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Miami Heat May Not Be Desperate for Point Guard
The Heat supposedly have a huge hole at point guard. I am not buying it for one reason – Dwyane Wade.
A lot of pundits and fans out there point to the success of NBA teams with a stellar point guard. Look at Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Tony Parker they say. I point to Jason Kidd and then I ask, who was the starting point guard for the Lakers and Celtics, the two finalists in the NBA this season?
More importantly, who is going to have the ball in his hands in the clutch, Dwyane Wade or any point guard you think the Heat can acquire? Rose? Ridnour? Hinrich? Chalmers, Banks, or Quinn?
So, let’s stop with the idea that point guard is a huge hole for the Heat. The only thing the Heat really need out of their point guard is someone who can set up the offense and immediately run around and find a spot on the floor to hit open shots. The basically need a Damon Jones that can play defense. This is another reason why I love the acquisition of Mario Chalmers, a championship experienced point guard that has athleticism, a long wing span, and can nail open shots.
Let say the Heat do get itchy for a point guard. There are several options out there:
- Kirk Hinrich
- Luke Ridnour
- Jamal Tinsley/Jarret Jack
- OJ Mayo?
Hinrich is available. The Bulls drafted Rose so Hinrich is very much expendable. This guy I would actually want to see the Heat trade for because he could start and give the Heat that shooting touch from outside and could play off the ball to complement Wade. He is also a feisty defender. The only problem would be his contract which looks like:
| 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 | 2011-2012 |
| $10M | $9.5M | $9.0M | $8.0M |
So, if Riley wanted Hinrich, he would have to want to keep him around for those years as he has said he wants to maintain financial flexibility. The picture has changed dramatically since dealing away Shaq, but this would be a pretty good backcourt tandem of Wade and Hinrich. It looks pretty clear though that Hinrich will end up in Denver.
Ridnour is stuck in Seattle and wants out. He was a pretty good developing young point guard a few years back, but has gotten stuck on the bench and isn’t being freed from it. With Earl Watson in camp and now Russell Westbrook, the 4th pick overall, it looks even less desirable for Ridnour. He definitely fits the mold that the Heat need – a point guard that can set up the offense and find his shot off the ball. He also plays solid defense and can pick pockets. He could be the starter, but who knows how long he would hold that spot with Chalmers and Banks around. He makes $6.5M in each of the next two seasons, so he does offer that long term financial flexibility with that short term answer Riley may be looking for.
What about Indiana’s point guard glut? They traded for TJ Ford and when you saw they drafted Jarryd Bayless, you knew they were going to trade. Of course, I was hoping Riley would swoop in and trade for Bayless, who was an extremely valuable pick at the 11 spot. But what about Jamal Tinsley and now Jarret Jack? Tinsley would be a great fit, and is making some money over the next three years:
| 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 |
| $6.75M | $7.2M | $7.5M |
Perhaps a straight up trade of Udonis Haslem would work, as they make virtually the same money. Tinsley does have health concerns, however.
Then there is Jarret Jack, the former Georgia Tech star that the Heat had been interested in when he came out for the draft a few years ago. Only making $2M and $2.8M (qualifying offer), Jack would offer the Heat a starting point guard with financial flexibility. The question remains, who would the Heat trade in order to acquire Jack?
Finally there is still hope that OJ Mayo will try and force some kind of deal out of Memphis. He wants to play in a big market and would love to play with Dwyane Wade – and Riley wouldn’t mind having Mayo around for when Wade tries to test the market in a few seasons. If there is a deal to be made with Memphis, the Heat need to seek it out as Mayo would be an intriguing fit in Miami, admittedly not fitting into the shooting/defense mold the Heat would be best acquiring for their point guard needs.
Free Agent Market Could Help Heat
There are several needs the Heat would like to shore up: they are in need of a starting point guard and an answer at center.
Instead of looking to trade scenarios, let’s focus on free agents that are out there and could help the Heat. To fit into our brief study here, they must be unrestricted and fit into a need. Here is a quick look at some of the names that could be added to the Heat’s roster this summer.
| Pos. | Name/Team |
Evaluation |
| PG | Carlos Arroyo Orlando Magic |
Arroyo knows Miami, starring at FIU. He is a point guard that can shoot, play off the ball, and run the offense. His defense is questionable, but he could easily come in and be a starting caliber PG for the Heat. He could make the offense much more efficient. Unrestricted FA. |
| PG | Beno Udrih Sacramento Kings |
Probably will be out of the Heat’s price range but could definitely help the Heat. Another concern is that Riley is not looking to handcuff the financial flexibility his team is currently moving towards in anticipation of the big FA summer of 2010. So, Udrih is probably looking for a longer deal and that rules out Miami. |
| PG | Damon Stoudamire San Antonio Spurs |
The old vet is looking for one last contract, and might be had for the veteran minimum in the right situation. In Miami, most likely would come off the bench but probably not going to be an upgrade over Marcus Banks or Mario Chalmer. Could be a bench option if Jason Williams doesn’t come back. |
| PF/C | Kwame Brown Memphis Grizzlies |
I know what you’re thinking – he’s a bust. I don’t buy it. He was the #1 draft pick for a reason, he has great athleticism and size. Will he be an offensive presence in the post? Not likely. But he can rebound and block shots, and he could work on getting more of a nose for the ball. Brought into Miami with a fresh start, who knows. The Heat are notorious for their player development and team culture. And he could be had for nothing. |
| PF/C | Stromile Swift NJ Nets |
This guy has always had the raw athleticism to play the center postion, block shots and grab rebounds. In an uptempo offense, he could run and get cheap baskets but could also man the center and help redirect traffic. Has a player option. |
| C | Primoz Brezec Toronto Raptors |
Slow footed and couldn’t seem to help any team he went to last year. Still, solid center that could provide a presence down low and can extend his defenders by shooting outside. Then again, Heat already have Mark Blount which is a better option offensively and defensively. |
So there are 6 possible free agent options that are available for point guards and centers. The other possibility could be to see the Heat sign a swingman, like Golden State’s Mickael Pietrus, and then make a trade. Of course, the Heat could also sign their own free agents as Alonzo Mourning has yet to make his final decision about playing this season.
Heat Trade Darnell Jackson
Looks like his career as a member of the Heat was all too brief. The Heat selected forward Darnell Jackson from Kansas with the 52nd pick and decided to trade him to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 2009 second round pick (The Cavs have two and the Heat will receive the lesser of the two picks).
This deal makes sense for a couple of reasons – the Heat have several forwards on the roster (Haslem, Marion, Wright, Beasley, Barron, Lasme and Powell) and Jackson offers a similar skill set to what is there. Also, to get Mario Chalmers the Heat had to trade away 2 future 2nd round picks – this gets one of them back.
Second Round Shuffle
Let’s make sense of this. For the 2009 draft, Miami has three second round picks: their own owed to them plus one from Indiana (for Stanko Barac) and one from Philadelphia (for the Daequan Cook deal). When the Heat acquired the draft rights to Mario Chalmers, they traded two of those picks plus cash (up to $3M according to NBA rules) to get the Jayhawk point guard.
Now, in trading Jackson, the Heat acquired another 2nd round pick for 2009 (the Cavaliers have two themselves, one from the Bulls as well as their own pick) bringing their total up to 4. Again, two of those picks are being used in the Chalmers deal, so Miami – at this point – has one first round pick and two second round picks for the 2009 NBA draft.
Who are Mario Chalmers and Darnell Jackson?
Drafted 34th and 52nd overall, respectively, both members of the national champion Jayhawks will be heading to Miami to start their professional careers. And they do have chemistry and history:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAIZ5cYkYv4
But who are they?
Darnell Jackson
Let’s start with Jackson. Looking over his college stats, there doesn’t seem to be any numbers that jump out at you. But you can start analyzing the senior where his stats start to shine – his last season. Jackson saw his minutes increase from 15.4 to 24.3. He also saw his scoring increase from 5.5 to 11.2 – that is pretty significant. More importantly, his FGA went up (3.4 to 6.8) but even more impressive was he became even more efficient. Jackson shot 62.6% from the field – increasing from the 55% of the previous season!
Jackson is an athletic, strong finisher. His shot, however, needs more work. His release mechanics tended to be inconsistent and his shot usually came from his chin area. It seems he has improved his mid-range game and even showed range out to the college three point line at times. In the Heat’s system, he will have to learn to get comfortable coming off of screens and nailing the mid-range jumper, which Udonis Haslem now does with great efficiency.
Jackson has the raw skills to be a solid contributor off the bench. It seems he can play PF as well as SF but will most likely earn his bread at PF in the NBA. With Spoelstra on board, expect the Heat to work extensively on refining his shot mechanics. Maybe will have more of an impact than Alexander Johnson.
UPDATE: Heat traded Jackson to the Cavaliers.
Mario Chalmers
Now let’s look at Mario Chalmers. The Heat need a point guard that essentially can handle the ball when needed, set up the offense, stick open shots and defend. Most of the time, the priority is going to fall to Dwyane Wade, and the point guard for the Heat is going to have to learn to defer and play off the ball. Chalmers can do just that and do it well.
Let’s start with his defensive presence. At 6′1″ 190, Chalmers is not going to be a dense force on the court. Yet, he has a reach of 7′10″ and a wingspan of 6′6″. Those two factors give him the ability to defend larger players, which he will be doing. He also has quick hands and feet, generating 2.6 steals a game for his college career. His ability to stay in front of his man is key, as this will be one area the Heat are looking to shore up in regards to their defense. Chalmers offers the Heat a PG that can defend and create turnovers.
Offensively, Chalmers is pretty efficient. He dropped his AST to TO ratio in his final season down to 4.3 to 1.9. He also has shown an ability to shoot the ball very well from anywhere on the floor, shooting 51.6 from the field on 8.2 attempts per game (14.1% of the team’s total FGA/g) and 46.8 from three point range.
The most famous of which tied the game and sent it into overtime, extending the Jayhawk’s comeback and essentially helping them win it all.
Yet, Chalmer’s weaknesses could actually be easily overlooked with the Heat. He is not a strong finisher and has average athleticism and average handles. He does not have much of a mid-range game either. Yet, with Dwyane Wade, Chalmers is going to be asked to defer, set up the offense and look to find his spot on the floor to shoot from. Basically, think of a much more athletic Damon Jones, with the ability defend a lot better and could actually defend taller players. Seems almost like a perfect match to play with Wade or even with Daequan Cook, who can shoot lights out himself.
All in all, the Heat acquired two strong pieces to help round out the roster for the 2008-2009 season.
Heat Land Beasley
“We love Michael. He’s an incredible athlete. He’s a great scorer. I don’t even want to get into talking with you about the numbers we’ve analyzed. They’re really off the charts.”
Pat Riley, we are glad you made it easy for Heat fans today – even if it required an assist from Randy Pfund and the rest of the Heat’s scouting department.
Sure there was talk about OJ Mayo and Jerryd Bayless, but you had to think it was just Riley being Riley. As the team president, he had a duty to make sure all tires where kicked and everything was checked out under the hood. The Heat made the right choice – drafting the most talented player in the entire draft #2. In some ways, I feel like the Heat got a steal because Beasley, by all rights, should have been drafted #1 overall.
Realistically, the Heat were locked in with picking Beasley. Erik Spoelstra, the Heat’s new caretaker, characterized the talk about not taking Beasley as a non-issue. “In the last couple days, we felt very comfortable that if he was available we were very excited to take the pick,” Spoelstra said.
Where there other deals on the table? You bet, but Riley has maintained all along it had to be something that blew him away. “They were good players,” Riley said in regards to the possible trade scenarios. “But I think this kid’s going to be a great player.”
And is Beasley here for the long haul? Sure seems that way – both Beasley and his entourage say he is excited to be living in Miami. The Heat also say the same thing about keeping Beasley, “Michael is definitely picked to play for the Heat,” Spoelstra said.
What can we expect from Beasley, the Little Apple transplant who spent one year at Kansas State who is now becoming a resident of South Beach? Frank Martin, Beasley’s lone college coach and a Miami native and FIU graduate, said “It’s a franchise since Pat Riley’s been there that’s been a regular in the playoffs and won a championship just a few short years ago. They are all about working and competing and that’s what Mike’s about. I think it’s a perfect marriage.”
Now Beasley can stop answering questions about his immaturity – he is only 19 for God’s sake! – and focus on playing basketball.
It will be interesting to see how he comes into camp. Right away, he is going to come in with a pair of players that were rivals of his in college – the two Kansas Jayhawks Darnell Jackson and Mario Chalmers. One thing is for sure, there is mutual admiration for everyone involved. “My hard work finally paid off, and I won’t stop working. I’m going to continue to work and try to ride this thing out,” Beasley said.
And he’ll do it in a Heat jersey. Alongside Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion. Not a bad first gig coming out of college.
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