MIAMI - Pat Riley often was forced to wonder if his time in the NBA was over. Like when he got pulled out of a drill in his first training camp with San Diego and was told he had to get better. Or when Portland cut the newly married Riley a week after his father died. Or when he realized that his playing days were finished.
The fears were always unfounded.
A half-century later, he's still in the game.
Riley's NBA debut was exactly 50 years ago Saturday -- Oct. 14, 1967, the start of a Hall of Fame career that saw him go from player to broadcaster, broadcaster to coach, coach to executive. The Miami Heat president has stockpiled nine championship rings, became a best-selling author and motivational speaker, transformed the fashion sense of NBA coaches and left an indelible mark on franchises in Los Angeles, New York and Miami.
And he's not done.
"He's still going," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, Riley's former assistant who replaced him as head coach nearly a decade ago. "I think that is the ultimate sign of true greatness, his sustainability and ability to constantly adapt and stay ahead of the curve. He's always three, four, five steps ahead of the competition. His thought process is always ahead of the norm."
The anniversary isn't an enormous deal to Riley: He doesn't consider this his 50th anniversary season, since he wasn't in the league for a couple of those years. He'll celebrate on Saturday, albeit for a different reason -- his son is getting married, a happy coincidence in dates.
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"I'm tremendously proud of being able to hang in, because this is what I wanted to do, hang in under all circumstances," Riley said. "I went from a player to a head coach and once I became a head coach that changed the direction of my life and my thinking forever. I became a different person than I was. Becoming a head coach pushed me through the door of ultimate, incredible responsibility." (see full story).
Brown could be Celtics' X-factor
BOSTON - One of Jaylen's Brown's nicknames is "Old Man."
It sounds like a strange moniker for a 20-year-old NBA player, until you spend just a few minutes inside Brown's world.
During the Celtics' massive overhaul this summer, the focus was on the trio of new Boston additions: Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and rookie Jayson Tatum.
But the forgotten player on Boston's rebuilt roster may be Brown.
The second-year forward out of California, where he was the PAC-12 freshman of the year in his lone year at the school, showed he is as cerebral as he is athletic. He didn't shy away from veteran tasks like guarding LeBron James during the playoffs. Now, he just might be the X-factor for the toughest challenger to the Cleveland Cavaliers' recent Eastern Conference supremacy.
One of just four players returning from last year's roster, Brown acknowledged he was surprised by the massive roster changes the Celtics made this summer. But he's tried to not affect his approach.
"I had a great summer, but I know there's been a lot of changes," he said. "Guys are gone that were here that had established roles and things like that...But it's above my paygrade, so I really don't pay attention to it. I'm just happy I'm still here." (see full story).
Cavs trading Jefferson, Felder to Hawks
CLEVELAND - Their roster overloaded, the Cavaliers are trading Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder to save money.
Cleveland has agreed to send Jefferson, Felder, two second-round draft picks and $3 million to the Atlanta Hawks in a move that will allow the Eastern Conference champions to avoid paying $12 million in luxury tax penalties, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Friday.
In return, the Cavs will get the rights to two overseas players, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the league still has to approve the transaction. The deal could be completed later Friday or Saturday morning.
Jefferson and Felder were both on Cleveland's bench for Friday night's exhibition finale at Orlando.
Cleveland's roster filled up quickly after the club signed Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Jeff Green and Jose Calderon during the offseason. The Cavs needed to clear two roster spots before Tuesday's season opener and they've been looking for a team to do business with for several weeks.
The 37-year-old Jefferson spent two seasons with Cleveland, which signed him as a free agent in 2015. He was a key contributor during the 2016 championship season, coming off the bench to provide an offensive spark. He appeared in 79 games last season, averaging 5.7 points in 20.4 minutes.
Felder was selected in the second round of the 2016 draft. He played in 42 games for Cleveland last season, averaging 4.0 points.
Any chance Felder had of working his way into the rotation ended when the Cavs signed Rose and Calderon, who will handle the team's point guard duties while Isaiah Thomas recovers from a back injury.
