Apr 16, 2008 7:18 pm US/Eastern
Riley Remains Mum On Retirement
Miami Heat play their final regular season game on Wednesday.
In midst of worst season since joining the NBA.
MIAMI (CBS4.com) ―
The Miami Heat finish their abysmal season on Wednesday night, but the night could be the last time you see Pat Riley walk the sidelines. Riley remains tight-lipped about his future, a little less than a year after promising to coach through the 2009-2010 season.
Wednesday's match-up with the Atlanta Hawks will be Riley's 1,904th coached game. He's only gone through a sub-.500 season twice before in his career. One of those times, Riley decided to retire just before the start of the 2003-2004 season. He eventually came back for the 2005-2006 season to lead the team to the NBA Championship.
Still, Riley has never seen a season quite as bad as this one. The Heat, just two years removed from the NBA Title, had to have a win going into Wednesday's game to match the 1988-1989 team's franchise worst record. 1988 was the first season the Heat played in the NBA. Since winning the championship, the Heat have gone 58-109 in regular season and playoff games.
"When you're in the midst of this kind of season, you've got to give it thought. I've been at this 25 years. I know what's going on. Hard evaluation on yourself is the first thing that you have to really assess," Riley told the Associated Press.
The team seemed to almost quit on the coach after the losses of C Alonzo Mourning, F Udonis Haslem, G Dwyane Wade to injuries and the trade of the former franchise player, Shaquille O'Neal to the Phoenix Suns.
Theoretically, the Heat should have a great chance of landing the number one pick in the NBA Draft over the summer. However, the team with the worst record doesn't automatically get the first pick, as the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies have found out in the past few years.
Riley missed 22 games in 2006-2007 after having surgeries on his hip and knee. He missed another four games this season to scout players in the upcoming draft.
Coach Riley planned to meet with Heat owner Micky Arison next week, presumably to talk about the future of the franchise and Riley's plans for the future. "Borne out of that conversation, I'll make a decision. The conversation with him is going to be important for a lot of reasons. I really want to do what's in the best interest of the Heat," Riley said.
Riley's overall record is 1,209-694 going into Wednesday night's finale against the Hawks.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
