With Miami’s 9-44 record, there could be one interesting side effect – an early start on scouting for the draft.
Tonight, ESPN will be showing the Texas/Kansas State game at 8pm. Why is this important for Heat fans? Because it will feature one of the highest rated college players in the country, Michael Beasley.
Beasley is putting up excellent numbers for Bob Higgins at K-State. The 6’9″235lb freshman is turning heads with his game which offers quite a diverse set of skills ranging from drop steps to jump hooks to fadeaways. His range is quite good, hitting routinely from 25″ and in. He might be a bit raw, but his game looks very advanced and mature for his age. His skill levels, on both ends of the floor, project to off the charts.
So, with the Heat’s abysmal record, and Riley’s stubborn coaching (almost on purpose?), the possibility of landing a talent like Beasley is becoming more and more a reality. So take heart, with each loss comes another ping pong ball. Let’s hope it doesn’t end up like Boston for us – in terms of the draft luck (but maybe in terms of landing a KG type?).
Yet with each loss, the Heat’s scouting department is getting more and more entrenched on their objective – to find a young player that can help turn the Heat franchise around and support Wade’s game. This draft will show the Heat to be overly prepared; and they will have their work cut out for them because teams like Portland seem to own the draft.
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Riley Almost Pulled off a Big Deal
This is coming from the Horshoes and Handgrenades file. Because almost doesn’t count.
Maybe it is his defense facing criticism, which is well-deserved, over failing to pull off a trade with expiring assets at the trade deadline. Nevertheless, Riley mentioned what sounds like a very good trade that should illustrate two things – both good and bad – about the Heat.
Don’t even get me started on the financial deadend they are at thanks to the NBA salary structure.
Riley almost pulled off a trade for Mike Miller with the Memphis Grizzlies. It was even rumored that Kyle Lowry was going to be included in that deal or even Brian Cardinal. So was Jason Collins. In the end, Riley said the Heat would have been taking on too much salary to make that deal happen, which to me seems almost redundant because you would be acquiring players that could give you a stable core for the future. You could always find a way to jettison the bad contracts later.
With Jason Williams and Ricky Davis, you have expiring assets. Their value is now practically zero because they do not produce very well on the court and their value was tied to their expiring contracts. And if Riley thinks he can pull off a sign and trade with those players this offseason, all one has to do is point back to this past offseason where Riley failed to do that with either James Posey and Jason Kapono, two players the Heat desperately miss. Which means, they actually had perceived value while Jason Williams and Ricky Davis do not.
So, Riley saying he couldn’t get the Grizzlies to reveal their dream deal really sounds like he wasn’t getting his dream deal. Perhaps Riley protest too much. But if he had pulled off a deal for Mike Miller and even Kyle Lowry, it would have set up the Heat to get back into the playoffs for next season.
It also illustrates just how far away Miami is from getting back to the postseason.