Pat Riley issued possibly the statement of the year when he told Danny Ainge to shut the f— up and mind his own business.
Ainge upset Riley by saying Thursday on WEEI’s “Salk & Holley” show that it was embarrassing for LeBron James to complain about calls like he did after the Miami Heat lost to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
“I think the referees got the calls right. I don’t think it was a hard foul,” Ainge said of the calls involving LeBron. “I think the one involving LeBron against Boozer, that was flagrant. I think the officials got it right.
“I think that it’s almost embarrassing that LeBron would complain about officiating,” the Boston Celtics GM added.
The Heat president responded through a team spokesman Friday with the statement of the century.
“Danny Ainge needs to shut the f— up and manage his own team. He was the biggest whiner going when he was playing and I know that because I coached against him.”
Word of Riley’s blast got back to Ainge, who admitted Riley was right.
“I would say we’re both right,” he said. “LeBron should quit complaining; I complained as a player and I should manage my own team. We’re both right.
“Pat Riley’s right. I should manage my own team. I complained a lot to the officials. And I’m right, LeBron should be embarrassed about how he complains about the calls he gets.”
What’s the takeaway here aside from the epic smack exchanged between the two? This says a lot about why so many players love Riley. FOX Sports Florida’s Chris Tomasson has some great quotes from Jerry Stackhouse who admired Riley for standing up for his player. Retired tennis player Andy Roddick echoed Stackhouse’s thoughts.
It doesn’t matter if you think ainge is right or wrong….. You don’t think guys wanna go to bat for Riley when he backs them up like this?
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) March 30, 2013
It doesn’t matter if you think ainge is right or wrong….. You don’t think guys wanna go to bat for Riley when he backs them up like this?
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) March 30, 2013
We gave credit to Riley for the quote of the night in 2008 with this gem. He also wins quote of the year for 2013. He’s working on quite the streak for longevity. He certainly has not lost his touch.
Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
