Windhorst: Riley Shopped Haslem Over the Years
It wouldn't be a Pat Riley end-of-the-year press conference without a ruffling of some feathers.
"No more smiling faces with hidden agendas," almost assuredly a jab at LeBron James and his abrupt departure from the Heat last summer, was the highlight, sending powerful ripples through an NBA world caught up in the first round of the playoffs .
In an article penned by ESPN's Brian Windhorst, mostly a piece attempting to show a similarity between Riley and James' in regards to making ruthless business decisions, an interesting nugget was dropped regarding Heat stalwart Udonis Haslem (if true).
"Riley and the Heat currently point to Miami native and 12-year Heat veteran Udonis Haslem as a symbol of their "Heat Lifer" campaign. But sources around the league know Riley has offered Haslem to any number of teams in trade talks in recent years. With the right deal, of course Riley probably would've done the right thing for the franchise and made the deal. He'd save the crying for later -- and quite possibly hire Haslem back after his playing days."
Would Riley's reputation be diminished if he traded Haslem if it was in the best interest of the Miami Heat? I'm not sure that would be as "ruthless" as much as wise in the sense that it's much more difficult to win in this league while being tied down by emotional attachment.
It'd only be ruthless if he were to tell Haslem "you are never getting traded" only to trade him down the road.
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