Spoelstra decries attacks on Asian-Americans
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, the NBA’s first AsianAmerican coach, opened his pregame session with the media on Friday by condemning the recent trend of nationwide violence against Asian-Americans.
“Look, I’m Asian-American. I’m proud to be Asian-American,” Spoelstra said before Friday night’s home game against the Indiana Pacers. “Seeing what’s happening with another just outright form of racism and hatred really is sickening and breaks my heart. It’s despicable.
“I think more people have to be made aware of this. It really is irrelevant who you are or what you are, you have to see that this is wrong. It really is heartbreaking and it just shows you where we are. There is hatred abundantly still out there and people feel empowered to attack the Asian community. I just pray in my heart that this can stop.”
A white gunman was charged Wednesday with killing eight people at three Atlanta-area massage parlors — most of them women of Asian descent.
Spoelstra, who is of Filipino descent from his mother’s side of the family, called the recent attacks “pure hatred.”
“Look, if you grow up Asian, you definitely hear derogatory terms at some point growing up,” Spoelstra added. “You hope that as you get older that that is a thing of the past, but it clearly is not. It really is horrifying to think that people are being targeted just based on race, and ignorantly being attacked and blamed for something.”
The Heat released a statement on Friday afternoon before Spoelstra’s comments that read: “The recent spate of attacks on Asian-Americans is reprehensible and extremely upsetting to us. A hateful act of violence committed against one of us is an act of violence committed against all of us. And it has to stop. We condemn the violence in the strongest possible terms and we stand with our friends in the Asian-American community.”
ARIZA VOWS TO DO WHATEVER IS NEEDED
Trevor Ariza has moved around a lot during his NBA career. The Heat is Ariza’s 10th different team in his 17 NBA seasons. He has also been traded 11 times, the most by any player in NBA history.
Because of that, Ariza has had to adjust to a lot of different systems and schemes through the years. But the 35-year-old veteran forward doesn’t believe the adjustment will be drastic with the Heat.
“I just feel like it matches my style of person. Period,” Ariza said before making his Heat debut Friday against the Pacers. “I work hard, extremely hard worker. What you see is what you get. I’m not going to beat around the bush about anything. I think that’s pretty much what the Heat have shown.”
The Heat acquired him via trade Wednesday with the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Meyers Leonard and a 2027 second-round pick.
“This is a place that I definitely wanted to be,” Ariza said. “Whatever the coach needs me to do, I’m more than willing to do. I’m willing to run through a wall for my teammates, for organizations that I play for. So whatever is asked of me, I try to do.”
Ariza has not played in an NBA game since March
10, 2020, as he opted out of playing in the NBA’s Walt Disney World bubble last season as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers and has been away from the Thunder this season. But he made it clear that he’s “100 percent ready to play if coach wants me to play.”
Ariza has been working out in South Florida to remain in shape during his one-year NBA hiatus.
“Everything that I would do throughout a regular season to try to stay in shape,” Ariza said when asked what he has been doing to stay in basketball shape. “The good thing for me is I have a lot of experience going through NBA
seasons. Obviously not playing in NBA games, or being in NBA practices you can’t duplicate. But [South Florida-based basketball trainer Stanley Remy] definitely has prepared me to be as close as I possibly can to be prepared to play an NBA game.”
Veteran forward Andre Iguodala was in a similar situation when he was traded to the Heat on Feb. 6, 2020. It had been almost eight months since the then-36-year-old Iguodala last played in an NBA game, and he was on the court three days later to play 23 minutes on Feb. 9.
Ariza, who has played in 102 playoff games during his NBA career, is another switchable and experienced defender — with his 7-2 wingspan — the Heat can turn to. He’s another small-ball four option who can help unlock some of Miami’s most effective lineups because of his ability to defend multiple positions and create space for Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler with his solid three-point shooting.
“They’re extremely talented players, and players that work hard and give their all on the court. Smart guys,” Ariza said of Adebayo and Butler. “So I just feel like whatever they’re going to be doing, I’m going to just figure out how to fit in to whatever they’re doing, whether it be cutting, whether it be opening up the floor for them, switching on defense. Whatever it is that’s needed of me from them on the court, I’m going to be able to do easily. No problem.”
Of Adebayo, Ariza said: “He’s a dog, first and foremost. But the versatility that he brings to the game, his IQ , the way he passes the ball, defends the rim. All of those things are things that you want in your big. That’s what makes him so tough to match up [against] for other players because he’s so versatile.”