Erik Spoelstra seems a bit friendlier with Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge than his boss is.
The Miami Heat coach shook hands with Ainge before Monday’s matchup and joked with the veteran executive about his feud with Heat president Pat Riley. Here is what he said, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel:
Spoelstra shakes hands with Danny Ainge and quips, “Don’t send a picture of that to Pat.” Ainge responds, “I have pictures of Pat shaking my hand.”
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) January 21, 2019
The beef between Riley and Ainge dates all the way back to the 1980s when both played featured roles in one of the sport’s fiercest rivalries, the former as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and the latter as a guard for the Celtics. The two would do battle again as executives with Miami and Boston engaging in many bitter Eastern Conference playoff battles over the last decade or so.
Riley also hit Ainge with an all-time great mic drop moment a few years back, so it’s easy to see why Spoelstra had the feud in mind during Monday’s game.
