Miami Heat President Pat Riley dismisses Shaquille O’Neal comments as marketing tactic – NBA Update
Shaquille O’Neal hasn’t really spared anyone in his new book – Shaq Uncut: My Story - and former Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley has come in for special criticism.
Shaq complained about Riley’s strict coaching style in the book as well as during promotional tour, but Riley has refused to bite.
The Miami Heat President has dismissed Shaq’s assertions, labelling his comments just a tactic to draw more attention to his book, and therefore increase its sales.
“He’s marketing. He’s a marketer. He’s just marketing right now,” Riley told the Sun Sentinel with a dismissive laugh. “That’s all he’s doing.”
Riley coached Shaquille O’Neal during his time at the Miami Heat, but their relationship was always far from rosy. The two were often believed to be at odds and neither would back down because of their huge egos. Surprisingly,
they combined at Miami to win an NBA World Championship in 2006, but the team’s fortunes only went downhill from there on in.
Ever since Shaq left the club, he has spoken in less than glowing terms about his former coach, and Riley says he has now grown accustomed to the vitriol directed at him by the former Los Angeles Lakers centre.
“I’m trying to figure out whether or not Hannibal Lecter, the Gestapo or John Gotti, I don’t know which one is worse,” Riley said of the characterizations he’s received from O’Neal over the years. “They’re all equally insulting.”
He smiled, then paused, “but Coach is good enough for me.”
Riley is believed to be a disciplinarian and perhaps that is what has brought him so much success as a coach, but it didn’t go down well with the Diesel. According to Shaq, not many in Miami were happy with Riley’s approach.
Of Heat employees, O’Neal wrote, “They were all scared of Pat.”
And at another point, he wrote, “You can’t stand up to Pat. If you do, you’re gone.”
Shaq has maintained that his time at Miami came to an end because of his frosty relationship with the then head coach.
Riley though believes that all those things are a part of the past now and Shaq is just bringing these issues up all over again only to sell his new book.
“He’ll use anybody and say anything to market whatever it is he has to market,” the Heat president said. “So right now he’s marketing his book.”
Shaq has also talked about other major figures in the NBA and has not held back from criticizing them. He says he didn’t want to be diplomatic as it just doesn’t fit in with his personality.
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