Shane Battier, former defensive specialist, two time champion and former member of the Miami Heat has been hired today by the franchise. It is reported that Battier will be hired as the Director of Basketball Development & Analytics. Miami Heat President Pat Riley released the following statement in regards to the hire.
“We believe Shane is an incredible example of our HEAT program, not only for the present, but also for the future,” said Riley. “He embodies everything that we are looking for in our players and staff. We feel he will help us tremendously with his experience and knowledge of the game. Shane is an out-of-the-box thinker and will bring a fresh expertise that can help us evolve as a franchise.” via NBA.com
The role that Battier will have in his new position will be to help develop the analytics used when evaluating all talent. This will include the players that are on the team, college prospects, and free agents.
“I look forward to working with the Arison family, learning from a Hall of Fame executive in Pat Riley, General Manager Andy Elisburg and of course my old coach, Erik Spoelstra. My goal, as is the entire organizations, is to bring another championship back to Miami.” via NBA.com
The Duke University graduate and 13 year veteran was beloved by the franchise and its fan base for his attitude and play both on and off the court. He was regarded as one of the “good guys” in the league. That is evident by him winning the Magic Johnson award in 2013 that is given to players for excellence on the court with cooperation with both media and fans, and in 2014 winning the Twyman-Stokes NBA teammate of the year award.
He played three seasons with the HEAT, and was a pivotal part of their back-to-back title runs.
