Heat president Pat Riley said adding Carmelo Anthony to the Miami Dream Team is “a pipe dream’’ and he challenged LeBron James to not abandon ship despite stormy waters off South Beach.
In wake of the Spurs’ humiliation of the Heat in the NBA Finals, Riley said in Thursday’s end-of-season press conference, “You’ve got to stay together if you’ve got the guts.’’
Message sent to The King.
Of course, Riley didn’t heed that sentiment in 1995 after the Knicks lost in a seven-game playoff series to the Pacers in the second round. Forever known here as “Pat The Rat,’’ Riley faxed in his resignation to then president David Checketts and made like a snowbird for Florida.
Now, Riley has lowered expectations for those who believed Anthony was next to fly south to form a Big Four fantasy squad in Miami.
An Internet report stated the Heat had held internal discussions about adding Anthony to the Big Three mix of James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, who would all need to opt out of their contracts at the June 29 deadline and take significantly less money. Apparently those internal discussions were brief.
“That’s a pipe dream,’’ Riley said. “But everybody thought 2010 [when James, Wade, Bosh signed up] was a pipe dream, too. I don’t harbor that thought. That’s not where we’re headed.”
There is always the tiny chance James and his disciples will dart.
“Worst case, we could have the most [salary-cap] room in the history of the NBA,’’ Riley said. “I’m not planning on that.”
There is one realistic scenario for Anthony finally playing with his buddy James. Bosh, who emphatically stated he wants to return, could opt out and be wooed by his hometown team in Dallas, where cap space is plentiful. That would leave an opening for Anthony as the stretch 4.
Riley sternly stated he wants his Big Three to remain intact and “retool’’ around them after making four straight Finals and winning two titles. And he put the burden on James not to quit on Miami.
“This stuff is hard,” Riley said. “You’ve got to stay together if you’ve got the guts. You don’t find the first door and run out of it. This is four years into this era, four Finals. … What cements a forever bond is going through what we went through this season and staying the course.
“I think we need to have a perspective about things. I think everybody needs to get a grip.”
Anthony will have other potential options — the Lakers, Bulls, Rockets and Mavericks. But the Lakers may only want Anthony at a massive discount in a pairing with James and the Bulls and Rockets still have to make moves to slide under the salary cap. It was a good sign Anthony stated at a promotional appearance Wednesday he had “a great meeting’’ with new Knicks president Phil Jackson last Friday and added, “I like what Phil is doing.’’
James has said very little about his desire to return to Miami.
“We’re going to find out what we’re made of here,’’ Riley said. “It’s not about options. It’s not about free agency. I think it’s a present-day mentality of all players in the league, and they have the inalienable right to pursue those options and think about those options.
“I don’t take anything away from what LeBron had to say. He has to get away and he has to think about it.’’