players from other teams will listen as well. Then Riley and the Heat spring into action on July 1, just as they did four years ago when they netted James, Bosh and Wade. Other than Norris Cole, no Heat player currently is locked into a fully guaranteed deal for next season. But Riley doesnt feel the Heat need to recruit current players again. "Were prepared," Riley said. "Weve got the main-themed book all written up and its dependent on whatever the scenario were presented with on July 1. Weve got a lot of room for flexibility. Theres a tremendous amount of flexibility depending on what happens. So were ready." He offered plenty of perspective on Thursday, about how he still feels like he choked away what should have been a title for the Lakers team he coached in 1984, but how they roared back with three titles in the next four seasons. He even referenced how San Antonio got much better this season after seeing a title in 2013 get taken away by Miami in dramatic fashion. "What happened last year with San Antonio? Did they run? They faced it," Riley said. "They faced it and they came back, and we saw the result. Well find out what were made of here. Its not about options. Its not about free agency. Its not about anything. Its about what we have built over four years here." Among Rileys more impassioned defences was the one of Wade, who was widely criticized for both missing 28 games in the regular season -- mainly part of a maintenance program laid out by the team -- and for struggling in Games 4 and 5 of the NBA Finals. "For the last 10 years, this has been a Dwyane Wade-driven thing," Riley said. "Now does he have to reinvent himself a little bit? Absolutely." Riley can only hope that reinvention is in Miami, and that James and Bosh are there as well. "Im an Irish guy who believes in big dreams," Riley said. "Im optimistic. Until thats proven different, I just have a level of optimism that there isnt a better place for players to be than Miami." Garrett Grayson Jersey . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract. Josh Hill Jersey . After Mariota was pushed around by Stanford on Thursday, finishing 20/34 with 250 yards and two touchdowns in Oregons Title hope-crushing defeat, hes going to need a poor performance or two from the remaining frontrunners to have a shot at the most coveted individual trophy in college sports. http://www.shoptheofficialsaints.com/Elite-Trey-Hendrickson-Saints-Jersey/ . For Sweed, a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, this will be his second go around in the CFL after previously having spent time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.CENTURION, South Africa -- Simon Dyson birdied his last four holes in a 7-under 65 to take the clubhouse lead at the Tshwane Open on Thursday. Trevor Fisher Jr. was also 7 under through 16 holes of his opening round before play was suspended because of a thunderstorm in Centurion. Englishman Dyson made a strong finish at Copperleaf Golf and Country Estate and haad seven birdies in all and no dropped shots on the Ernie Els-designed course. Nate Stupar Jersey. South Africas Fisher Jr. also had seven birdies but with two holes to complete in his opening round. Another Englishman, Ross Fisher, and South Africans Jared Harvey and Erik van Rooyen shot 6-under 66s to be a shot behind Dyson in the European Tour event. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Authentic Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '
« nt of Tuesdays ga | Jessica Ennis-Hill is considering changing her training plans ahead of this summers Olympic Games because of concerns about the » |
|
Board Statistics
The forum has 6516
topics
and
6575
posts.
Visitor record: 493 users on Yesterday 4:10 pm.. |
Forum Software ©Xobor.de | Forum erstellen |