Miami Heat team president Pat Riley is among the most respected and powerful men in the NBA. 

Nothing display this more than when he helped longtime Heat assistant David Fizdale land his first top job with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2016. Fizdale recently told the story of how Riley put things in motion. 

"He don't play," Fizdale said on the Byron Scott "Fast break" Podcast. "This is serious business. Fast forward a few months, the Memphis job opens. And for whatever reason, I was like, `I want that. That's the one I like. They got a chance to be good right away. They got vets."'

Fizdale and Riley eventually had a meeting about the job opening. Fizdale was amazed at how quickly Riley gave him a glowing endorsement. 

"I went to Riles," Fizdale said. "I went upstairs, which ain't easy. And I said, `Coach, I need your help. He was like, `what's up?" I said, `I want the Memphis job.' He was like, `Oh, all right.' He picked up his phone right in front of me, called [Grizzlies general manager] Chris Wallace, who used to work in Miami and left to go to Boston with Rick Pitino. He said, `Chris, you're interviewing my guy. He's going to be the best candidate for your job. Get his stuff organized with his agent and he's ready to go whenever. The power is that direct."'

It led to Fizdale, who was one of the league's top assistants at the time, landing his first coaching position. Riley has always lobbied for his best pupils. It's part of the reason the Heat chose Erik Spoelstra as coach in 2008. Spoelstra had been a long time assistant before eventually becoming one of the best coaches in league history. He has won two NBA championships in six trips to the Finals. 

Spoelstra is one of many Heat assistants to go onto solid careers. After serving as an assistant, Juwan Howard became the coach at the University of Michigan. The next potential star is current assistant Chris Quinn, who has already interviewed for a few NBA jobs. 

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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of HeatRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com