As the roster fills up, who's next for the Heat?
by David Dwork on Jul 23, 2010 4:33 PM EDT
47 comments
It's pretty amazing how quickly things calmed down around the Miami Heat over the past couple days. From the time that Wade, Bosh and LeBron came on board, I knew the day would come where all the focus and attention on the Heat would begin to dwindle. I just didn't think it would be this quickly.
I can't believe it's now been 2 weeks since LeBron James made his public declaration to "take his talent to South Beach". 2 weeks since the Heat had just 4 players on their roster and 2 weeks since players, media, coaches, etc. from around the NBA questioned if and how the Heat would be able to fill out the rest of their roster.
As I discussed yesterday, it certainly didn't take long for Pat Riley to put some very impressive pieces in place. Now with only 2 roster spots left, Riley still has some decisions to make. If he wants to bring in a free agent or two, odds are that player will be leaving money on the table elsewhere in order to join up with Miami.
Guys at the top of my list are guards Rasual Butler, Earl Watson and Jason Williams. The Heat are said to be in the mix with all three, but if it comes down to dollars with any or all of them then Miami could end up holding the short end of the stick.
Williams said that he would "have no problem" with getting less minutes or stepping into whatever role he was asked to play. He's also said that he doesn't want to take a minimum salary, but hopefully that issue will be outweighed by the potential of competing for his 2nd NBA title with the Heat.
Rasaul Butler wouldn't mind a return to Miami, but he is looking for a salary in the $2-$4 million range. That's way more then the Heat will be able to offer him...or any other potential signee. Earl Watson is another guy who would be a solid addition to the Heat, but he's also looking to cash in a bit through free agency.
Watson is looking to make around $2 million in the upcoming season, which isn't terribly far off from what the Heat can give him. Keep in mind that the Heat are limited to offering free agents the $1.1 million veterans minimum, so all their cards are on the table. Riley won't wait around forever to see if any of these guys decide they want to join the Heat.
Should the free agent well be all dried up for Miami, or if they just want to fill the positions in-house, there are always the youngsters who played for the Heat in the Summer League. Patrick Beverly and Kenny Hasbrouck are both viable options at the guard position that played well in the Summer League.
Hasbrouck was signed by the Heat last March to give the team some depth heading into the playoffs, but soon after that the Heat learned of the former Siena College star being charged with DWI in Albany, NY in early February. Hasbrouck was instructed by the Heat to stay away from the team during the Playoffs while they further investigated the incident.
Patrick Beverly played last season in the Euroleague for Olympiacos, honing his craft in hopes of returning to the Heat this season and making their roster. He played well during the Summer League and could indeed find himself wearing a suit at the end of Miami's bench this season.
The ‘dark horse' to make the Heat roster is rookie Da'Sean Butler. He was very good in college, averaging 17.2 points, 6.2 boards and 3.1 assists during his final season at West Virginia. The problem is that during the Mountaineers Final Foul loss to Duke, Butler severely injured his left knee, tearing his ACL and spraining his MCL.
He could be back on the court in time to join the Heat for training camp and it will be interesting to see what he can bring to the table. Miami is already set with players up front (Butler plays forward) but the prospect of him being a good NBA player might be enough for Pat Riley to keep him around.
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Coach Spoelstra
Does anybody know how creative/good erik spoelstra is on offense? Because if he adopts mike brown’s “Lebron 1 on 5” offense and/or runs iso after iso for wade, then this team isn’t winning a title.
Coach Spo
He is a decent coach, he is still young and has alot to learn. He needs to draw up better plays out of the timeout but thats it. Besides This is not the NFL, where you need a great coach to win it all. In the NBA great players make great coaches. Prime example phil jackson who is a good coach made great by the players he was lucky enuff to coach. 3 of the top 10 players in history
LETS GO HEAT!!!!!!!
Joel Anthony is the man
Henne please don't be good be Great
I don't know
I disagree with you on “This is not the NFL, where you need a great coach to win it all”. One of the reasons the cavs fell short is because mike brown was completely inept on offense. he called lebron iso after lebron iso, turning everyone else into a spot up shooter. For example, jamison was 22 and 8 before the trade, after he wasn’t nearly as effective because he became a spot up shooter. if spo just runs isos boston and the lakers defenses will feast on the heat
Spoelstra runs a high screen offense. Wade uses his speed to get to the rim and finish with ease because they constantly draw out defenders. He splits the double teams whenever he notices that coaches have caught on and they try to trap him before he can get to the rim. This also opens up possibilities for shooters in the corners and pick and pops with the added attention Wade gets from using those high screens. LeBron will not be much different… if anything, he’s more unguardable than Wade because of his strength so teams will have to pick their poison when it comes to those screens and whoever is using them. I’m sure they’ll abuse pick and pops with Bosh too, who has range out to 3p land. Regardless of all this, Spoelstra should never be compared to Mike Brown. He’s far more creative.
Good summary
I think Spoelstra is a very competitive coach, and it should be interesting to see him connect w Lebron and the dynamic the Heat will have on the court.
"Don’t do drugs, don’t have unprotected sex, don’t be violent. Leave that to me." - Eminem
I believe
we should def. keep D’sean (great upside) and try to find a defensive minded player or another shooter.
D'sean
got nothin’ else
People have a week dedicated to sharks, sharks have a week dedicated to Jason Heyward, let's follow in the "footsteps" of the sharks.....
Hmm
After analyzing a few things in the heat dynasty…honestly I would not have signed Z,Juwan Howard or Arroyo!
I would have signed Kwame Brown. He can defend,finish around the rim and block shots.
Z can’t defend a fly, he is slow and is a 7’ 3 jumpshooter. D J Mbenga would have been better.
Arroyo holds the ball too too long and is terrible on D. I would have rather Devin Brown be signed.
Am hoping next season we can possibly get Greg Oden or Tyson Chandler, heck even Dalembert brings more than Z.
But such is life what is done is done.
A championship must be won this upcoming season.
Miami Thrice!
Kwame?
Jk i kind of wanted to see him play for the Heat but Big Z should help off the bench. I know Z has played with James, but he should not be playing along side of Bosh. We need a defensive presence in the middle “Joel Anthony”. the offense can run thru Big Z with the second team. He would be the one guy that could get our shooters better shots, by being some what dominate against other teams back up centers.
LETS GO HEAT!!!!!!!
Joel Anthony is the man
Henne please don't be good be Great
Not Kwame Brown...
He stinks dude! If he were a good player, the Fakers should’ve kept him on their bench. If only we had a younger version of Alonzo Mourning…
we have a young Zo
At least the defensive part. Joel I believe Is going to make Zo proud this year
LETS GO HEAT!!!!!!!
Joel Anthony is the man
Henne please don't be good be Great
by sparker2513 on Jul 25, 2010 10:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Want a defensive presence?
Amar’e Stoudemire should’ve signed with our Heat instead of Chris Bosh. Now that would’ve been a monster 3!
Amar’e
LeBron
Dwade!
Defensive Center
If he would just be healthy and not be Grandpa Greg paper fragile, he could and should be our defensive center.
Why did we let go of Jermaine O’Neal! He should’ve been our defensive anchor!!!!
Cos he can’t shoot under pressure and is terribly inconsistent – also I don’t rate his defence above Anthony…
"Great effort springs naturally from great attitude" - Pat Riley
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships" - Michael Jordan
I agree...
But I do think Jermaine’s a secretly great pickup for the Celtics. (Is Sheed retiring? I feel like I’ve read contradictory things about that.) We’ll almost definitely be seeing Jermaine again come April/May…
We can’t have everyone, I guess.
If hi health holds up maybe… I think he is a great pickup for them in theory but I think he is going to struggle once Doc Rivers starts berating him on the sidelines…
As far as I have read ’Sheed is done – they are shopping his contract for some payroll relief only I think…
"Great effort springs naturally from great attitude" - Pat Riley
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships" - Michael Jordan
"You show me one team, one GM, one person, one organization that wouldn't jump at the opportunity to take a Chris Bosh, a LeBron James, a Dwyane Wade together, and I'll show you a liar." - Dwyane Wade
Anybody else starting to get pissed with the LeBron stuff?
Leave our douche bag alone!
BIG 3: SF GIANTS, NY JETS, MIAMI HEAT
HATED 3: LA Dodgers, NE Patriots, MIAMI DOLPHINS
BIG 3 Players: Dwyane Wade, Brian Wilson, and Shaun Ellis
by Newcomb29(EDGE) on Jul 23, 2010 5:26 PM EDT reply actions
Jealousy leads to envy, and envy leads to hatred… that’s why many sportswriters and people are hating our Heat and LeBron James.
Yahoo Sports for one is hating LeBron James, particularly Adrian Wojnarowski.
I really like Woj’s articles – I think he is a pretty straight shooter amongst the media – prior to the Celtics series he was the only one calling out Lebron’s ego. Everyone else was too busy saying how great he was.
He is a phenomenal talent – but he does have flaws, oncourt and off.
"Great effort springs naturally from great attitude" - Pat Riley
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships" - Michael Jordan
That’s why Pat Riley will make sure LeBron will be disciplined along with that posse of his and become the best player he can ever be.
Which is the only reason I have hope for Lebron – his off court posturing will hopefully not be tolerated by the Heat – his poor decisions on court are masked by people flaunting his stats when they should be focusing on his execution.
There is a lot of stuff on the court that is not measured by stats, no matter which way you interpret them.
"Great effort springs naturally from great attitude" - Pat Riley
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships" - Michael Jordan
I say Hasbrouck
though I’d love Da’Sean Butler or Patrick Beverly just as much. These are bottom of the lineup spots, I don’t really think it’s a good idea to bring these veterans in for just a year when they wont contribute much to the team. I’d rather bring in some rooks to develop and grow, learning under guys like Wade and ’Bron. Then perhaps in 2/3 yrs these rooks can help lead the team to their 3+4 consecutive titles ;)
Yea I would rather have rooks to teach up as well
"Real gangsta-a$$ ni**as don't flex nuts cause real gangsta-a$$ ni**as know they got'em"-Geto Boyz-
"This weed was the shiz-nittlebam snip-snap-sack"-Thurgood Jenkins
The official Kory Sheets clan leader!!! LaRon Byrd the next Phenom from the U!!!
Wade County and The 3 Kings!!! Bring J-Will back to Miami!!!
Hmm
Resign Hasbrouck and De’Sean Butler.
I agree with Tetris.
We have enough vets.
Look how well Wright turned out and Kapono they were young players on our first title squad.
They waited for there chance and they each excelled.
Miami Thrice!
Hmm
We drafted Caron Butler and he is all star caliber,we drafted Rasual Butler who is a good role player.
Time to sign the other Butler.
There is something about those Butler’s who we seem to draft.
They always turn out to be good players.
Miami Thrice!
I still would love to sign J Will
but that doesn’t look likely anymore and I will still be very happy with Butler and Beverly
We NEED J WILL
Come on he is a great passer and a good veteran PG Come on PAT!
SCALP'EM
2010 New Beginning in Tallahassee
Ponder for Heisman'10
RIP John Wooden
by Thunder64 on Jul 23, 2010 10:03 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Again, my same sentiments
J Will is one of the top 3 passing PGs of our generation. Any chance to see him dish a no look alleyoop to anyone of the Miami Thrice is worth the 1-2 years of vet min – who wouldn’t take that to come back to the Heat and win title no. 2?
by Kenny F'ing Powers on Jul 24, 2010 7:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Da'Sean Butler!
Give him a year or two and he’d be an immediate backup to Wade and LeBron. The Heat should monitor his recovery very closely. And if given the chance to be on the roster, during team practices, he could train under the tutelage of our two best wings (probably the NBA’s two best wings) and he could be a great backup swingman.
i agree
his upside is too much to pass up.
"I am happy, that's just the saddest lie."
-Kid Cudi
by FalconFiend93 on Jul 24, 2010 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Am I the only one who doesn't want J Will?
I mean, the dude publicly talked shit about the Heat not so long ago. I don’t care if he is a Gator…
Gator Bait: The first, and still the best.
Not really into Jason Williams
I dunno. He’s way past his prime. And character issues are something to consider. Performance-wise is he considerable? He didn’t do well in Orlando.
D´Sean for sure...
Its gotta be him, the guy is a beast and he might be injured now, but within a few months he will be 100 % and hell be sick.
"Don’t do drugs, don’t have unprotected sex, don’t be violent. Leave that to me." - Eminem
minimum contract...
most of these guys want more than that……sign JERRY STACKHOUSE with one of those minimum contracts and add a very solid bench player that can hit the outside shot…then get another point guard
Smt
We have enough vets on this team.
Z,Magloire,Juwan Howard are over 32.
UD,Miller are 30 and James Jones will be 30 in a few months.
Sign De’Sean Butler and resign Hasbrouck!
Miami Thrice!
who cares who the last two guys are?
we could sign lisa leslie and greg gumble to fill those spots and our team will still dominate. the only way they’d see minutes is if our old folks get hurt or the leads get way out of hand and it’s mop up time.
jets suck!
by colinmc82 on Jul 27, 2010 2:36 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
I would like to see that
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by Patssuck456 on Jul 28, 2010 11:47 PM EDT up reply actions
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