Winderman: Heat coach gets his way
Heat coach’s actions toward disgruntled guard not being questioned by Riley
PHOENIX — The Miami Heat, Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley have been at this intersection before — at the crossroads between trying to reel in the coach or casting aside a player.
It was after the 2017-18 season, after Hassan Whiteside brooded his way to the end of a playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, when Riley was asked about the evident unease between Spoelstra and his $98 million center.
“There has to be an intervention, and I’m going to be the intervener,” Riley said during his annual postseason media session at AmericanAirlines Arena.
“You got a guy that’s second or third in starting centers in plus/minus. There’s no doubt he was in a bad state in the playoffs. Whatever the reasons why, I have not sat down with Spo and really talked about all of these things.”
And with that, Riley put Spoelstra through another season with Whiteside, one of continued unease.
Now fast-forward to the current approach with Dion Waiters, who has yet to be in uniform, or even on the bench, this season.
There is no doubt this time about who is in charge, who is making the decisions. No need for an intervention, even with Riley traveling with the Heat on this three-game western swing that continues Thursday against the Phoenix Suns.
While the Heat have attempted to mute the situation, putting
Waiters off limits to the media until he returns to the court, it was the lack of a mute button that likely triggered the current standoff.
In the wake of being suspended for the season opener against the visiting Memphis Grizzlies for what the Heat cited as “conduct detrimental to the team,” Waiters took to social media to question Spoelstra, posting, “I would win if I had Bron & Wade plus Bosh.” That was in reference to Spoelstra coaching the Heat to four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals and 2012 and ’13 titles with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Spoelstra declined comment on that post, and just about all things Waiters since.
That is what has changed. There no longer is the need for justification. Because there no longer is Riley attempting to be fair and balanced between player and coach, as if the two are on an equal plane.
Even at the end of last season, after Spoelstra made a statement by moving Whiteside to the bench and Bam Adebayo into the starting lineup, Riley during his postseason media session attempted to make an argument for Spoelstra playing Whiteside and Adebayo together.
“Look,” Riley said, “I know Erik and I know he’s going to look into every possibility because he does know that both those guys are athletic, they’re both great rim protectors, they’re both great lob guys. Somehow, he has to figure out how that can become an effective tandem… . I can give him some help on it because I have a background in coaching.”
It was an odd moment because by then it had become clear that Spoelstra’s preference was for Adebayo as the face of his power rotation, the 100-percent-of-the-time player Whiteside decidedly was not.
Then, on the eve of camp this year, Riley spoke of how he viewed Waiters as a “competitor,” making a case for a revival after all of the injury and conditioning questions.
But this time he didn’t put the ball in Spoelstra’s court. Not like with Whiteside.
It is a subtle but significant change.
For years, Riley has stressed the single-voice approach from the franchise, lest there be mixed messages from the front office or coaching staff.
On Waiters, unlike with Whiteside, there appears to be unanimity.
Riley signed off on four years, $98 million for Whiteside before finding the escape exit with the machinations that delivered Jimmy Butler.
He also signed off for four years at $52 million for Waiters, a deal that has this season and next season remaining.
This time there is no suggestion about what should be done. Only an out-of-sight, out-of-mind statement made by his coach.
And no question about where the final say rests.