Category: Miami Heat Blog

It’s the NBA playoffs and a very important question not just for basketball but all of humanity has been answered.

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade has finally spoken up about his alleged romance with Star Jones: “Star is an unbelievable woman. We have a great, great relationship. As friends.” “We’re friends, just like a lot of celebrities. We are friends,” the Miami Heat star said Thursday during a guest appearance on “Inside the NBA,” the jocular TNT show featuring Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson. “Are y’all close friends?” Smith asked. “We’re good friends,” Wade responded.

Miami Heat President and Head Coach Pat Riley has stepped down as Head Coach of the Miami Heat, but will continue to serve as team President. Former Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting Erik Spoelstra has been elevated to head coach. Spoelstra becomes the sixth head coach in franchise history.

Here’s Dwyane Wade reaction to the coaching change: “I am excited about the future of our organization….as head coach – Pat Riley has instilled in me values that enabled me to win a championship in just three seasons. I’ve seen him do the necessary things to make us winners and I believe that with his focus on being president and his commitment to the team – we will once again become a contender…I believe in Coach Spo and have complete confidence that our team will succeed with him at the helm.”

And here’s what Alonzo Mourning said: “A big reason for coming to Miami was to help Coach Riley build a winning team and franchise…we’ve experienced many rough times together on the road to the 2006 championship, and those experiences made the winning that much more gratifying. I admire Coach Riley and his accomplishments and I am also proud of Spo, who will now step into this position to take the organization back to our winning ways.”

Heat coach Pat Riley, probably realizing that it’s no fun coaching a team that gets destroyed by 70 points a night, is making the wise move to just be team president. Former assistant coach/director of scouting Erik Spoelstra is now head coach. It’s not surprising that the new coach came from within, as Spoelstra obviously has Riley’s respect, knows the players and the team’s secrets. And until Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion get a lot more help around them the team has plenty of rebuilding to to.

“The game of basketball is a game about talent,” said Riley. “While we are always looking for NBA talent to perform on the court, the most important talent that you may find has to perform on the bench, in the locker room, on the practice court, late at night, watching film, motivating and executing all the responsibilities of a head coach. I believe Erik Spoelstra is one of the most talented young coaches to come around in a long time. This game is now about younger coaches who are technologically skilled, innovative and bring fresh new ideas. That’s what we feel we are getting with Erik Spoelstra. He’s a man that was born to coach.”

More info about Spoelstra is here.

The Palm Beach Post (Chris Perkins) reports: The big picture for Miami should be going into training camp in 2009, about 18 months from now, with a team just a tweak or two away from winning the title. That’s possible with the talent that could be available at the trade deadline. Elton Brand and Corey Maggette of the Los Angeles Clippers could have expiring contracts going into next season and therefore be trade-deadline bargains. The same could be true for Sacramento forward Ron Artest and Washington guard Gilbert Arenas. And New Orleans guard Jannero Pargo, Philadelphia guard Andre Miller and swingman Andre Iguodala, Portland sharpshooter James Jones, and Toronto guard Carlos Delfino, to name a few.

The Miami Herald (Sarah Rothschild) reports: Ron Culp’s 3,001st game will be his last. The only head trainer the Heat has known in its 20-year history is retiring. Culp, who also serves as travel coordinator, is leaving after Wednesday’s season finale. It will end his run of a record-setting 37 seasons on the job. He started with the 1970-71 Cleveland Cavaliers expansion team and went to Portland in 1974, where he was part of the 1977 championship team, and arrived in Miami for its inaugural season in 1988… Culp is a three-time winner of the NBA trainer of the year award and has two championships on his résumé (including 2006 with the Heat), but his devotion to the players is as much his legacy as his decades of service.

The Miami Herald (Sarah Rothschild) reports: The Heat lost 96-91 to the Memphis Grizzlies at AmericanAirlines Arena on Friday, assuring itself of the worst record in the league when the season ends and, more importantly, the best chance to secure the top pick in the NBA Draft. By finishing with the fewest wins, the Heat has a 25 percent chance of getting the top overall pick and a 44 percent chance of landing the first or second pick. The team is guaranteed no worse than the fourth pick. The Heat will learn its fate May 20 in the NBA lottery drawing, which determines the order for the June 26 draft. A projected top pick, Kansas State forward Michael Beasley has scheduled a news conference for 5 p.m. Monday, when he likely will announce he intends to enter the NBA Draft. Memphis point guard Derrick Rose, another projected top pick, has not revealed his plans but is expected to turn pro.