Riley Takes His ‘Showtime’ to NBC : Pro basketball: Network hires former Lakers coach as host of pregame segment on NBA telecasts.

Pat Riley, who last week announced he was resigning as coach of the Lakers, today was hired by NBC Sports.

Riley will serve as the host of the network’s pregame shows when it begins covering the NBA next season.

After a New York press conference, Riley said for the first time that he decided to leave the Lakers in February.

He said that’s when he and Lakers owner Jerry Buss first had discussions about him resigning.

“We then decided to table those discussions until after the season,” Riley said.

Riley again reiterated that the decision to leave the Lakers was his. “You can either believe me or not believe me, but it’s the truth,” he said.

The NBC hiring was expected, but his role as the pregame host is somewhat of a surprise. Recent speculation about Riley and NBC centered around his becoming a game commentator.

Riley’s contract is for four years, the same length as NBC’s contract with the NBA.

A source said his NBC salary will be approximately the same as his base salary with the Lakers, believed to be less than $500,000 a year.

Dick Ebersol, the president of NBC Sports, said the network’s NBA game commentators will be announced later.

One possibility is Chuck Daly, coach of the NBA champion Detroit Pistons. Ebersol said an offer has been made.

“Chuck will be visiting the White House with the Pistons tomorrow,” Ebersol said. “We wanted to wait until he was done with all obligations with the Pistons before we asked him for a decision.”

NBC has openings for two commentators. One would work with Marv Albert, the other with Bob Costas.

Riley, asked why he will be doing studio work instead of game analysis, touched his hair and quipped, “By working in the studio, I won’t mess up this hairdo.”

Later, he said discussions with Ebersol and Terry O’Neil, the network’s executive producer, led him in that direction.

Riley will appear on NBC’s “Late Night With David Letterman” tonight and then leave for a Mediterranean cruise.

He will then attend the Wimbledon tennis championships in England as a guest of NBC.

His first NBC assignment will be the McDonald’s Open Oct. 13 in Barcelona, Spain. The four-team tournament involves NBA and European players.

Riley’s first regular-season assignment for NBC will be Nov. 3.