MVN - Most Valuable Network

‘The Other Side’: What Fate Awaits The Miami Heat?

The Erik Spoelstra era is under way in Miami and the questions have began to mount like pancakes at IHOP.

Who is this guy? What has he done to become an NBA head coach? What credibility will he have with all-stars on the free agency market who like to look at a guy in the locker room who’s been there and done that?

All of these questions will soon be asked of Spoelstra if they haven’t already. How do we know?, because former Miami Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy was asked the same thing and due to a few big ego’s in the locker room, never ended his tenure in Miami with a true chance to respond.

Although it was never publically admitted, a wide contingent has it that former Heat players such as Gary Payton and Shaquille O’Neal were very adament about getting a coach in the locker room that they could see eye to eye with, and a person who’d done more in and for the game than they had.

After beginning the season in a way that was viewed as an underachievement, Stan Van Gundy ended up stepping down for a stated reason of “Wanting to spend more time with his family”, and never again saw the light of day in Miami.

As great as it was to see the story end in an eventual Pat Riley led first team Championship, it came at the great dismay of a man who deserved far better than the way things ended.

What Goes Around Comes Around

After outspoken vets like Shaquille O’Neal and Gary Payton alledgedly played the culprit role of helping send Van Gundy packing, it seemed that atleast one of them had something to do with the current depleted state of the team, seeing to it that Riley was drained of all interest, resulting in the same absence from the bench. That player being Shaquille O’Neal.

Now that the damage is done, Pat Riley has - in what was most believed was an inevitable move - stepped down, relinquishing the position to another young prospect who fell under his tutelage.

‘The Other Side’

Now that the time has come, what does tomorrow bring for the Miami Heat? With all of the adversity, the good, the bad, and the ugly, what will the culmination of all the actions bring about?

Standing less than 2 months away from the NBA draft, whatever tomorrow holds for the Miami Heat it will undoubtedly be shaped and crafted around what happens there.

Free agents and fans will all watch in great anticipation. Be it Beasley, or Rose, both men will go a great way in solidifying a roster already containing Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, and Dorrell Wright.

The youth and athleticism that has been boasted about for years is now somewhat a reality, and every step from this point on will contribute to that.

It’s hard to say what the draft will look like for the Miami Heat, let alone an opening day roster, but for now, the questions continue.  Making this a ‘To Be Continued’ episode, rather than a ‘Closed Chapter’. After the way this season went, that sounds great. Score one point for the Miami Heat.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 4th, 2008 at 11:36 pm and is filed under Column. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.