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2010 Free Agency: Building for This Moment
The Miami Heat have quietly been building for this 12:01 July 1st deadline for years. Yes, years. Ever since they won the 2006 title, you could say.
Sure, the Heat fielded a competitive team to try and repeat for 2006-2007 season, but the Bulls had other plans that season, sending the Heat out of the playoffs in the first round. It was clear Miami’s championship runs had finished with that squad. It was, after all, the acquisition of Shaquille O’neal that lead to Miami’s title runs during the mid 2000’s.
Coming off the heals of a successful 2003 campaign that watched a young team built around Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, and a young rookie Dwyane Wade, the Heat pulled the trigger and gambled it all for Shaq. The architect? Pat Riley. In fact, every significant run the Heat franchise has made has been done with Riley’s sleight of hand.
He is why Miami is in the best position to control this off-season with over $45M in salary cap free to spend. The potential of this offseason is also why Riley curiously said that coaching was not something he would rule out – much to Erik Spoelstra’s surprise. Riley also is the reason why Miami is a legit destination for Lebron James; some even go so far as to put Chris Bosh in Miami despite the impossibility of a sign-and-trade.
This is not something that happens without foresight. Pat Riley has had to shrewdly keep in mind this offseason when acquiring players. Take James Jones’ contract. He had an option for over $4.5M – but it was a team option. Riley had to final say on whether or not to extend James’ contract and since they needed the extra cap space, the answer was “no, thanks”.
Daequan Cook is a solid, promising shooter off the bench. His contract, however, got in the way. Riley shipped him off undervalued, to be sure, along with the 18th pick to get out of the first round for the 32nd pick. Clearly no one would make that deal – unless you are Pat Riley and you have a plan.
Now, the plan is a tough one, but one that Riley has been looking forward to for years. He has to re-sign Wade, and to do that he has to convince him Miami is the place to be. Which means, Riley has to make a splash right away – either a sign and trade for Chris Bosh or a straight up signing of either Carlos Boozer or Amare Stoudemire. Toronto has scoffed at the idea of getting Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, and Joel Anthony in return for Bosh, but they are open to getting a trade exception (about $16M!) and their first round pick back (which was dealt as part of the Jermaine O’neal deal) so don’t rule them out.
Then, after all of that, King James awaits. Perhaps he stays in Cleveland and nothing happens. But most likely, he is waiting to see how things will shake out. If the Heat can keep Wade, land a marquee power forward, then Riley has everything in place to pull off yet another major acquisition: his biggest yet. Alonzo? Shaq? Drafting Wade? Signing Lebron James just may trump all of those considering all the competition out there – but it wouldn’t have been done without a solid plan and vision in place running on years of creation.
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Rumor Mill: Bosh to Heat a Done Deal?
So this is what the Heat get for that Juwan Howard fiasco – a karmic payback in the sign and trade of Chris Bosh. Latest reports swirling around the internet is that the Heat are shipping Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley, and Joel Anthony (a Canadian) to the Raptors for Chris Bosh.
Call me crazy, but I’m not buying it.
Remember back in the offseason of ‘96 when Juwan Howard became the first player to sign a $100M contract? It was on TV and everything. There was Juwan Howard, holding a Heat jersey and all smiles. Then, the NBA rejected the contract, stated that the Heat miscalculated how much money they had to spend against the cap and poof! Howard was back in Washington where he claimed he “always wanted to be”. The Heat were going to pursue litigation but then dropped the charges (boy, there is a story there, huh?).
One of the things about these rumors is that they cannot be validated. Why? Tampering. No player or official can comment on free agency or trades because, well, the NBA has mandated that nothing is allowed until after the July 1st moratorium deadline. So, 12 hours from now – wait and see what hits the blogosphere.
But if any team wants to get the inside track on Lebron, getting Chris Bosh would garner his attention. The Heat need to keep Dwyane Wade and getting Chris Bosh would be a nice way to start the offseason. With Bosh in house, the Heat could lock down Wade and then turn their attention to getting Lebron James. I still think Lebron is going to be one of the last ones to sign – he is going to wait this out and see how things shake out. Getting Bosh may give a franchise the significant leg up it needs to land the King.
We’ll try and sort things out on our twitter feed: Miamiheatwave@twitter
James Jones Bought Out
The Sun-Sentinel is reporting that James Jones’ contract has been bought out. This means the Heat will not have to have his $4.65M on the books, but instead it will only count as $1.5M against the Heat’s payroll freeing up still even more buying power for the Heat.
The max contract that can be offered for free agents is $16.6M. Currently, the Heat only have Michael Beasley ($4.9M) and Mario Chalmers ($847K) on the books. They had a payroll of about $72M last season, which leaves basically $66M free to field a team.
Heat Kick Off 2009-2010 Season Tonight
The boys are back! Finally, after a long summer waiting to see what the Heat would do to build upon their momentum of getting back into the playoffs this past season, we get to see what the big plan is. Or was there one?
It seemed that Riley is staunchly fixed on waiting for this offseason to re-sign Dwyane Wade and add someone else to the mix. This has forced the Heat to be very crafty in regards to its financial picture, which the Heat have been able to do. They have tons of money coming off the books as only Michael Beasley and Daequan Cook are guaranteed to be on the books after this season.
So it’s audition time for this team – and the entire franchise is trying to show Wade that this is his current and future home. What to expect?
First of all, who’s in and who’s out. In: Carlos Arroyo, Quentin Richardson and Shavlik Randolph. Out: Mark Blount, and Jamario Moon. The Heat finished 43-39 last season, and lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs.
What about who’s playing when and where? Expect to see the shift is on as Michael Beasley is going to start at PF while fan favorite Udonis Haslem shifts to the bench. Also, it has been rumored that Q-Rich has jostled his way into the starting lineup at SF, where Beasley was playing last season. Rounding things out will be Jermaine O’neal at C, Mario Chalmers at PG and Dwyane Wade, as always, at SG.
The bench looks intriguing. Questions abound over the role that Carlos Arroyo, Daequan Cook and even Dorell Wright will play. What kind of minutes will they get? When Chris Quinn returns, what is the point guard situation going to look like? Haslem will try his hand at coming off the bench, but it will only be successful if Beasley can show that he can rebound and defend better. Beasley, coming off a tumultous offseason, has seemingly gotten things on track in his personal life and is looking to take the next step in his professional career. Again, the growth potential of this young team is what will be assessed, and the result will be how far they can reach into the playoffs.
This is an audition of sorts. Dwyane Wade wants to be in Miami but only if it is in his best interests – he wants to win, not just make money. If this team can show growth, perhaps get into the 2nd round or deeper, then Wade should be a lock to stay. Who will remain with him, however, will remain to be seen.
Expectations: This team has enough youth to create a higher ceiling. Cook, Beasley, Chalmers – all can take drastic steps forward. The bench is stronger as there are more options to play with – let’s not forget James Jones’ ability to contribute to this team. There doesn’t, however, feel like there is too much of a difference between last year and this year so it is reasonable to expect a 40+ win season and a berth to the playoffs. The difference might be once the Heat reach the playoffs – I’m expecting at least a 2nd round appearance. Can Wade play another MVP-like season? We’ll soon find out.
From Quinn’s Foot to God’s Ears: Arroyo Arrival Good for Heat, Chalmers
Look, Super Mario can down play this all he wants, but the fact of the matter is competition leads to greatness. Either you get off it and get out there and prove yourself or you wilt and everyone forgets you. For Mario Chalmers, this shouldn’t bother him – if he has the chops. If not, we’ll know real soon what the true intentions were behind signing Carlos Arroyo, a practical Miami native.
The kid from Puerto Rico grew up down here and played at FIU – which now sports Isiah Thomas as their head coach these days. He is competitive and physical – something the Heat could use as they look to get back to the playoffs and improve this season.
The question is, would any of this occurred had not Chris Quinn sustained a sprained right foot? You bet. At least, I would hope so. Arroyo became eligible for free agency on Monday and the rumor has long been the Heat would give him a look. What’s not to like about his game? On a team like the Heat, in a reserve role, Arroyo will shine. The question is, will it affect Chalmer’s playing time.
Either way you look at it, you have to be happy about the Heat improving its roster this offseason and sticking to the plan that Riley has set in place – keep the finances free for this offseason to try and retain Dwyane Wade and add another free agent while also staying competitive. Riley made it look easy, trading for Quentin Richardson and now adding Arroyo to the mix. I’s also like to add that Shavlik Randolph is an intriguing prospect who had a pretty tantalizing game coming out of Duke a few years back. Who knows what he adds.
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