Heat’s Riley Claims Unfair Treatment in NBA’s Handling of Howard Situation

Pat Riley, suggesting a vendetta against the Miami Heat, accused the NBA on Monday of breaking its own rules in allowing Juwan Howard to return to the Washington Bullets.

Riley, speaking by conference call in his first public comments on the dispute, said the league went behind the Heat’s back to broker a deal with Howard, the players’ union and the Bullets.

“We were treated totally unfairly in this whole process,” Riley said. “They made up the rules as they went along.”

Riley said NBA Commissioner David Stern broke the new collective bargaining agreement by allowing the Bullets a one-time exception to the salary cap to re-sign Howard and not submitting to binding arbitration with the Heat.

“They simply wanted Juwan to go back to Washington, maybe with the new arena and all,” said Riley, referring to the Bullets’ new arena still under construction.

“The day Juwan Howard signed the contract with the Washington Bullets was the day I hit a new low in my 30 years in the NBA,” Riley said. “I knew at the time, once he signed that contract we wouldn’t get him back even if we won it in the Supreme Court.”