Pat Riley Out, Erik Spoelstra in As Miami Heat Coach

MIAMI — Last place and the Hall of Fame will be the final two stops of Pat Riley’s coaching career.

In a move that took days of deliberation but was hinted at months in advance, Riley announced today he is stepping down as coach of the Heat to concentrate fulltime on what had been his dual role as team president.

The announcement was made at an afternoon news conference at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Assistant coach Erik Spoelstra was named Riley’s replacement. Spoelstra has been with the franchise for 12 seasons.

Born Nov. 1, 1970, Spoelstra becomes the youngest current NBA coach, 69 days younger than Nets coach Lawrence Frank.

Best known for his four championships as coach of the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers in the ’80s, and later heralded for delivering the Heat’s first title in 2006, Riley leaves with the Heat coming off a 15-67 season.

He has been selected for September induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Riley’s decision came after meeting with team owner Micky Arison.

Spoelstra, 37, long has been positioned to emerge as his successor. He moved to a full-time bench role in 2003. and has spent recent years working one-on-one with Dwyane Wade on the development of the guard’s outside shot.

Other possibilities to replace Riley were assistant coach Ron Rothstein and longtime friend Mike Fratello, the former Heat television analyst.

Riley, 63, last summer said he would remain in his dual roles of coach and team president for this past season and two additional ones.

At the time last summer, Riley said, "I don’t want to be a one-and-done guy every year. And so, I made a decision, in conversations that I’ve had with Micky, that I have three years left on my contract and I will coach those out."

Riley, however, softened that stance as he headed to the worst finish of his 24-year career as an NBA head coach.

When he announced the three-year commitment, it coincided with the time center Shaquille O’Neal had on his Heat contract. O’Neal, however, was dealt to the Suns at midseason.

O’Neal had been thought to be behind the departure of Stan Van Gundy as coach in December 2005, with Riley stepping back to the bench after a two-year hiatus.

In 2003, after eight years of guiding the team, Riley handed the reins to Van Gundy four days before the start of the season, citing a need for a break.

Van Gundy is now in his first year of coaching the Orlando Magic, with his team currently in the first round of the playoffs.

Riley returned in December 2005, with Van Gundy stepping aside for what he said were family reasons. While Riley then guided the Heat to its first championship, he left the team for 22 games in 2006-07 to undergo hip and knee surgeries. The Heat went 13-9 under Rothstein during that hiatus, moving back into the playoff picture after a 13-17 start under Riley.

This season, Riley missed four games to scout college prospects, with some questioning his coaching commitment at that time.

In January, Riley said he was conflicted about holding coaching and management roles.

"Sometimes, just with me, I feel like now, more than ever, I might be butting heads with both jobs," he said. "And I’ve revisited that over and over again."

The following day, he said, "There are conflicts there and I have to evaluate those all the time. I always re-evaluate. I’m one of those guys, a good old Irish Catholic, who worries a lot, so I re-evaluate all the time."

Riley recently he offered, "I’m excited about the possibilities of starting fresh."

That start, however, now will come in a fulltime role in the front office, with plenty of work ahead in the search for an upgrade at point guard and a replacement in the middle for O’Neal.

Riley becomes the latest member of the 2006 championship team to depart the locker room. The only members of that title team still under contract entering the offseason are Wade and Udonis Haslem.

Asked recently about the perception that would accompany stepping down with his team at the bottom of the standings, Riley said, "There’s no perfect time. You can’t make it perfect."

Some had thought Riley would wait to see the Heat’s fate in the May 20 draft lottery, when it could emerge in position to select franchise changers such as point guard Derrick Rose or power forward Michael Beasley, or more mundane options such as Jerryd Bayless, Brook Lopez or O.J. Mayo.

Riley finishes with a 1,210-694 regular-season record, third in victories only to Lenny Wilkens and Don Nelson.

The Heat, however, has slumped badly after winning its 2006 title under Riley, going 59-105 since, without a playoff victory.