Mark Heisler has held down the NBA beat for The Los Angeles Times for the last quarter-century or so. SoCal is lucky to have him; he's as spiky and surprising as ever, with no sign of weariness.
Heisler's also ahead of his time, stylistically. He's been mixing commentary into his league updates, which Times reporters are clearly encouraged to do in their reporting these days, for decades now.
In the piece below, Heisler gives Miami's infamous General Manager Pat Riley, at helm of the Lakers during their Showtime glory days, credit for the "Frankenstein Revival" that is the new Miami Heat.
But what if it's a case of the Super Friends — Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh — conspiring, agreeing to take less money to play together? What GM wouldn't agree to such a deal?
Some have speculated the three stars had been talking about a deal like this since they played together at the 2008 Olympics, where they easily triumphed.
If this team works — and it's difficult to see how it could not, especially with superb long-ranger shooter Mike Miller on board — will this be an argument for the mind games of Pat Riley, or simply for employees working together to get the job done?
The NBA: Five weeks away from Chris Bosh et al at Boston:
Kit Stolz 