Shaq Pushes; Stan Pulls Plug

There were several things that were sure to happen to the Miami Heat:

Stan Van Gundy wasn’t going to finish the season as coach.

Pat Riley was.

Riley was going to get bashed.

And Shaquille O’Neal, who more than likely orchestrated the whole thing, would get a pass.

Sure enough, Van Gundy resigned.

“A Load of Quit!” said the New York Post.

“Shady Life of Riley” said the New York Daily News.

“Anyone Get That Knife Out of Stan’s Back Yet?” asked Newsday.

If you noticed a regional bias, Riley worked in New York in the days when he nakedly exploited the media -- “The beast that has to be fed every day!” -- and missed winning a championship (by one game) before bolting for Miami.

O’Neal, of course, is so beloved by reporters, he used to go weeks without talking and still make the all-interview team. Who would think a fun-loving guy like Shaq could dump a teddy bear like Stan?

ESPN’s Ric Bucher tabbed O’Neal, but he was a lonely voice. Shaq dismissed Bucher in the usual manner, saying, “The day he becomes credible is the day Shaquille O’Neal becomes the 48th white president of the United States.”

Of course, coaches do have a way of disappearing around O’Neal.

In his last season in Orlando, he was so keen to replace Brian Hill with Chuck Daly that Leonard Armato, then Shaq’s agent, went on NBC during Game 4 of the Eastern finals and called Daly “one of the all-time great coaches.” With the Magic leading, Armato conceded that Hill was doing OK -- “this quarter.”

Armato said it was “a difficult call” whether Shaq wanted Daly -- as much as confirming that Shaq did. The next day O’Neal went on NBC to say he didn’t know where that stuff came from, adding, “I was raised to respect my elders.”

Actually, as one of the few real superstars, or the only one, whose mere franchise-creating presence makes teams contenders, O’Neal does enjoy certain privileges, such as consultation, which the Lakers granted him.

O’Neal liked assistant coach Kurt Rambis before he took over for Del Harris, but that was the season they got Dennis Rodman, also with Shaq’s blessing.

After that debacle, Shaq didn’t feel as close to Rambis. When Jerry West called to say they would probably bring Rambis back, O’Neal suggested Daly and Phil Jackson, instead.

That flew in the face of tradition. West liked to hire from within, and Jerry Buss liked paying modest salaries to assistant coaches who were moving up. Jackson was an outsider with a monster price tag and had angered the Lakers by musing about the Laker job with Harris still in it.

Tradition or no, Jackson was hired at $30 million over five seasons. O’Neal’s involvement remained a secret until the next spring, when, with the Lakers on their way to a 67-15 finish, Shaq revealed that he “sorta gave the organization an ultimatum.”

Happily for O’Neal, he has good taste in coaches and they proceeded to win three titles in a row.

In Miami, O’Neal, who paces himself, met Van Gundy, a Riley-style grinder. O’Neal said he’d come for Riley -- “the mini-Jerry West” -- but said less about Van Gundy the longer they were together.

After the Heat’s bitter loss in the Eastern finals, with O’Neal looking unhappy about not getting the ball, Riley said he would “take a little bit more of an active participation.”

Whatever O’Neal’s involvement was, this was a mistake by Riley, who might have just been trying to placate everyone and misjudged the effect of his remark.

“A public relations nightmare,” Van Gundy called it last week.

The public was the least of the problems. The Heat managed to keep the coaching question quiet this season, but there were suggestions, such as newly arrived Gary Payton’s second-guessing of him, that the players were well aware Van Gundy was teetering.

Van Gundy may well have wanted to spend more time with his family, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know he was bowing to the inevitable too.

Quitting early in a season to spend more time with the family is common among Riley and his proteges. Riley did it in 2003, Jeff Van Gundy in New York in 2001. It’s not a coincidence. Nobody suffers as Riley and his assistants do. It’s the way he coaches, transmitting his pain to his players, who give their all to avoid losing and revisiting that hell.

The longest-serving assistants in Riley’s closely guarded inner circle, Randy Pfund, Bill Bertka, Jeff or Stan Van Gundy, were like family, with memberships handed down from one to another, in this case from brother to brother. Bertka recommended Pfund, who is still with Riley as general manager. Jeff Van Gundy recommended Stan.

“The thing is, Pat is a tough enough guy to not worry about it too much and do what he has to do,” Stan told the Palm Beach Post, “but there’s no question he cares.”

Happily for Shaq and Co., it was as if Riley had waved a magic wand over them. They won in Chicago with O’Neal going for 30 points -- 10 fewer than in his first three games combined -- then blew out Milwaukee.

O’Neal said, “I’ve been in this situation now where they do a lot of stuff and then they bring somebody who knows what he’s talking about and everybody listens....

“He’s the president. I’m the general. Unless I want to get impeached, I’ve got to do what he says.”

Of course, that last time Shaq was in “this situation,” he nominated the winning candidate.

Riley will be different for O’Neal. Nevertheless, for Laker fans waiting for Shaq to be melted down for his blubber, Riley will make some allowances for his top guys, as he did for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played until age 42 under him.

O’Neal will lay it all out there for Riley as he did in Jackson’s first season, when Shaq won his only most-valuable-player award and came within one vote of being the first unanimous pick.

Of course, he’s not that Shaq anymore. But he’s still Shaq.

*

Faces and Figures

Indiana Pacer officials were so fed up with Ron Artest, they quickly acceded when he asked to be traded in the newspapers, even though that’s as common as sunrise in the NBA.

Artest said 1) he had too much baggage in Indiana; 2) Coach Rick Carlisle didn’t call enough plays for him; and 3) Carlisle didn’t want him on the team. The only surprise was that Artest didn’t get in a plug for his Tru Warier record label.

Nevertheless, Artest is a special talent, capable of scoring 20 points and subtracting 10 or so from the opponents’ total. In his only game against the Celtics last season, he outscored Paul Pierce, 28-15, in a victory in Boston. Last week in Boston with Artest held out, Pierce got 25 and the Celtics won by 14.

The Lakers are one of the most interested teams, since Jackson loves Artest and has a high threshold for eccentricity. However, the Pacers reportedly want a high pick in the draft. The Lakers might have to see if they can get a high pick from a third team for their pick and a player. A source says Lamar Odom’s name hasn’t come up but may have to if talks get serious.

The Pacers may be able to deal directly with Toronto, which could have two lottery picks, or Atlanta, which will have one and already has eight first- and second-year players. The Hawks have former Pacer and upcoming free agent Al Harrington.

“I told Larry [Bird, Pacer GM] and Donnie [Walsh, team president] I really would like to get Al because he is a 6-foot-9 [power forward] who’s very strong, very quick, plays multiple positions,” Jermaine O’Neal told SI.com.

“He’s almost a version of Ron; not as good individually defensively, but offensively, he can put up bigger numbers immediately.”

In New York, everyone agrees that Artest has to come home.

“The Knicks need him,” wrote the New York Post’s Kevin Kernan. “They need to make this trade.”

Which trade? The Knicks have nothing the Pacers want, except rookie Channing Frye, whom Isiah Thomas isn’t offering

Chicago’s Scott Skiles, the league’s hardest-bitten coach, even with Riley back, asked about going against legends such as Jackson and Riley: “They should be more concerned about going up against me. There are 30 of these jobs. [Riley] has one. I have one. I’ve played against him. I’ve coached against him already. He’s a coach. He’s a very good one. He has a long, great record. I don’t mean to sell it short, but I’m not intimidated by anybody.”

Meanwhile, Tyson Chandler learned his breathing problems come from an asthma-like condition. Skiles benched him and now starts a front line of 6-7 1/4 Michael Sweetney, 6-7 Luol Deng and 6-7 Andres Nocioni.