Heat have yet to upgrade roster
August 4, 2009
MIAMI (AP)—So far this summer, the Miami Heat have been scorned by Lamar Odom(notes),been unable to add any veterans through free agency or trades, and listened toNBA scoring champion Dwyane Wade(notes) make a public request for some roster upgradesbefore deciding if his future will be in South Florida.
Somehow, Heat president Pat Riley doesn’t sound overly concerned.
Although the Heat made a serious and ultimately failed pitch to lure Odomaway from re-signing with the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers, the thesisfor turning Miami back into an NBA championship contender hasn’t changed.
And if that means waiting for tons of salary cap space to open a year fromnow, then that’s what the Heat will do.
“I sort of characterize it this way: We set the table and everything is onthe table,” Riley said on a conference call. “We’re just waiting for thewaiter to come with the menu. I think that’s as simple as it’s going to be.”
There are some appetizers still out there, however.
Riley acknowledged Tuesday that he has had a phone conversation with freeagent point guard Jamaal Tinsley(notes), and that nothing has been ruled out regardinga possible pursuit of Allen Iverson(notes). If the Heat offered a contract to eitherplayer, Riley said, it wouldn’t be for more than one year—ensuring that Miamikeeps its maximum available cap space for the much-ballyhooed summer of 2010,which could be a free agent bonanza.
Miami’s master plan reads something like this: Sign Wade to a new contract,find another top-level star to play alongside him, and then consider makingmoves like ones that many title contenders around the league did this summer—moving past the luxury tax threshold to add the pieces of a potentiallychampionship-winning puzzle.
Trades have been discussed as well; by now, it’s no secret that forwardCarlos Boozer(notes), who is close friends with Wade, wouldn’t scoff at the notion ofgetting traded by the Utah Jazz to Miami.
But Riley said that it’s a strong possibility that the 13 players currentlyunder contract are the 13 players whom the Heat enter training camp with nextmonth.
“We hope we’re a very competitive team this year,” Riley said. “I’m notgoing to do something foolhardy now that’s going to hurt our chances to reallyput a franchise player around another franchise player that we have right now.We’re going to wait and see. We’re going to be very patient with it.”
If no changes—major or otherwise—come before the season, Heat forwardUdonis Haslem(notes) said that’s fine with him.
Miami won 15 games two seasons ago in an injury-marred debacle of a year,then bounced back to win 43 games last season and finish with the No. 5 seed forthe Eastern Conference playoffs, losing an opening-round series to Atlanta inseven games.
“To be honest with you, we went from 15 to 43 wins, and I can think of fouror five games where we should have won,” Haslem said. “There’s a lot of gamesyou look back on where you feel like you had an opportunity to win. Maybe if wewin those games, we might have the opportunity to be a 50-win team. I look at itdifferently than everybody else. I’m excited about our team.”
So is Riley.
He said he’s talking with Wade often, has seen Jermaine O’Neal(notes) several timesthis summer, and raved about the progress that Miami’s young core—point guardMario Chalmers(notes) (whom will be the starter again this coming year, Rileyinsisted), forward Michael Beasley(notes) and shooting guard Daequan Cook(notes), inparticular—have made this offseason.
Their development, he said, might be enough to move Miami closer to where itwants to be.
“It’s not an experimentation year,” Riley said. “It’s about finding outhow versatile your players are.”
Its game time — sign up for Fantasy Football 09 today!
