Riley's Brilliance Shines Through Once Again

When Allen Iverson was a free agent this summer, many Miami Heat fans were jumping on the “Let’s Sign AI” band wagon. I must admit, I was one of those fans.  I wanted to see an exciting player put on the Heat uniform and make Miami a team of headlines once again. Granted, Wade has done that but if you go to the games like I have been going to, the games seem empty compared to the “sold-out” status they put on the website. Miami is a great team but it seems as if the fans in Miami will only go to the games to see a star… This makes no sense since we have the best player in the NBA [Dwyane Wade]. Regardless of this, I wanted to see a player complement Wade’s style of play and Iverson seemed to fit that bill.

            Don’t get me wrong, I was a fan of Mario Chalmers from day one. As soon as I heard Miami traded for ‘Rio I was excited to see him play. When he started on opening night and I saw him play I thought to myself, “Man, this kid is for real.” Regardless of what I thought, people still doubted Chalmers and wanted to see a better point guard. When Chalmers was not invited to play in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge during All-Star weekend, I thought that he deserved it more than Michael Beasley (I was never a huge fan of Beasley last year). Mario was leading all rookies in steals and assist/turnover ratio and he was left out of the game. Chalmers played with a grudge the end of the season and had a terrific second half to the season. Mario averaged 10 points per game, 2 steals per game, and nearly 5 assists per game.

            Still, with the solid year Chalmers had, many experts said Miami’s top priority of the summer was to pick up Allen Iverson to improve the point guard position. I won’t be surprised if Chalmers took all that to heart and worked even harder this summer to prove all the doubters wrong. By the summer, Iverson was considered a cancer much like T.O in football. After the Sixers, every team he went to became bad and he ended up being traded. After his embarrassment in Detroit, many didn’t see many teams picking him up. People saw a great shot for Iverson here in Miami, but basketball guru Pat Riley had other plans. He wasn’t going to sign a washed up player to a Mid-Level Salary if he wasn’t sure he was going to perform. In a nutshell, Iverson had too high of a price tag. The Heat fans that wanted Iverson, were angry and questioned Riley when he said he was not picking up a point guard. (It’s all part of Riley’s Master-Plan people…)

When Memphis picked him up that shocked many people. Memphis had a solid point guard and the other players didn’t seem like they were too excited that they picked up Iverson. But nevertheless, Memphis picked him up and he ended up playing only three games due to an injury. Iverson seemed like the arrogant jerk he has always been "I had no problems [with the hamstring]. I had a problem with my butt sitting on that bench for so long," Iverson said after his first game back after his injury. "I'm not a bench player. I'm not a sixth man," he continued. "Look at my résumé and that'll show I'm not a sixth man. I don't think it has anything to do with me being selfish. It's just who I am. I don't want to change what gave me all the success that I've had since I've been in this league. I'm not a sixth man. And that's that." Soon after that rant, Iverson left the team for “Personal” reasons. Not after that Iverson was released from the Grizzlies.

After he was released, the “AI to Miami” bandwagon was back to full speed. What could be better? Iverson had just been humbled by his experience in Memphis, and now he was asking a very much lower price. Again, Riley passed on him and he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. I think that was a great place for him. He came around full circle, from the arrogant jerk to the humbled Allen Iverson. I think he will play really well in Philadelphia.

Now, not many people are saying how brilliant Pat Riley is. He passed on Iverson not once, but twice. People were begging to question his judgment. Just as people were questioning Riley’s judgment, Mario Chalmers began to play incredibly. Chalmers is averaging 10 points per game, and 4 assists per game. My case and point? Mario Chalmers is begging to play like the player Riley saw last year when he traded for him. If Allen Iverson was in South Beach, sure the arena would be full, but then after this season it would be empty all over again because Miami wouldn’t have had blossomed it’s Point Guard of the future (Chalmers). Riley is a pure genious, no one else would have had the guts like he did to pass on a future Hall of Famer like Iverson. We all know how he loves vets (he signed and traded for many in the summer of 2005 on route to Miami’s first NBA Championship.) But this time around, Riley was thinking of something he hasn’t thought about before. He was thinking about the future (2010). If this was two years ago, I would see Riley picking up Iverson because of Riley’s “Win Now” attitude. Thankfully, Riley has learned his lesson in the 2007-2008 NBA Season and is ready to build for the future instead of the now.