In early September, Miami is still the peak tourist season, with beaches, sunshine, and sizzling bikinis attracting visitors from all over North America to enjoy the South Coast scenery.
Riley sat in his air-conditioned office, still wearing a well-pressed suit in the hot summer, his hair meticulously combed, its thick oil often making people curious about how much time he spends grooming it each day.
On the desk in front of him were two new season promotional posters. One was dominated by fiery red, featuring large headshots of Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, with silhouettes of other Heat players in the background. Below, a line of black text read: Fiery Championship Dreams, Miami Heat 1992-1993 season.
The other poster was in yellow and blue tones, with the blue representing the ocean and the yellow depicting a giant ship sailing forward directly, bearing the Heat logo. It read: Get ready to welcome the South Coast giant ship for the 1992-1993 Miami Heat season.
These were promotional images designed by the advertising company for the new Heat season. The rich colors and bold composition were striking, exuding the design style of the 90s, with a very prominent theme — the Heat were determined to make a big impact in the 1992-1993 season.
Just yesterday, the league office approved the trade request between the Heat and the Rockets. The Heat traded Ronnie-Cecali, Xavier McDaniel, and future draft picks to acquire Hakeem Olajuwon from the Rockets.
This trade shocked the league and sent all of Miami into a frenzy. They finally had another superstar, one who could rival Ah Gan.
As the mastermind behind this trade, Pat Riley breathed a long sigh of relief once the trade was approved. However, his focus was more on another signing: he poached Cliff-Robinson from the Portland Trail Blazers.
This was the final piece of Riley’s revenge plan and the last piece of his Miami basketball empire puzzle.
With everything settled, today he was in the office discussing the new season’s promotional poster selection with the executives.
This was the smallest part of the Heat’s grand plan for the new season, merely an appetizer in the meal personally prepared by Riley.
Riley had been preparing for this day, for this season, for over five years, ever since he left the Lakers in the 1987 season. He had been planning his revenge.
Of course, would his hatred last that long? Would he obsess over revenge day and night? Not quite.
Ah Gan and the Trail Blazers only defeated Riley and the Lakers, not annihilated Riley’s whole family.
So apart from causing trouble for the Trail Blazers in 1988 and poaching Drexler, after that, Riley focused more on management rather than revenge.
If, since 1988, the Trail Blazers hadn’t achieved success and failed to win a championship, and the league was dominated by the Pistons, Bulls, or other teams, that intense hatred from the 1987-1988 season would become a mark on his life journey. In many years to come, when recalling this period, it would remind Riley of what happened back then, why he came to Miami, and why his career took a turn.
But that wasn’t the case. From 1988 to 1992, Ah Gan and the Trail Blazers continued their dominance over the league, securing their second three-peat.
So even though Riley had already let go of the so-called concept of "revenge", his goal in building the Heat was still targeting that Northwest giant and his Portland Trail Blazers.
Since that’s the case, why bother letting it go? Better to let the hatred become fiercer, allowing it to fuel his climb to the top.
Riley looked at the two posters and shook his head, saying: "I think this might... be overdone, it’s unnecessary to be so flashy. Keep it simple, just slightly highlight our new members for the new season. Being low-key is always right."
The most important thing Riley learned over these five years is being understated.
He poached so many people from the Portland Trail Blazers, from managers to vice presidents to scouts below, even former championship coach Jack Ramsey was brought on as a commentator.
From their mouths, Riley heard more or less many things about Gan Guoyang, how he trained, how he treated competitions, how he conducted himself and so on.
To a certain extent, Pat Riley could be considered a devoted fan of Gan Guoyang, knowing all sorts of information about him, possibly even better than Ah Gan himself.
With all this information combined, Riley has a deep understanding of Gan Guoyang. Contrary to his fiery and domineering presence on the court, off the court, Gan Guoyang is always calm and understated.
His low-profile nature is not about avoiding the world or intentionally avoiding crowds out of fear of trouble; it’s simply his code of conduct — to conquer everyone with impressive achievements and solid performance on the court.
Rather than shouting, brainwashing the public with various promotional methods, using public opinion to enhance himself, confusing those unworldly crowds, and putting on a false show of strength.
Ah Gan is never silent, but his vocal organ is his fists, not his throat.
In Los Angeles, Riley was an ostentatious guy, but ever since coming to Miami these years, he’s been constantly adjusting himself.
Speak less, do more, let victories and achievements talk, tear off the feeble disguises, and truly strengthen himself and the team.
In the meeting, Riley adjusted the promotional strategy again, selecting a set of more straightforward, non-aggressive promotional posters and slogans for the new season.