THE OFFICIAL MIAMI HEAT SUMMER of 2010 Thread.

I heard the Wizards are the favorites to land Rudy Gay. Minnesota is going to pursue Gay but I find it hard to believe Gay would go to Minnesota over more accomplished teams.

 

Say what you will but Minnesota has alot of pieces they can move to acquire some real talent. IF Minnesota could land a top 10 FA they could be thrown in the mix.

The odds of this are quite slim but still a scenario.

 

Would be nice if true, I'm a Wiz fan but why would Gay want to go to DC?

 

I think he wants to play in DC because its so close to home.

Yeah I think Washington will offer a max contract for him. Not sure on Minny. If he wants to win his best shot is with Miami.

 

LeBron wants to win. Plain and simple. His best bets are Chicago and Miami. I also think Brooklyn is a good chance because of the Jay-Z connection, lottery pick, cap space to sign other players, and a young center with potential (hard to find these days).

 

ESPN radio is killing the "Lebron to Chicago" storyline, as in they refuse to drop it..and the only one who is not pimping that storyline claims James has to stay in Cleveland or "his legacy will be tarnished".

ESPN is just garbage most of the time.

To me, the reason why Pat Riley is being coy about coaching again is that is a massive chip to toss into the Lebron James pot, "you want to win a title? Okay, sign here and I'll coach again" no other team has that chip to ante up with, but according to the bright lights at ESPN Radio..nah..chicago..even though ownership won't pay Coaches and haven't exactly been a powerhouse in Free Agency.

The Knicks make sense, even though ESPN Radio seems to think the real money is from James having shoe sales in China, not in the US, and he has to win a title to increase his brand value blah blah blah.

Miami makes a ton of sense for Lebron, even if he signs a MAX deal, when it ends he will still be young enough to go elsewhere, and no other team in the mix has a potential coach as good as Riley, or a Star as big as DWade, sorry Bulls, but DWade led an undermanned Heat team to the 5th seed, and Rose is a ball hog (imho) Wade has no problem dishing the ball and he can close if James plays point forward.

Should be fun, but imho NY, Miami and Cleveland has the best shot at landing James, but I also think he is d-o-n-e with Cleveland.

 

If I'm Lebron I sign a 2 year deal nothing long term

 

Saw that during the game. Man, Lebron and Dwayne Wade would be unstoppable.

 

At 15/2 Miami becomes a pretty enticing bet... damn, this is tempting now.

 

Eh, if that will end the "sign Rudy Gay" stuff.

Landing Lebron would be massive, the next step would be finding a better inside scoring option, a reliable one and a point guard who can hopefully hit some perimeter shots.

I see someone mentioned Josh Howard, AFAIK he tore an ACL late this season and maybe the Heat should look to the Clips for a PG like Baron Davis and maybe Kamen, that would solve some problems imho.

 

Disagree Sect simply because the PG helps when James and Wade are resting or in foul trouble, you need that flexibility during a game.

I'd think Davis would come cheaply not sure about Kamen, but he would be the sort of board wiper the Heat need imho.

It's a pity TMac is such a low character player otherwise he would be the second inside presence/scorer the Heat need.

 

Beasley can become that inside scoring option, Imo.

 

Not seein' it Bro, Beasley just lacks any sort of drive to his game, he is waaay to inconsistent to be relied upon during a Title run.

 

I think Lebron, Wade, and Riley can change that.

 

That doggy no barky, let alone bite.

Ship him to Golden State were he can score 23 pts a night on a team so crappy no one pays attention to it.

 

Padre, I think you're not giving Beasley much credit. He played solid basketball last season, and he's still 21 years old. You give him a chance to win, and I guarantee you he plays better. Winning cures everything.

 

Age: 36

How are your legs? Seriously... ANYONE could run the point with a Wade/LBJ/Bosh core.

 

David Lee is a FA right?

If thats the case he is better off in Miami.

 

Sec, what's your thoughts on all of this LeBron/Calipari package deal talk?

On one hand, I think coaching is pretty overrated (see Doc Rivers) but I also can't help but feel a little like some team is going to give LeBron the keys to the asylum which will be run by him and his entourage. I guarantee that won't end well.

 

Thanks bro. So, gun to your head, who goes where?

My ultimate guess is that we end up with Bosh, but I absolutely think we take the shot at LeBron first. I think it will be very telling if Besley/Cook are traded draft night. If they are, Riley has to know he's got two max guys ready to go.

 

I've become an Amare man over the course of the season. The man has just been a beast. Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't have just taken on richardson's contract to get the trade done. He would've been a short term upgrade and then been an extremely valuable expiring contract next off season.

Regardless, I totally agree with your point that we're not waiting around for LeBron. If amare or Bosh commits day 1 you can't tell them to hold their their horses. LeBron either makes a decision right away or doesn't. Unless of course everybody simply waits around for the LeBron chip to fall before making their moves.

 

Perhaps, but keep in mind that the PG also has other things they need to do especially in the East..someone gotta match up with Rondo and it shouldn't be Wade or whomever for most of the game.

To me, what is being missed is Riley wants a culture of winning, bringing in these cats from teams that didn't win and never have won is not exactly a good way to kick off that effort.

Bosch can average 23/10 when no one cares, what happens when the lights are on out on the stage when it does matter?

Ditto Rudy Gay, what was the most important game in Memphis in the last 3 seasons? Basically...none.

 

How does this take away from their caliber as being excellent basketball players?

 

You have to build winners to have a culture of winning. To have a winner you need better players.

To analogize, what did Pau Gasol ever win before he went to LA? By your logic, LA shouldn't have traded for him because he hadn't been part of a preexisting winning culture in Memphis.

Winning comes when your talent level is sufficient. Bring the players in, let them play, watch the wins pile up. All of a sudden, you're a winner.

 

Because winning when it matters is as much of a skill as scoring points or snagging rebounds, if a player hasn't won by now and you hand them 30 million or more, what makes anyone think they will start winning "now"?

 

Memphis made their lone playoff appearance with Pau on the team.

And he walked onto a team with talent on it already from Odom to Bryant to Fisher.

 

I think Rod Thorn will want value for Harris either way. He's one of the sharper GM's in my opinion. I think he knows Harris' 2008-09 season was his maximum upside and will try and sell him at that price if he does get wall and trades harris. That team could go from awful to scary good really quick.

Trades Harris for a SG or a PF and sign either Johnson if they want a SG in FA or Lee or Boozer if they decide to go with a PF in FA. Lopez, Wall and Terrence Williams are a nice young core to build around

Would not complain one bit if the Knicks cam out of this offseason with just Bosh. Not sure thats the way it will go down but I wouldnt complain. Its been so long since we have had a legitimate center (Camby) and even longer since we Knick fans had a guy who could be a force on both ends of the court (Ewing).

 

Key word being "lone." Memphis was not a consistently winning franchise or team even with Gasol.

Indeed he did, but the Lakers hadn't won a championship since Shaq was traded. At the time, the Spurs were more consistent winners than the Lakers.

But the point here isn't to obsessively analyze the details of Gasol's career. It's to refute your premise: when you talk about the culture of winning and how importing players from bad or inconsistent teams is a detriment, you're wrong. Good players can leave bad or unsuccessful teams and win championships elsewhere. Look at Kevin Garnett leaving the terrible Timberwolves and going to the then-nearly-as-bad Boston Celtics. Look at Shaq coming to Miami. There are a multitude of examples.

There is no cultural detriment to importing a good player from a bad team. It's the exact opposite: your culture improves because your winning percentage improves.