Let’s see, Miami drafted their franchise-changing player, Dwyane Wade, in 2003, won a title in 2006, traded away their aging, overpaid center for a talented forward that’s in his prime, and now they have the #2 pick in the draft with a chance at another franchise-changing player?
I guess the lesson here is that if you’re going to tank… tank hard.
I’m not saying that the Heat planned all of this. They certainly went into the season hoping to eventually make a run in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, but a poor start and a series of nagging injuries to Wade forced the Heat’s hand. They found a desperate trade partner in the Suns and rid themselves of the overpaid and under motivated Shaquille O’Neal, landing an All-Star caliber forward (Shawn Marion) in the return. Now their consolation prize will likely be either Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley, whomever the Bulls don’t take. How convenient is it that either player should fit nicely alongside Wade and Marion?
Suddenly, the Heat’s short-term prospects are looking pretty good. Who would have said that six months ago?
The Heat have only five players signed past next season: Wade, Mark Blount, Udonis Haslem, Marcus Banks and Daequan Cook, assuming they exercise their option on his rookie contract. Haslem’s contract is very reasonable for what he brings to the table. Banks, who quickly fell out of favor in Phoenix, actually played pretty well for the Heat, averaging 9.5 points and 3.0 assists, while shooting 51.2% from the field and 40.5% from long range. If the team ends up with Beasley, it’s conceivable that a Banks/Wade backcourt could work. If the team drafts Rose, Banks could make a good backup.
The conventional wisdom is that Marion will likely exercise his player option, as he’s not going to be able to get that kind of money ($17.2 million) in the open market. This will allow the Heat to see if the Wade/Marion/rookie-to-be-named-later combo has potential. If it’s a disaster, they may be able to move Marion for a disgruntled or out of favor star before the trade deadline. If it looks like it’s going to work, then they can work out a more reasonable deal for Marion’s services.
Given the type of season they had (and the fact that they had Shaq’s albatross-like contract hanging over their heads for a few more seasons), the Heat are sitting pretty right now. They just simply have to sit back, draft whoever is there at #2, and maybe try to find a defensive-minded big man to man the middle for the mid-level.
