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A Rematch Five Years in the Making – Some Archived Discussions

May 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Five years ago, the Miami Heat won their first title by beating the Dallas Mavericks. No one will ever forget the way it went down, how the Heat won 4 straight after losing the first two games in Dallas. Nor the way that Mark Cuban pouted to the refs with a tantrum after the result of Game 3. Or how Dirk Nowitski tried to kick the ball into the stands. Or, of course, how Heat fans taunted Dirk with the David Hassellhoff chant.

But here are some other memorable discussions we have on the MiamiHeatwave forum, also know (back then) as the MiamiHeatzone:

Are the Pistons done? Is Wade the next MJ?

Wade vs. Lebron argument

An Ironic Finish to Eastern Conference Finals

Anypoint’s NBA Finals Matchup Analysis – 2006

Is this the Heat’s only chance for a championship?

Haslem faces tough challenge in NBA Finals

Wade trapped by Mavs revolving door

Game #1 What We’ve Learned (2006 Finals)

Game #2 (2006 Finals)

Keys to winning Game 3 (2006 Finals)

Miraculous Game 3 (2006 Finals)

Game #4 (2006 Finals)

Mark Cuban complaining (Dirk “Hassellhoff” masks)

Game #5 (2006 Finals)

Mavs are Handling This Wrong (prior to Game 6)

And here are the actual gameday threads from the Finals back in 2006:

Game 1 Heat @ Mavs 2006 NBA Finals

Game 2 Heat @ Mavs 2006 NBA Finals

Game 3 Mavs @ Heat 2006 NBA Finals

Game 4 Mavs @ Heat 2006 NBA Finals

Game 5 Mavs @ Heat 2006 NBA Finals

Game 6 Heat @ Mavs 2006 NBA Finals

Filed Under: Featured, Heat History, Heat Index Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

2010 Free Agency: Building for This Moment

June 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

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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Filed Under: Commentary, Offseason Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Miami Vice: Heat Could Be Adding Lamar Odom and Carlos Boozer

July 18, 2009 By 3 Comments

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_boozer12Carlos 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.

Filed Under: Offseason, Rumors Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Does the Heat Need Allen Iverson?

July 9, 2009 By 4 Comments

Should the Heat sign Allen Iverson?

  • Yes - would help the team and make Wade happy (94%, 350 Votes)
  • No - would not help the team (6%, 24 Votes)

Total Voters: 374

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Picture this – it’s 2010 and the Heat are coming off a season in which they repeated their entrance to the playoffs, but failed to get out of the 2nd round. Wade, somewhat frustrated by the team not getting better around him, gets an offer from a team in contention. Wade takes the money, and the chance for a title, and leaves.

You can see the tumbleweed rolling through downtown Miami.

If Wade leaves, most fear, so will the Heat’s legitimate chances at another title. Right now, Pat Riley is trying to get Wade to commit to a deal before the 2010 free agent offseason from Hell, so that he can avoid that scenario. Riley knows great players, and he knows how hard it is to get them on his team. But he also knows great players and how to take care of them.

That is what is so intriguing about the Allen Iverson situation right now. He’s a free agent and he’s readily available. He seems hungry and wants to play – how much, at 34, is not known. But he doesn’t seem satisfied with a tarnished reputation that watched him leave Denver to land in Detroit and be squeezed out with little noise of support. Then there is this possible scenario of Wade leaving Miami after next season – that is, if he isn’t satisfied with the direction of the Heat. Right now, Dwyane Wade is a little antsy about the quiet offseason the Heat are having, and considering that every major Eastern Conference powerhouse has made upgrades (Shaq to Cleveland, Vince Carter to Orlando, Rasheed Wallace to Boston) there is little to hang one’s hat on. So, why not bring in Allen Iverson?

“With AI, you look at a guy who is one of the best to ever put on an NBA jersey,” Wade said. “A guy who can still score in the right offense, in the right flow. So you can never turn your nose up at a guy like Allen Iverson.”

You can never turn your nose up? Is that to suggest that Riley is turning his nose up at AI? Understandably so – he’s a volume scorer that relies on lots of shots to get his numbers. He is an undersized 2 guard with questionable point guard skills. On paper, or in one’s mind, it doesn’t feel like a great partnership for Wade’s game. Then again, if it would make Wade happy, perhaps it would be an incentive for him to re-sign.

If the experiment fails, however, you are left with AI on possibly a two year contract and with Wade saying, “see ya”. Then what? Riley has worked around tougher contracts before – see Antoine Walker, Shaquille O’neal.

The real risk is, if Wade really wants AI in town, do you want to stand pat and do nothing? Adding Iverson would give the Heat another guard that can score and get into the painted area. Iverson may have had a down year last year, but in Miami he would be hungry and playing with Dwyane Wade who can make things much easier for him. Let’s face it, Detroit was not as good as advertised and no one in the league as a talent like Wade at that position. Things could change very quickly for Iverson – he could revert back to his MVP-status. The only question really is, could he accept coming off the bench if Erik Spoelstra told him to?

It is an interesting situation because Miami wants to keep Wade, but they have to make this season as smooth and fun for Wade as they possibly can. They have to be able to contend and compete, and Wade can’t feel like it is all on him. Instead, the Heat have to have a cast in place that will help prop Wade up and allow him to shine when they do get into the spotlight of the playoffs. Allen Iverson may be able to help do just that – and possibly, may intrigue Wade enough to stick around.

Discuss with us.

Filed Under: Offseason Tagged With: , , , , ,

Heat Draft Picks Look to Catch On

July 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The Miami Heat had very little potential impact in this year’s NBA draft – mostly because they had a successful season in getting back to the playoffs. Last year, the Heat finished with only 15 wins and the #2 pick overall – which turned out to be Michael Beasley. In Beasley’s first year, he showed an advanced repertoire of offensive moves and a knack for scoring, but his defense and inexperience kept him on the bench for stretches. He will look to take the next step this offseason through training camp and coming back as a 2nd year NBA veteran.

The Heat, however, still have lots of needs to address and they focused on several spots with this draft.  For starters, they had the 43rd pick (to complete the trade with Indiana from last year) and the 60th pick (from Cleveland). There isn’t a whole lot to do with those picks except reach for projects – and that is precisely what team president Pat Riley did with those spots. After all, they traded for Mario Chalmers who was the 34th pick in last year’s draft from the Timberwolves.

The Heat drafted Marcus Thornton with the 43rd pick, from LSU then quickly dealt the rights to Thornton to the New Orleans Hornets for future considerations, i.e. 2nd round draft picks for 2010 and 2012. The Heat then traded for combo guard, Patrick Beverley from the Lakers. The 6’1″ guard from Arkansas had some documented problems while playing at Arkansas for two seasons and spent last season in Ukraine. He has a knack for scoring and Riley compared him to Mario Chalmers and Rajon Rondo and also stressed the fact that he expects Beverley to make the team. Seeing as the Heat also extended Chris Quinn’s contract, the backup pointguard spot is definitely going to be a battle.

The final draft pick for the Heat, indeed for the entire NBA draft, was Robert Dozier from Memphis. Dozier is very long and athletic, something Riley stated the team was looking for, and is a project of sorts. He has a tangible skill in shot blocking, and at 6’9″ could play down low and possibly defend the wing.

Even though Miami had no first round picks, they were able to get solid value out of deals made on draft day in acquiring Beverley, a possible scoring threat at the guard position to come off the bench and provide energy, while Dozier could provide more length and athleticism. The Heat also aquired two draft picks for future 2nd rounds. As the Magic and Cavs beefed up on draft day deals (Vince Carter to Orlando, Shaq to Cleveland), the Heat would be hard pressed to match such moves as their agenda has to deal with focusing on 2010′s free agent market and keeping Wade in Miami. The Heat are a playoff caliber team, the only question is is there enough growth potential for Wade’s supporting cast to do a better job supporting him in the regular season and the playoffs to keep this team moving in the right direction – up. That was not going to be something addressed in this draft anyway.

Filed Under: NBA Draft Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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