Lakers rumors: Pat Riley almost left the Heat to coach Kobe and Shaq in Los Angeles

There are many ties that connect the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat as they head to an NBA Finals showdown absolutely packed with stories. LeBron James vs. his former team. The Lakers versus Jimmy Butler, the player they considered in free agency, but a partnership neither side ultimately chose to consummate.

What struck me recently, though, among those connections, was the one between the Lakers and Pat Riley, the legendary purple and gold Showtime-era coach who now serves as team president for the Heat.

In a profile of the legendary Wright Thompson, one of the story lines of how much Riley still feels connected to Southern California and his home in Malibu. His wife calls it his “heart home,” Riley’s friend Michael Douglas says going back to that is “all he talks about,” and Thompson writes that Riley sometimes just looks at footage from the home’s security camera. in his office.

In the context of this series, Riley’s love for the Los Angeles area is an interesting dynamic, and it’s even more intriguing when you consider that in a different world, Riley returns to coach the Lakers.

Does that sound crazy? Well, according to Shaquille O’Neal in Jeff Pearlman’s new book, “Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil and the Wacky Years of the Lakers Dynasty,” Riley considered it in 2004, when the Lakers had just lost. in the NBA Finals, and Phil Jackson was dating.

From the book (emphasis mine):

Jackson left the facility once more, this time summoned to Jerry Buss’s home. It was a 10-minute drive, and along the way, the (still) Los Angeles Lakers coach reflected on all the paths that could lead to this meeting. He probably also reflected on a rumor that had been circulating for several days. According to O’Neal, at the same time that the basketball world had concluded that Jackson was done, Pat Riley was telling the Lakers that he wanted the job. The Miami Heat president had played for Los Angeles from 1970 to 1975, then coached the team to four titles in the 1980s. Southern California had always been his place, his first geographic love. “We all knew Pat was after him,” O’Neal said. “He wanted to be the Lakers kid.”

Jackson parked and rang the bell. After a couple of minutes of little talk, Buss said, “Phil, we’re going in a different direction.”

“I guess so,” Jackson replied. “That seems logical.”

Then he left.

However, after Jackson left, the Lakers finally didn’t sign Riley. Why? Because they were in the process of trading him to O’Neal, which led to Riley re-committing to the Heat, where he eventually coached O’Neal and Dwyane Wade to a title as the Lakers rebuilt around Kobe Bryant, they drafted LeBron. James and Chris Bosh for two more, and he’s become (at least) an Eastern Conference Champion again.

Once again, from “Three Ring Circus”, the emphasis is mine:

In one month, the Lakers and Heat completed the successful trade of the year. After O’Neal told Kupchak he would sign a trade to Miami, he was sent to South Florida by three players (Lamar Odom, Brian Grant and Caron Butler) and a couple of draft picks. The union of O’Neal and Dwyane Wade, the explosive guard who had just finished his rookie season, was a hit from Riley, who told his new center that he was no longer interested in returning to Los Angeles. “Pat knew he had gold,” O’Neal recalls. “We were much closer to winning a ring in Miami than the Lakers without me.”

The Lakers and Heat probably wouldn’t change the way things went; After all, they have both won multiple titles since then and are back in the Finals once again, but it’s fascinating to think of a world where Riley returns to coach Kobe Bryant. .

How different would the Lakers have been in recent years (and how different would they have been viewed) with Riley as their consigliere? We’ll never know, but it’s interesting to imagine, especially as the two sides prepare for their first meeting in the NBA Finals.

Or maybe we don’t even have to imagine, as another bubble story has been Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka’s slow physical transformation into Riley:

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images

If the Lakers team Pelinka helped build wins the title, it will be on its way to being viewed, if not as well, at least with a lot more respect than it was given last summer. And Lakers fans won’t have to spend the summer thinking a little more about this historic “what if” than they could have.

“Three-track circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil and the crazy years of the Lakers dynasty” it’s on sale now and is a must read for all Lakers fans. For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast at iTunes, Spotify, Stapler or Google Podcasts, where we are I spoke to Pearlman about the book. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.