Riley the Genius or Riley the Ruiner?

As the Shaquille O'Neal deal is now official, some things come to mind. How did Pat Riley pull off this trade? How did Pat Riley trade a 36-year old declining center with hip and knee injuries to the best team in the Western Conference for a 29-year old Shawn Marion and a young point guard in Marcus Banks? Furthermore, how has Pat Riley pulled off half the deals he has in the past? Lets look at some of the trades he has done in the past:

2008- Traded center Shaquille O'Neal for forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks.

- Shaq is 36 and has 2 years and 40 million dollars left on his contract. Marion is 29, has better stats than Shaq, and an expiring contract. While I don't like the fact that Riley showed no loyalty to Shaq, it was still a genius move in that it benefits the Heat hugely in the future. They will have massive salary cap space to sign a free agent in the off-season and will be able to build the team around Dwyane Wade.

2007- Traded PF Antoine Walker, C Michael Doleac, and PF Wayne Simien to the Minnesota Timberwolves for SF Ricky Davis and C Mark Blount.

- This deal was completely amazing. The T-Wolves were astonishgly ripped off. Why? Antoine Walker's decline into a terrible player was faster than Eli Manning's demand to be traded to the Giants after he was drafted by the Chargers. Not only are his stats dramatically down, he is just an erratic player. His dribbling, court awareness, and streaky shooting were bringing the Heat down and will bring any team down for that matter. In addition, we got rid of seldom used players in Doleac and Simien, both who average under 3 points a game and make very little impact. In return, we recieved a perrenial scorer in Ricky Davis and decent post player in Blount. Davis can create his own offense, play good defense, and is a decent shooter. He is averaging 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal for the Heat this season. That is much better than Walker's stats in Minnesota. Although, Davis's stats haven't transalted into wins for the Heat, he is still better than having Walker chuck up 3's and getting in trouble for being too fat. Blount on the other hand has been doing very good of late, boosting his average up to 8 points a game and cracking the starting line-up in Shaq's injury absence. Once again, this is a lot better than Doleac and Simien's performance with Minnesota, considering Simien was dropped from the team and Doleac barely plays. So, the Heat got two rotation players for Antoine Walker. I'd say Pat Riley pulled off a good transaction.

2006- The Heat trade Eddie Jones, Rasual Butler, Qyntel Woods, and two 2nd round draft picks for Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, and James Posey.

- Once again, the Heat got the better end on this one. In 2006, the Heat won a championship with these 3 players, so nothing else should be said. But, to prove that it was better, lets look at where everyone is now. Eddie Jones is in Dallas, averaging 3 points a game and only getting 19 minutes a game. Rasual Butler is in New Orleans, barely cracking the rotation. And, who is Qyntel Woods? Isn't that the guy who beat up his dog? In return, we got 1 productive season from Antoine Walker, a very clutch 3 point and defensive specialist in James Posey, and our current starting point guard in Jason Williams. All 3 of them helped us win a championship, so the Heat defintely won in that deal.

2004- The Heat trade Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a 1st round pick for superstar center Shaquille O'Neal.

- While that deal might not look so hot right now considering the Heat just traded Shaq to the Suns, it still was another mighty genius move by Riley. Lets look at what happend to everyone that the Lakers recieved in that deal. Undoubtedly, Caron Butler was a huge loss for the Heat. He is now a 2 time All-star and is thriving with the Wizards. But, he is on the Wizards not the Lakers. The Lakers shipped him to the Wizards after just one year for Kwame Brown. I bet the Lakers wish they could do that one over. So, since Butler was only on LA for one year, he can hardly be considered part of the deal. Lamar Odom is still on the Lakers and has been consistent for them for the past 4 years. Brian Grant had a massive, undeserving contract and Riley was able to unload it on the Lakers. What happend to Grant? His knee injuries were too much and he is now in retirement. So, the Heat got Shaquille O'Neal for Lamar Odom and a first round pick. The Heat won a championship and the Lakers struggled to make it to the playoffs for the last couple of years. Lets also point out the fact that the Heat got to keep their leading scorer from the previous season in that trade (Eddie Jones) and got to keep a young Dwyane Wade. I heard Wade evolved into a superstar and was the MVP of the NBA Finals, so he must be pretty good. All in all, the Heat ripped of the Lakers so bad in that trade that it makes Isiah Thomas look like a good GM.

Pat Riley has pulled off many other deals in his illustrious career: Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, and Jamal Mashburn to name a few. Riley should defintely be considered a Hall of Fame General Manager in addition to being a hall of fame coach.

One of the main reasons the Miami Heat won the title is because of Pat Riley's executive decisions through the years and his ability to put together a talented roster.

While some of his moves are questionable, he should be hailed Riley the Genius not Riley the Ruiner.

Tell me what you think.....