Every year at least one NBA team is accused of packing it in
early in an attempt to gain a better draft pick. This year is no different, as
the Miami Heat are officially in shutdown mode. It will be very difficult for
Miami not to finish with worst record in the NBA, and the franchise has made
sure they will have the most ping pong balls come lottery day. From trades to
injuries to coaching issues, the Heat have had a dysfunctional season, a far
cry from their championship season two years ago.
Miami started their makeover by freeing themselves of Shaq’s
monster contract in exchange for Shawn Marion, who will likely opt out of his
contract after this season, which will free up exorbitant amounts of cap room
for next year and beyond. Dwyane Wade has been the lone bright spot for Miami
this year, and now he has opted to sit out the rest of the year with an ailing
left knee. With injuries to Wade, and at least one player at every position,
the Heat are having trouble filling out their roster, and now are trying to
scrounge up healthy bodies to occupy the empty seats on the bench. The coup de grace lies with coach Pat Riley, who
just announced he was leaving the bench during the season to scout potential
draft picks. Are things really that bad down in South Beach?
Riley’s move may be a necessary evil when you are head coach
as well as the man that makes the roster moves, but this decision reeks of
abandoning all hope. Shouldn’t one of the best coaches in NBA history at least
try to portray that he cares about his team in the long and short term? Even if
Riley is leaving the bench just for a few weeks, and is doing so to scout
potential draft picks, doesn’t that just scream of desperation? Why have scouts
if your coach has to leave during the year to evaluate talent? This reminds be
of the Cincinnati Bengals when they wouldn’t spend the money to hire enough
scouts to properly evaluate talent.
As bad as this move looks it does make a modicum of sense in
a convoluted way. As long as the Heat continue their losing ways they will have
a top four pick in the next NBA draft. The general consensus among draft
experts is that the top talents are all freshmen and sophomores, and only one
player (Memphis guard Derrick Rose) has stated that he plans on returning to
college. The best player at the moment looks to be Kansas State forward Michael
Beasley, who looks like Shawn Marion with more upside. Guards such as Rose, USC
star O.J. Mayo, and Indiana’s Eric Gordon are point guards by definition, but
both Mayo and Gordon are shoot first guards. With Dwyane Wade as a shoot first
combo guard, does Gordon or Mayo really fit? The most talented big men (DeAndre
Jordan, Brook Lopez, Anthony Lopez, and Bake Griffin) all project to be good to
great players, but none are instant impact players. With so much up in the air
with this draft class, all potential picks need to be scrutinized. Depending on
which players enter the draft, it is possible this lottery will contain no
upperclassmen, or even any player older than twenty. Teams will need to know
exactly what they are getting, and the player they draft will be the player
that a franchise can be built around. For those reasons it is tough to fault
Pat Riley for wanting to make sure he knows his investment inside and out.
Being an NBA General Manager or Head Coach are more than full time jobs, and
one man trying to fill both roles is a recipe for disaster, even for one of the
best minds in NBA history.
Yeah they need a healthy Wade, Marion to return, the #1 pick, a second round steal, and some players to want to sign for pennies on the dollar in a supporting role. The #1 and a strong #2 would be a good start to turning the franchise around.
They'll be back among the elite in the East next season. With Wade, Marion and a top5 pick.
I don't blame them at all for sitting Wade and essentially playing for ping pong balls. As a Spurs fan I would be a hypocrite if I did. You do recall Bob Hill and an aging Dominique Wilkins leading the Spurs to Tim Duncan don't you?
If Marion isn't back the Heat better hope they can get a major talent or they aren't going anwhere. Corey Maggette perhaps?
Sitting Wade is smart, sitting Wade 20 games ago would have been smarter. The more time the young players on the roster have to play the better they will be. There was little reason to play Wade at all this calendar year, the Heat were already out of it.
I do remember the Spurs tanking to get Duncan. As a Celtics fan how could I forget?
Being a Spurs' fan, I also remember that there were more Spurs injured that season than just David Robinson. Elliot missed a lot of the season as did several other players. A lot of people forget that fact. They think Robinson was the only injury.
I remembert Robinson trying to come back and play after the first injury, only to get injured again. That was when they shut him down. And remember they did not even get the lowest seed. They were third worst. Even if Robinson had played, it might not have made much difference.
They just lucked out to get Duncan. The odds were actually against them. If they were tanking, they did a #### poor job of it.
So, call it tanking if you like, but when your franchise player is injured, and you are mathmatically out of contention for a playoff spot, I call it just good sense to sit that player the rest of the season.
I know a lot of people are upset because the games they lose impacts other teams trying to get into the playoffs. Sorry, but you should worry about your own team first. It is not the Heat's responsibility to ensure some other team a trip to the playoffs.
I do have a problem with Riley leaving to scout. But sitting Wade, no. Maybe for a change he will get completely healthy.
Miami has no perimiter shooting this year. All your shooters are pretty average or bad if not very inconsistantly streaky. D Wade has improved his jump shot but hes not an elite jump shooting star like McGrady or Kobe. Ben Gordon to Miami maybe?
I love the idea of Gordon to Miami. He and Wade would be 50 points per game as the starting back court, and whoever they get in the draft will be good. The only problem is that this draft (outside of Beasley) is guard heavy, and Miami would have to give up a decent amount to get Gordon.
I am a die hard Boston sports fan (a proud Mashole living in Rhode Island) and the founder of www.sportspun k.com. I am into Baseball - Football - Fantasy Sports - Basketball - Hockey - Soccer - Wrestling. My opinion will always be correct. You are warned.
