At 81, Heat’s Pat Riley insists it’s full steam ahead; Arisons can decide, ‘whether or not I age out’
MIAMI — So how would Pat Riley react to a social-media world that since the Miami Heat’s postseason exit has cast doubt on his staying power? The same as always: by coming out swinging. No, the Heat president said Monday, he is not going anywhere.
No, Riley said, he does not feel diminished or deterred by a management structure that has him now, as it has been for the past decade and a half, answering to CEO Nick Arison , the son of Heat owner Micky Arison. So, yes, he said, the reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. “I think first things first is to sort of clear up a lot of what I think is a lot of inaccurate portrayals, coverage, or whatever it is about me,” he opened the hour-plus media session at Kaseya Center, after some initial pleasantries.
And then, the 81-year-old franchise patriarch continued, “I’m not going to retire. I’m not going to resign. I’m not going to step aside.
” Introduced by Micky Arison on one of Arison’s Carnival cruise ships in 1995 as the future of the Heat, Riley said Monday his outlook remains full steam ahead. “I want another parade down Biscayne Boulevard,” having overseen Heat championships in 2006, ’12 and ’13, as well as three NBA Finals appearances since. “It may come, it may not, whatever.
But it’s always been my desire is to win. ” With the Heat having won just one playoff game over the past three seasons , there has been increased inspection of the Heat hierarchy, with the reality being that Nick Arison was named Riley’s superior in a July 2011 media release by the team, that organizational masthead remaining similar since. “I would appreciate from all of you the respect of not going down that road, without talking about it,” Riley said of the conjecture of his place and influence in the team’s hierarchy.
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