Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal said Tuesday that he had nothing to do with the resignation of head coach Stan Van Gundy and the return to the sidelines by executive Pat Riley.

"Stan knows what went on, Pat knows what went on, and I just found out about it yesterday," O'Neal said. " Like I said, coach Van Gundy came in and told us the reason why he going to step down. I had nothing to do with this, I don’t want to get into that, what people say.

"You can’t ask me how coach Van Gundy feels, you’ll have to ask him. I don't want to sit here and make speculation, because you guys already think I was involved. But like I said yesterday, I found out when you all found out.

"I just want to wish coach Van Gundy well with his family. He has a beautiful family and I wish him well."

Meanwhile, back at his old job, Riley huddled with his assistant coaches at midcourt near the end of Tuesday’s shootaround.

Then, he promised, “I’m not going to try to reinvent the wheel.”

But he will try to revive a struggling Miami Heat team that began the season with big ambitions. Riley, the team president, installed himself as coach after Stan Van Gundy resigned Monday. He was to make his first appearance on the sideline Tuesday night against the Chicago Bulls.

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“Anytime a change is made in the middle of the season, you’re going to be shocked, especially with Stan Van Gundy,” guard Dwyane Wade said at the United Center. “I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for him. To step down the way he did, what can you say about that? ... We were shocked, but at the same time, we’ve got a game today.”

The players expressed regret over Van Gundy’s departure and hope they can turn around what so far has been a disappointing season.

“We have a new leader, and we just have to go out and get the job done,” center Shaquille O’Neal said.

Rumors that Van Gundy’s job was in jeopardy started to swirl after Riley promised to take a more active role in the day-to-day operations following the team’s loss to Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals last spring.

FREE VIDEO 'He was the best man for the job' Dec. 12: Pat Riley talks about taking over as Heat head coach for Stan Van Gundy. NBC Sports

Riley shook up the roster in the offseason, acquiring Antoine Walker, Jason Williams and James Posey to replace Eddie Jones, Damon Jones and Rasual Butler.

But the Heat started slowly. They were 11-10 heading into Tuesday’s game, although O’Neal had missed 18 of those games with a sprained right ankle.

Still, the Heat and Van Gundy insisted Monday’s resignation was just that — not a firing. Riley said Monday he tried to persuade Van Gundy to stay. Van Gundy said he wanted to spend more time with his family.

“I’m still caught up in the emotion of it,” Riley said Tuesday. “I’ve always been somebody who likes continuity. I don’t like a lot of change.”

FREE VIDEO 'Literally painful' Dec. 12: Stan Van Gundy insists that family reasons is why he stepped down as Heat coach. NBC Sports

Riley led the “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers to four NBA championships during the 1980s. He brings a 1,110-569 record and .661 winning percentage into Tuesday’s game.

Riley led the Heat to six playoff appearances from 1995 to 2003, but he handed the coaching job to Van Gundy shortly before the 2003-04 season, citing fatigue, after back-to-back losing years.

On Tuesday, he led the Heat through a two-hour shootaround that was long by NBA standards, but not Riley’s. He is known to run practices like boot camp.

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Wade got a taste during his first training camp, at the end of Riley’s first tenure as coach, and he’s looking forward to playing for the man who drafted him.

“I was coached by a great young coach in Stan Van Gundy my first two years,” Wade said. “I’m also looking forward to playing for the legend who drafted me in 2003. ... It’s not a bad transition.”

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