Riley Calls Cavaliers Rumor a “Fabrication”
Pat Riley wants you to know that he’s not going to Cleveland except to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
According to these latest rounds of rumors, the Cavaliers are supposedly upset with Mike Brown’s tank job as coach during Cleveland’s loss to Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals. It matters not that he was coach of the year this season after the Cavs won 66 games.
It doesn’t matter that he has the support and trust of LeBron James. It doesn’t matter that Riley is retired and has convinced himself once and for all (he insists) that he’s done with coaching.
Riles is supposed to leave South Beach for the Great Lakes, ditch [Dwyane] Wade for James, replace Brown and do for Cleveland what he did in leading Miami to the NBA title in 2006.
Except for one thing. It ain’t happening. Unless, maybe, he could somehow convince Wade to join him.
Through a team spokesman, Riley said Thursday that any notion of him going to Cleveland – or anywhere else for that matter – is “a complete fabrication.” Riley went on to say that he “is happy where” he is and has “no plans to go anywhere else.”
Which means, three weeks from now, we’ll be watching Pat Riley at a press conference, standing next to LeBron, smiling from ear to ear and his hair shining in the lights. Honestly, I don’t know why these sports world figures bother issuing their denials. These people go back on denials almost as fast as they go back on promises. And that notion that Riley would never abandon D-Wade for LeBron…hello? That’s like saying Donald Trump would never dump his wife for a younger, hotter woman. You think Riley hasn’t been giving LeBron the eye? Hasn’t been buying him drinks all night? Hasn’t slipped him his number?
I think the Cavs would be making a huge mistake in firing Mike Brown. What more can a guy do with LeBron and a cast of misfits?
We’re debate this over at my blog The Sports Debates if you’d like to check it out.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:07 pm