I agree (not that I had much for him as a person before, just a coach). He sits back and waits for a contender, then fires the coach who brought them along. And FWIW, I saw him at a chili cookoff in Malibu. Seemed like an egotistical a** there, as always.
Stinks to high heaven. Riley's a backstabber. Count me in among those that would like to see Stan join our crew. Evan
Yeah, SVG as a Rockets assistant coach would be nice. Maybe he would be able to get the most out of Rafer Alston like he did when he was in Miami.
On the ESPN front page it says Stan Van Gundy "Resigns" Shaq and Antoine definitely had something to do with this after all their complaining about the offense...
I'm so glad I don't root for those clowns. riley resigns, hands SVG a team that he couldn't get it done with, and SVG gets a rookie (Wade), Butler, and Odom into the playoffs. then he gets shaq, and now this clown takes over. that's about the worst back stabbing ever. that's on T.O.'s level.
It is ridiculous, isn't it? Riley couldn't do anything when Heats sucked for several years. He resigned right before the 2003 season started. Stan not only turned the team around by overcoming a 0 for 7 start, he even led the team to playoffs and got into the second round!!! Now the a**hole wants to come back and take the credit?
Shaq only has one or two years left. Riley can't afford waiting for JVG to learn how to win in the playoffs. Riley wants to win now.
Okay, one of you Riley-haters please answer me this, because I want to know: You do realize that Riley resigned so late a few seasons ago because he didn't want the Heat to have time to seek out a big-name coach, so that SVG would get the job, because Riley liked Stan? Remember that? And now Riley's the devil incarnate, apparently?
I have read enough!! your posts , ivanyy2000 are so ill-informed, that I dont know where to start... first, a lesson on Pat Riley "As a head coach he has captured 16 divisional championships, eight conference championships and four NBA championships. He has been honored as the NBA Coach of the Year on three occasions, the only coach in NBA history to receive the award with three different teams. Riley has also captured NBA Coach of the Month honors a league-record nine times. His string of 19 consecutive postseason berths from 1982-2001 is a league record for consecutive appearances, one more than Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach. Riley’s 19 total postseason coaching berths are tied with Auerbach for the most playoff appearances in a head coaching career in the NBA. Riley has also served as a head coach in nine NBA All-Star games. In his illustrious career, Riley has guided his teams to at least 50 wins in a season an NBA-record 17 times, six more than the closest coach in league history. He also has registered an NBA-record seven 60-win seasons, accomplishing the milestone with each of the three franchises he has guided. When he opened the 2000-01 season with an Opening Night victory over intrastate rival Orlando on November 1, he became the fastest coach or manager to reach 1,000 wins in the history of the four professional sports in North America. Not only did Riley break the record, he smashed the mark previously held by Fred Clarke of the Pittsburgh Pirates, bettering it by an astonishing 144 games. Riley recorded his 1,000th victory in just his 1,434th game. With his first victory in the 2002-03 season he will become the only head coach in NBA history to record at least 330 victories with two different franchises. Riley currently stands as the all-time leader in both regular season and postseason victories for both the Lakers and the HEAT. During his seven years guiding the HEAT, Riley has led Miami to 329 victories and four division titles. His teams captured four consecutive Atlantic Division championships from 1996-2000 and the 329 wins he has amassed during the seven-year period are sixth highest total in the NBA during that span. Riley, Miami’s all-time leader in games coached with 542, has compiled a 329-213 record for a .607 winning percentage, during his seven seasons in South Florida and has guided the HEAT to six playoff appearances and 18 postseason victories. Prior to his arrival the franchise had compiled a 205-369 (.357) mark, with one winning season, two playoff appearances and two postseason wins in its first seven years. Upon his arrival on September 2, 1995, Riley turned the fortunes of the franchise around. Through his tireless work ethic he has transformed the Miami HEAT into one of the premier franchises in all of professional sports."
Heat will still make the playoff, but get spanked in the first round. I would like to see Reily's face then. Stan doesn't look like a charming man, but as other posters mentioned, he took a team led by a rookie from 0-7 to playoff second round. He took them last year to the Eastern Conference final. Talking about disrespect. What a shame. I never like the chance of a team stacked with those old stars, each of them wants minutes and attention, that just doesn't work. I thought Lakers wouldn't pass Spurs with 4 future HOFs, they got lucky, but got totally beated by the Pistons. Same reason, I didn't see any chance for this year's Heat from the very beginning. Railey thought he could take the credit, and I would predict blame only on the end, which serves him well.
interesting.. I can see that happening.. I wonder if Riley really planned that to allow SVG his first head coaching stint. Then SVG must have known that Riley would want the reigns back at some point. I will wait to see what Jeff VG has to say about this as he must have some inside info.. If Jeff stays quiet everything probably played out like this, J
I don't think anybody here is denying what Riley has accomplished in his coaching career. But how does that has to do with this "backstabbing" scenario? It doesn't matter how good a coach he is. It is a fact that he couldn't turn the Heat around two years ago and stepped down. It is also a fact that now he wants to come back when they've got the pieces to contend.
You mean the fact that Riley liked Stan TWO YEARS AGO preclude the possibility that he doesn't like him now, or that he is tempted to take over when they've got the players he wants?
I think maybe some people are overreacting. I like SVG and hopefully we'll see more explanation from him. I don't think Riley is that bad, however. First off, when people talk about Riley abandoning the Heat when they sucked - you need to think back to what the Heat were before he left the Knicks for them. THEY SUCKED. Riley turned the whole franchise around. Second, I think its absurd to claim he couldn't have won with Odom, Butler, and Wade. There is no reason to believe SVG is a BETTER coach than Riley for cryin' out loud. Riley took over big talent in LA but still led them to four titles against all time great teams (unlike Big Chief Triangle); he turned around the Knicks - going to one Finals, giving the Bulls their stiffest tests and would have went to more except for Jordan & Charles Smith; and then took Miami from laughingstock to serious contender. Give the man his due and reserve judgement until you know the full story.
I share your sentiments. Whatever happened to "Innocent until proven guilty"? The worst case scenario is if SVG really does have a problem that requires him to leave a high-stress position. If that is not the case, I'll lose my meager respect for Riley then. But not before.
Riley's a slick-haired huckster. yes, he is a good coach, anyone defending him, that isn't the point of the criticism.
