Sun-Sentinel:Two years after stepping down as Heat coach, team president Pat Riley is resuming the position.
Riley takes over for Stan Van Gundy, who said he resigned for personal reasons.
"I love coaching, but I love my family more," Van Gundy said at an 11 a.m. news conference. "I need some time to be with them. I'm not willing to sacrifice that anymore. Priorities change over time. It grew to the point of being absolutely painful. It came down to a choice, and for me, the choice was clear."
Van Gundy and his wife, Kim, have four children - Shannon (14), Michael (11), Alison (9) and Kelly (6).
"I felt I was running out of time with them," he said. "I want to be sitting with my son at games -- not down here [on the sidelines]. I've only got four more years with my older daughter before she's off to college.
"I'm going out to look at Christmas lights with my [children] tonight."
Van Gundy, who said he had been contemplating the decision for several weeks, shot down speculation that he was being forced out.
"I made this decision for one reason and one reason only: I love my family," said Van Gundy. "If I'm getting forced out I would have gotten every dollar on my contract. That's not the case."
Van Gundy said because of games, practices and travel, he would have seen his children at home only 49 days out of 170 this season.
Riley, who will make his debut Tuesday night when the Heat begins a four-game road trip in Chicago, said returning to the Heat bench was an easy decision for him to make.
"I have an obligation to this franchise and to [owner] Micky [Arison] and to this team and the players I traded for, and I think I'm the best person to do that," Riley said. "But I'm proud of what Stan has done. This was not my intention."
Riley said he hasn't even looked at a playbook for two years, and acknowledged that this will be one of his toughest challenges.
"I will get back into this quickly," said Riley, who had served as team president the past two seasons. "The team's a mess because of the injuries and new guys changing roles," he said. "I don't know how good this team can be."
Van Gundy will remain with the Heat as a free-agent evaluator, while also assisting the team in other projects.
"I'm going to watch NBA games and give my opinion," said Van Gundy. "I still want to help out any way I can."
Nasty move by Riley. I can't say I'm too surprised by it because it was only a matter of time. Since the Heat picked up all those ball hoggers there was going to be a chemistry issue. SVG is a good man and I hope he finds a team who will respect him for his hard work.
