Pat Riley admits being floored following the departure of former star guard Dwyane Wade. (Photo : Getty Images for Haute Living/Jennifer Graylock)
Even with Pat Riley getting two championships in four finals appearances for the Miami Heat, it seemed that he has still beef with LeBron James after leaving to return in Clevland.
Riley had a chance to talk to the Sun Sentinel and was asked about what was his biggest acquisition during his term as the General Manager of the Heat.
"I'll say this, and I mean this," Riley says during a relaxed moment this past week, "Shaq's acquisition was bigger than any acquisition that we ever made, including the Big Three."
To justify his claim, Riley preferred to look at the deal that made the Miami Heat a household name for all basketball fans in the world.
It was in 2004, when Riley decided to lure Shaquille O'Neal after being beaten in the NBA Finals by the Detroit Pistons with having the chemistry rumors surrounding him and Kobe Bryant.
The lineup of Shaq combined with a young Dwyane Wade resulted to the Heat's first championship in the NBA in 2006 against the Dallas Mavericks.
With Shaq's aging body catching up to him, Riley then decided to break up the team and traded him for Shawn Marion with the Phoenix Suns.
In 2011, Miami was able to build another championship team after acquiring two of the biggest free agents with LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
Even with the results adding two more championships to the francise, Riley still thinks that aquiriung Shaq was bigger than the "Big 3".
"Bigger than LeBron James. Bigger than Chris Bosh. And bigger" Riley says,
If that was the case then acquiring Alonzo Mourning from the Charlotte Hornets could have been bigger than the Shaquille O'Neal deal since the Heat became title contenders for the first time.
Still, Riley insists that getting Shaq was bigger than Zo.
"Zo was big," Riley says, "but getting Shaquille changed everything for our franchise."
