Pat Riley almost drafted Kaman over Wade

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Ira Winderman) reports: Pat Riley, you see, was leaning toward selecting Central Michigan center Chris Kaman with the No. 5 pick that night. “I looked at him as a little bigger Dave Cowens. And I thought he would develop into a real good interior scorer, rebounder, which he has,” Riley said in a reflective moment recently. “That particular draft, we definitely were in need of a post-up presence, of an inside presence.” While Riley was looking out for a power rotation rocked by the kidney illness of center Alonzo Mourning, his staff was looking out for its leader. The Riley cabinet, which included General Manager Randy Pfund, wanted Wade. Revisionist history offers the tale of Riley, on a treadmill in Milwaukee months earlier, being smitten by the performance of Marquette’s Wade during the NCAA Tournament. But at the 11th hour, there still was need for convincing.

Author: Inside Hoops

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