Pat Riley has coached Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal and even a past-his-prime Gary Payton.
That decision was made when James made his own decision to join the Miami Heat in 2010. Riley had committed to Erik Spoelstra as the coach, and Spoelstra has rewarded that trust by taking the Heat to two NBA Finals, and growing enough to help them win the second one.
Yet Riley is still a presence -- observing practices, consulting daily with Spoelstra and directing the overall organizational course, while answering only to the Arison family. He has constructed a veteran roster, with Spoelstra's input, that has suited James's talents, with plenty of shooters to space the floor.
The Heat are in luxury tax territory, and the harsh penalties that come with repeat offenses could make it prohibitive, even for an owner as wealthy as Micky Arison, to keep a solid supporting cast together. If James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all opt out of their contracts in 2014, as is their right, and Miami amnesties Mike Miller after this season, as expected, the Heat might have just a couple of contracts (Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony) on the books for 2014-15.
That would seem to give Riley some maneuverability, and we've saw the magic he worked with that back in 2010. That, and a fistful of rings, was enough to get James's deal done.
But what if someone less savvy is at the helm? What if that someone is not Arison and James friend Mike Krzyzewski, who would seem to be the perfect successor, should he choose to stop coaching?
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