Things got weird between Pat Riley and LeBron James last summer.
Riley probably just made it more awkward.
Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald:
Pat Riley on the draft: "No more smiling faces with hidden agendas, so we'll be going in clean."
— Joseph Goodman, Sports Enthusiast 🎟🍺 (@JoeGoodmanJr) April 20, 2015
Pat Riley on #SmilingFacesHiddenAgendas comment: "That could be anyone across the board."
— Joseph Goodman, Sports Enthusiast 🎟🍺 (@JoeGoodmanJr) April 20, 2015
If this isn’t about LeBron James, it’s a non-story. So, if you believe it refers to someone else, feel free to move along. For the rest of this post, we’re going to suppose it’s about LeBron.
If LeBron had a hidden agenda, it was hidden only from Riley.
LeBron had one clear agenda: Do what’s best for LeBron. It’s why he left Miami for Cleveland last summer – and why he left Cleveland for Miami four years before that. Riley, as well as anybody, should have known LeBron’s priorities.
The Heat president has mostly taken the high road, but I’m flummoxed by him repeatedly saying how surprised he was to see LeBron leave. For a while it seemed likely LeBron would re-sign with the Heat, but eventually, warning signs appeared.
Riley is usually sharp. A smile threw him off this much?
