All of a sudden, the Lamar Odom thing has teeth. The Heat have always wanted to get him back, but remember they had to make that deal to get Shaquille O’neal in the first place. The trade, which netted Shaq for the Heat, also made them an instant NBA force landing their first ever championship in 2006.
There is another player the Heat have long coveted – and the feeling has been mutual for some time now – Carlos Boozer. Boozer has a place in Miami and has personally mentioned to friends and others willing to listen that he wants to play in Miami. He participated in the Zo’s Summer Groove golf tournament and was slated to play in the celebrity game as well.
So the fact is, Pat Riley wants to net both players for his Heat and the speculation does have teeth.
How would such a scenario work? Here we go.
The Lamar Odom thing we broke is real. Right now, the Heat have made an offer and Odom is taking this weekend to ponder it. Just check out ESPN’s take on this. Apparently, there were two offers on the table for Odom from the Lakers – a 3 year deal worth $10M per season, and a 4 year deal worth $36M. One of the concerns fo the Odom camp is that they want a deal extending beyond 3 years. With Florida’s lack of income tax, and the mid level exception available to the Heat, they could favorably match a package that the Lakers are currently offering – about $34M for a 5 year deal.
In fact, the Heat have enlisted some recruiting help from Dwyane Wade. He publicly stated that he wanted Odom “back home”. And according to his latest tweets, Wade is in LA (leaving today at 5am for Ohio, to be at Chris Quinn’s wedding).
Carlos Boozer is looking like he will be traded. With the Jazz matching Millsap’s offer, this seems iminent. Pat Riley, speaking to season ticket holders, stated that he is keeping a close eye on Boozer’s status. Again, not mere speculation, but this has teeth. How would it work? The Jazz would be looking for expiring contracts to shed Boozer’s contract and be in a place next season to add a big named free agent – the same thing the Heat are looking to do. This would mean a scenario something like Udonis Haslem, Dorrell Wright, and a third small contract to the Jazz to make the numbers work.
What would this mean? The Heat would instantly have to be respected as a threat in the Eastern Conference. Wade would be inclined to stick around and there is still the possibility that the Heat could add AI just for good measure. You could still keep Michael Beasley and let him develop in the background and bring him off the bench with Odom taking over full time at SF.
To pull off both deals is a long shot, and the Heat would have to convince the Jazz they want to make a deal for Haslem – which would break hearts in Miami as Haslem is a local kid and fan favorite. But at the cost of making this team a contender it would be well worth it.
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One thing to remember, which I forgot to add to the article, is that if the Heat successfully traded for Boozer, the Heat would retain his “Bird’s Rights” and be able to re-sign him in 2010 without using salary cap space. That is a huge incentive.
i think they need A.I for some more scoring ability behind Dwyane and to be a threat in the East. Conf. Coach Spo really needs to let Beasley start or give him 30+ mins a game. if he got the playing time and mins..he could easily average 20+ points.
1-Iverson
2-Wade
3-Odom/Beasley
4-Boozer
5-O’Neal
I think you’re right. If the Heat could find a way to add both Boozer and Odom, that would put Beasley on the bench which would be great as it would let him develop a bit more. Not to mention, we get legit starters at both PF and SF that will help Wade out.