Monday, February 15, 2010

Sticking to the Plan

Pat Riley's 2009 Miami Heat leaves a lot to be desired. It is widely believed that the roster is filled with expiring contracts in order to enter the 2010 free agent bonanza in position to re-sign Wade and add another superstar player. This is, after all, what Pat Riley himself has told the world and it makes a lot of sense.

Miami is currently the only team in the NBA that can pair two max contracts this off-season. While it is hard to believe that any player will turn down a 6 year, $124 million deal to stay with their current team, I give Miami credit for giving James, Bosh and company something to think about.

However, I am not 100% convinced that the organization has placed all of their eggs on the 2010 basket. Anybody that has spent some time playing around on the NBA trade machine has noticed that we have expirings in all shapes and sizes: $23M (JO), $9M (Q-Rich), $7M (UD), $4M (Jones - partial guarantee), $3M (Wright).

Miami has enough pieces to make a solid offer for Amar'e without including Beasley... my offer would be UD, Jones, Wright, Cook, two first round draft picks and cash. Phoenix could take that offer straight up or use some of those pieces to go after Andre Igoudala, whom they are said to covet. The offer blows the rumored Cavaliers offer of JJ Hickson, Big Z (whom Phoenix would agree to buyout?) and a late first round pick out of the water and is reminiscent of the offer that landed Shaq in Miami years ago when the Heat sent every asset not named Dwayne Wade to the Los Angeles Lakers.

By trading Cook and Jones, Miami saves about $3 million in 2010 salary commitments. The two first round picks would also take home another $3 million or so in 2010. Mathematically speaking this trade clears nearly as much cap space as trading Beasley for Stoudamire as Ira had suggested.

With all this being said, it seems that Phoenix, like Toronto, would be better served holding onto their unhappy big man until the off-season as they could possibly negotiate better deals in an off-season sign and trade transaction even if they cannot ultimately convince them to stay.

Since Miami has not made a strong run after any of the available All-Star caliber Small Forwards that were traded in the last 12 months (Richard Jefferson, Stephen Jackson, Caron Butler, Josh Howard), I do not see them going after Igoudala. It is looking like Amar'e or bust.

113 comments:

  1. Neither Washington nor Indiana is sure how serious the Cavs are to make a deal for Stoudemire, or whether Cleveland GM Danny Ferry is just trying to pressure those teams into lowering their asking prices. Nevertheless, the idea that the Cavs would leverage Suns GM Steve Kerr to the deadline on Thursday and leave them stuck without a trade is unlikely. “Danny and Steve are best friends,” said one league source who talks frequently to both of them. “He would not use Steve like that. No way.”
    --------------------------------------------------

    Is anybody else creeped out by the idea that Danny and Steve are best friends? Maybe they are helping each other out by pretending they are close to a deal?

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  2. kerr already gave shaq to cleveland for a bag of peanuts. does anything else surprise at this point? i like that riley holds the line on beasley. if we crafted a deal where phoenix got our 2 1st round draft picks, i think they could get a deal done including our expirings of q rich, jones, cook, and other fodder

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  3. http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ykjr42s

    throw in first rounder this year and one conditional first rounder in future years to philly.

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  4. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/rumors/post/Wizards-Jamison-heading-to-Miami-;_ylt=AnAQdlNtLjQ34No4YnOkry68vLYF?urn=nba,219689

    Jamison to Miami??? I didn't even think about that possibility.

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  5. IMO, Cyrus, your trade is acceptable.

    Truth be told, we're stuck with Amare and Beasley's defense in the starting lineup. Beasley is still reliant on his scoring to make his imprint on the game, so there's a concern that adding a 20ppg scorer will have an effect on him.

    It's still an acceptable trade though and gets the job done.

    It also puts us in the market for a SF and depth. The next one to go would be JO because he probably won't like coming off the bench.

    BTW I like that picture of Beasley and Haslem in the 3rd last blog post. Whoever found that is a genius, lol!

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  6. http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=300214032

    Look at Lebrons plus minus and Wades

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  7. ^ I've said it before and I'll say it again --- anyone who uses a +/- stat to prove a single player's impact on a game is ignorant (josh)

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  8. Eddie, you can go back to Sledge and Williams if you want, I'm gonna hang here.

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  9. I-Win said...

    ^ I've said it before and I'll say it again --- anyone who uses a +/- stat to prove a single player's impact on a game is ignorant (josh)
    __________________________


    Then NBA coaches must be ignorant because they certainly pay attention to them.

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  10. The more I look at/think about these Jamison rumors, the more I think it’s just a smoke screen. I’m not sure who is putting up the screen, but it could be that PHX wants to put some pressure on Washington to send over Jamison and Washington might be trying to basically tell Cleveland they can go fock themselves because they have other options. Who knows though, Riley is pretty unpredictable around the trade deadline. Jamison certainly doesn’t fit in to the plans that we’ve had for a few years. Bringing in Jamison would just about kill our cap space next year and I believe would take us out of the hunt for another max contract to put next to Wade. Wade/Jamison/Beasley isn’t really a championship caliber team. They’d be pretty nice together, but nothing all that great. I do think Jamison and Beasley would be a real handful playing forward together. Jamison would have to play SF more than usual, but he can definitely play SF a lot better than Beasley.

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  11. I definitely think the relationship between Kerr and Ferry is suspect at best and really should be investigated somehow if the Cavs get Amare for a bag of peanuts.

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  12. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I-Win is so very, very lonely.

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  13. "Then NBA coaches must be ignorant because they certainly pay attention to them."

    They more than pay attention to them -- as a coach, Riley was notorious for utilizing advanced metrics in evaluating players.

    The only reason people get pissy about stats is because they're often proved wrong by them. Anyone that argues that the Heat are better with Haslem at PF is very easily proven wrong.

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  14. The diva sure played well with others last night. Amazing how he racks up the assist when it is Lebron, Dwight, and Bosh on the end of his passes instead of JO, Haslem, and Q Rich.

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  15. "The diva sure played well with others last night. Amazing how he racks up the assist when it is Lebron, Dwight, and Bosh on the end of his passes instead of JO, Haslem, and Q Rich."

    I've never thought the Wade-is-selfish line made very much sense based on the supporting cast like you just pointed out, but you've got to be nuts to take anything meaningful from all-star weekend.

    It's one big joke.

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  16. ".... but you've got to be nuts to take anything meaningful from all-star weekend."


    What are you talking about?? Wade had the highest +/- and won the MVP.

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  17. But seriously... it was a pretty good game. I really wasn't expecting much. After the events from Saturday I was expecting even less. It got close down at the end and I think they were playing hard within reason.

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  18. I thought it was funny how the TNT guys were kind of Meh about Wade winning the MVP

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  19. Adam said...
    I thought it was funny how the TNT guys were kind of Meh about Wade winning the MVP

    FEBRUARY 15, 2010 10:44 AM

    Wade winning the MVP doesn't rake in the moolah like LeBron or Kobe winning does.

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  20. I loved how Wade and LeBron had such great chemistry in the first 3 quarters. Then it broke down to every man for themselves in the 4th quarter, including Carmelo Anthony and Dirk. For a second I thought I was watching "21" instead of a 5on5.

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  21. Adam said...

    Then NBA coaches must be ignorant because they certainly pay attention to them.
    ==============================

    I'm pretty sure the coaches assess how certain LINEUPS impacted the game with the +/- stats and not individual players.

    Like I said, only an ignorant person would use +/- to assess how an individual player impacted the game (ADAM, Josh).

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  22. Wade winning the MVP doesn't rake in the moolah like LeBron or Kobe winning does.
    February 15, 2010 10:51 AM

    Tell that to Tmobile, Gatorade, and Nike's Jordan brand.

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  23. Man the TNT guys would've all wet their pants had Lebron been named MVP. Wade got it and all they could say is that is wasn't too far fetched for him to be named MVP. Barkley should've been Wade's biggest cheerleader seeing as Wade has helped him out in the "RECESSION." All the T-Mobile commercials...LOL Howard just got his 1st one with Barkley.

    Wade got what was rightfully deserving to him at this years Allstar game. Lebron's face though was classic Lebron. A selfish superstar who wants to get all the accolades. No way he comes here this summer, I already was thinking that, but his reactions to the award presentations just confirmed it.

    Just imagine if he did sign here this offseason and the Heat won the Championship and Wade was named MVP of the Finals, he'd probably have the same reaction as yesterday, BECAUSE WADE WOULD BE GETTING ALL THE HYPE AND NOW THE STORY BECOMES WADE HELPS LEBRON GET HIS RING, FINALLY!!!

    Lebron's on-court game style could teach Lebron a lot about life off the court. It's not always about Lebron. Yes you are the best in the league right now, but sometimes other stars can shine brighter than you... They can have each other Lebron and Amare. Bosh is and always was what Riley wants, James maybe but that's not going to happen he can't even take a backseat or passenger role in an Allstar game...LOL

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  24. Oh great, Josh found his way to this blog? I can barely stand to hear this kid cry about Beasley every time someone is having a conversation, now he's gonna be acting like a little girl here?

    Last time I post here as long as Josh is around. Good bye everyone.

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  25. I-Win said...
    I'm pretty sure the coaches assess how certain LINEUPS impacted the game with the +/- stats and not individual players.

    February 15, 2010 11:10 AM

    I'm pretty sure you've never even met anyone who's even coached professionally, let alone someone in the college or NBA ranks. Please, don't speak on what you have zero idea of.

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  26. Adam said...
    Wade winning the MVP doesn't rake in the moolah like LeBron or Kobe winning does.
    February 15, 2010 10:51 AM

    Tell that to Tmobile, Gatorade, and Nike's Jordan brand.

    FEBRUARY 15, 2010 11:10 AM

    nah c'mon. Wade's not up there with the Brons, Tiger Woods, Mannings, Federers, Jeter, etc. The Media WANTS those guys to do well at every event. When someone like Tiger gets eliminated the media sounds like they're about to cry.

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  27. " Wade got it and all they could say is that is wasn't too far fetched for him to be named MVP. "

    Did they really say that? No way.

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  28. JB said...
    But seriously... it was a pretty good game. I really wasn't expecting much. After the events from Saturday I was expecting even less. It got close down at the end and I think they were playing hard within reason.

    FEBRUARY 15, 2010 10:35 AM

    The West pissed me off that game. They were playing like it was a real game while the East was just fucking around trying to have fun. They actually doubled team Wade a few times. Who the fuck double teams in an exhibition game? Damn. And all those time outs and play calling too, wtf.

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  29. That video of Lebron while Wade is winning the MVP is priceless.

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  30. LeBron looked like he did after the Magic beat him.

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  31. So, do we make too much out of a possible Wade/Lebron ego competition if the two are playing together? It is easier to envision Wade and Bosh getting along.

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  32. Did anyone see him shake hand with the West players? LOL

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  33. http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/64711/20100215/miami_owner_were_not_trading_beasley/

    "We've never put him out there," Arison told The Miami Herald of trading Beasley.

    "I know I've read about him being put out there. I can tell you this: We have not put him out there. The media has. We like Michael and see him as a part of our core going forward."

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  34. "I'm pretty sure the coaches assess how certain LINEUPS impacted the game with the +/- stats and not individual players."

    LOL. Coaches assess how line-ups impact the game in order to assess individual players. If the exact same line-up at PG, SG, SF, and C yields far better results with Beasley at PF than with Haslem at PF, it speaks to Beasley. Same goes for all others, but that's the most relevant example.

    You can't be this stupid.

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  35. helium said...
    So, do we make too much out of a possible Wade/Lebron ego competition if the two are playing together? It is easier to envision Wade and Bosh getting along.

    FEBRUARY 15, 2010 11:44 AM

    I think in a real game LeBron and Wade would both put their egos aside. Their chemistry was beautiful in the first 3 quarters. You can see the effect of the international competition on those two, along with Dwight and Bosh. They look like a real team out there. In the 4th, things got a little choppy and that allowed the West to get back in it. But its not like they choked. The only mistake was they went away from what got them the lead. If they were playing for a title, that wouldn't have happened.

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  36. If they agreed to it (which they won't), I couldn't imagine it happening without them personally addressing how the whole thing would work. If both weren't amenable to some sort of sacrifice, they wouldn't bother. I couldn't see LeBron coming here and then trying to 'hog' the spotlight.

    I can't see LeBron coming here regardless, but you get what I mean.

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  37. Chris said...
    " Wade got it and all they could say is that is wasn't too far fetched for him to be named MVP. "

    Did they really say that? No way.

    FEBRUARY 15, 2010 11:15 AM
    -----------------------------------------
    Those were the words of Kenny "The Jet" Smith....LOL Who's made a career off of riding the back of Hakeem Warrick....lol I meant Hakeem Olajawon!!!!!!!

    The only ones who actually said that they think Wade shuld've gotten the MVP was C-Webb and Birdie's teammate McHale... He cracks me up whenever he talks about Larry Bird and calls him "Birdie"... I just had to type that...LOL

    But my reaction was the same as Lebron's was while Wade was receiving the award watching them attempt to downplay D-Wade getting the MVP... NOT TO ENTHUSED!!!!LMAO!!!!!!

    All Wade needs nows is a regular season MVP and he'll pretty much be a lock for being a 1st ballot 4SHO!!!

    1 DIVA IS ENOUGH IN MIAMI, NO NEED FOR 'BRON, BRON!!!!

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  38. All Wade needs nows is a regular season MVP and he'll pretty much be a lock for being a 1st ballot HOF 4SHO!!!

    fixed

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  39. Despite how much fun it is to make it a bigger deal than it is, I do think LeBron was happy for Wade; that's his boy. However, it was clear that he wanted the MVP. People have said before that he hogs in All-Star games and I've dismissed it in the past because it's a glorified pickup game. Who cares? Well, yesterday I cared ...because he was trying to take the damn thing away from Wade. LOL

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  40. Well at least I think Arison's speaking out on Beasley does speak volumes. I guess Beasley's safe for now. Hopefully he's not sacrificed in the summer while we're going after Bosh.

    http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/basketball/story/1479429.html

    It's great to here Arison say those things about Beasley. Now if we could finally get Udonis out of his way he'd probably take that next step....LOL

    In the words of Eddie..... Stepping into the Trade Machine....LOL

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  41. So Mickey says Beasley isn't going anywhere.

    I wonder if this is one of those deals where Mickey really likes Mike, sees the long term investment with him, and says no way is he being traded.

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  42. On top of saying Beasley isn't going anywhere, Arison said Beasley was never discussed in deals. Just like with the Memphis thing last year.

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  43. Maybe... Also probably is all the more reason he was front and center watching Beasley in the Rookie/Sophomore game and the more I think about it he probably was the one who told Beasley to put the knee brace back on, Arison's protecting his investment.

    I love hearing Arison talk, because Riley I don't believe half of what he says anyways, you've gotta decipher what Riley says too much, too much reading between lines a lot like his most prized pupil the all too "Pure Resilent Fluid Energy Bus" riding Spo. Dude still needs to be FIRED, let's not forget the facts here. Wade's Allstar MVP doesn't change the facts that we still suck right now, but it may inspire Wade to regain last seaon's form down the stretch of this season and alongside a much improved Beasley who knows he's got the owner in his corner we could and should make some noise over the second half of the season. Hopefully Beasley leaves the pack of Tito's to become Jermaine to Wade's Michael Jackson that is because our current Jermaine is a Tito too, although he's been pretty good as of late.

    Let's Jermaine!!!!!!! (Michael Beasley)

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  44. Believing that Arison sees long-term value in Beasley makes the most sense. For all the talk about Miami trading Beasley increasing the flexibility to ultimate acquire 2 max guys (alongside Flash), I've not seen a viable scenario that lends itself there. Forget about anyone taking a pay cut. It ain't happening in this climate. Three max contracts is going to run in the neighborhood of 48M. Cap projections are hovering around 54M. How exactly are we going to fill out a roster (required 13 players) with 5-6M to spend? That's assuming you can jettison Jones, Anthony and Cook and clear everything.

    Make it cheap and pick up Chalmers' option and assume Anthony exercises his. That's 3-4M left to fill out a roster and you're already using 2 players in your starting lineup that are backup quality, at best. How many ring-chasing veterans taking 1.3M or so can we really expect?

    The option that is most feasible (and fiscally appealing) option is getting Wade, another max guy, believing that Michael's high-level progression continues and using the remaining 15-20M on role players. Alternatively, trade Michael in some scenario and use the bringback to aid in acquiring said role players. The 'Dream Team Miami' scenario of 3 max deals (Wade/LeBron/Bosh) isn't happening and I'm hard-pressed to believe that you're signing a max/near max guy at a significant discount (though I suppose you never say never). Teams with high-profile rosters are significantly over the cap, if not over the tax. As things stand, we won't have the option of either.

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  45. Wuz up everyone any word on the heat an the trade exception that expire today that's to much for Riley not to utilize it

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  46. Nope, no moves. Riley is too much of an incompetent.

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  47. Jamison seems out of left field, but I think we could get some mileage out of him and trade him in as soon as this off-season.

    If his addition still leaves enough room for a max free agent to sign then it is not too risky, I suppose.

    I can't wait to see if we upgrade the roster in some way. We cannot make a move that compromises our future, but it would be great if Wade could get some reinforcements, because Wade is so clutch in the playoffs that he could take us to the Finals with just a little consistency from his team.

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  48. Do you see this shit going down between Howard and Shaq? Shaq's gotta stfu already. Howard is leading his team to the playoffs. Shaq's riding LeBron's coat tails to the playoffs. End of story.

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  49. Can Jamison play small forward? If you can at least unload James Jones, then it might be worth considering.. As long as you have room for one max in 2010 any move should be considered. I'd do James Jones and Udonis Haslem for Antawn Jamison.

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  50. http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/13224/wade-lebron-offer-tease-of-possible-future

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  51. To further prove Ira's hating on Beasley and how late he is on reporting the Heat news. How is it that the Heat's main beat writer doesn't have the article on Arison pertaining to Beasley, I know why because that means that probably Ira's man crush might be changing zip codes with Arison practically given Beasley the "Off Limit's Tag."

    Keep the blog alive kkboy80!!!!!! Fixed or not this blog rocks!!!!!

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  52. This blog has the chatroom. Ira's blog does not. Game. Set. Match.

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  53. Hopefully Arison liked what he saw from Beasley in the rookie/sophomore game, then goes directly to Riley/Spo and orders them to play Beasley more.

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  54. Agreed Chris!!!
    I believe Arison was the one who ordered Beasley to put the kknee brace back on.

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  55. 2pm insider article...who has insider...heat is possible 3 way.

    http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=TradeWatch-100215&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dford_chad%26page%3dTradeWatch-100215

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  56. anyone think riley is doing his own reverse psychology...
    jamison is coveted by cavs...now heat are rumored to want him...
    is that move just to scare cleveland that as they heavily pursue amare with no result that they might loose jamison in the process??
    supposedly suns ideally want iggy/dalembert..cavs miss out on both trades???

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  57. Pretty much dred99. Riley's basically pulling the Jedi Mind Trick on the Cavs.

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  58. What possible 3-way deal are the Heat involved in dred99?

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  59. LMAO : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAPABJd4xos&feature=player_embedded

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  60. may have read it wrong....article still mentions heat...maybe its not a 3 way


    @chadfordinsider Latest trade talk: Bulls-Lakers-Blazers 3 way? Celtics, Heat, Rockets ... more. http://tinyurl.com/ygy45aw 45 minutes ago

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  61. lol cruise, how the hell did they...

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  62. The Insider article is nothing. Reports Miami tried to deal Beasley to Philly, Iggy to PHX and Amare to Miami. The deal reportedly broke because of Philly's disinterest in Beasley.

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  63. Here's another one : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQg8P1FDBOE&feature=related

    Funny as hell. Our Burnie is so booooooooooring.

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  64. what's up with nobody wanting Beas?
    Doesn't matter anyways. Arison said they're all rumors...

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  65. I went back to read the opinions on Ira's blog and found that my article had been posted at 8:58 am under the name:
    Unbiased Assessment - Shame on You Ira

    17 minutes later Sledge had this to say:

    Cyrus the virus is back. Ashamed of using his real name. One by one, the ungrateful Ira traitors are returning. The other pseudo-blog will die. That was a no-brainer.

    Either Sledge knows my writing style and has identified me or he visited our blog first thing in the morning... either one is sad.

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  66. you've got to trade beasley. he has absolutely no on-court chemistry with wade. as much as wade needs catch-and-shooters to space the floor, wade also needs an above-the-rim athlete to keep defenses from collapsing on him. back in the shaq glory days, there was always an alley oop threat to keep defenses honest. i feel like i've only seen like three alley oops from this season's heat squad, and two of them d wright couldn't even finish. get wade some athletes. go get amare, riley.

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  67. Free Chef, your post is ridiculous

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  68. Free Chef said...
    you've got to trade beasley. he has absolutely no on-court chemistry with wade. as much as wade needs catch-and-shooters to space the floor, wade also needs an above-the-rim athlete to keep defenses from collapsing on him. back in the shaq glory days, there was always an alley oop threat to keep defenses honest. i feel like i've only seen like three alley oops from this season's heat squad, and two of them d wright couldn't even finish. get wade some athletes. go get amare, riley.

    FEBRUARY 15, 2010 3:06 PM

    lol. Get some NBA level players around those two so they have some room to work with. Then we'll be seeing some nice assists between the two.

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  69. adam, i know i'm new here. i like this new blog, so i want to keep things civil, but what's so ridiculous about my post?

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  70. Other teams think little of Beasley. I just hope Beasley can turn that into motivation.

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  71. You guys need to get over these trade rumors. They always fly around at the deadline, especially with teams that are under-performing.

    Arison has said we haven't made Beasley available in trade talks. Logically, it would make zero sense for us to deal Beasley for Amare or Jamison.

    These "insiders" report what they hear from an actual team official -- they don't double confirm. If the Heat want to say they are looking to trade Udonis Haslem but aren't interested in trading him for Brook Lopez, that's what gets reported. Obviously that would be a meaningless lie, but that's the way it works.

    So long as Phoenix and Washington are trying to up the bids for Amare and Jamison, we're going to hear bullsh*t about all the supposed "offers" they're turning down. Right now I'm sure the most they're being offered are expirings and second-tier young prospects like Daequan Cook and JJ Hickson. Or terrible contracts like Iguodala + Dalembert.

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  72. It's all good, I want to keep things cool as well.

    Beasley is top 25 in the leauge in dunks. Not exactly horrible. Having no chemistry between Wade and Beaz falls squarely on the shoulders of Spo, he calls every play, plays Beaz out of position for half of his minutes, and has Mike and Wade on the court at the same time only small portions of the game.

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  73. justinnum1 said...

    Other teams think little of Beasley. I just hope Beasley can turn that into motivation.
    February 15, 2010 3:16 PM

    Who knows how accurate that is. Arison just said Beaz was never in any trade proposal. Nor has he ever been.

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  74. Other teams do not think little of Beasley. Popovich has said he's going to be a great, great player. SVG said we're one of the only teams in the NBA with two guys as gifted offensively as Wade and Beasley. The quotes regarding Beasley could continue, but I'm not in the mood to dig some up.

    He made First-Team All-Rookie last year despite playing under 25 minutes per game.

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  75. Dwight Howard was gushing about Beasley during the Rookie Sophomore game.

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  76. Said Orlando's Stan Van Gundy: "I haven't seen anybody who can keep him from getting a shot. In Beasley and Dwyane Wade, they are one of the few teams that has two guys that you don't have to do anything other than give them the ball. He scores so easily, and he can get a good shot easily. He's going to be a perennial 20 and 10 guy."

    "He's going to be" -- as in "a big, big time scorer," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said; "one hell of a player," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said; "a special kid in our league," Boston's Kevin Garnett said.

    "Give this young man (he won't be 21 until January) two more years and, if he works hard enough, he could easily become a well-balanced quasi-franchise player." - Charley Rosen

    "Offensively, he's already one of the best scorers in the league and could be absolutely devastating in a few years." -- John Hollinger


    "Beasley has settled into his role as a solid scorer and capable rebounder in Miami. But there are those of us who think he could be a high-level scorer in this league if he played in a different system that didn't feature one of the world's best offensive talents." -- David Thorpe

    ---------------------------------------------

    He's not poorly regarded. On the contrary, most agree that he's got perennial all-star potential. The things that makes people question him are two-fold: 1, he's basically been framed for failure by Miami. We play him out of position for a fourth of his minutes. We sit him down the stretch. Last year, we started Udonis f*cking Haslem over him. And 2, he's had issues away from the court -- that rehab stint this offseason, in particular.

    But in terms of potential and raw production, it's hard to debate that he's the best PF to enter the NBA since Chris Bosh.

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  77. adam, both you and i know that dunk statistic is misleading. he's not an above-the-rim player; he's crafty around the rim. he struggles to finish in traffic. i have a hard time recalling instances of beasley finishing over guys, particularly if he catches a pass in traffic.

    i agree that spo has bumbled a lot of things, but i'm not sure how much you can blame spo if beasley and wade's game simply don't spark. to play with wade, you've either got to be a decisive catch and shooter, or you've got to function as release valve in the paint (a la alley oops, or catching a crowded interior pass and finishing in traffic).

    i don't see beasley doing either particularly well, which is strange because despite his soft outside touch, he hasn't developed into an effective pick and pop player.

    wade needs to run with a beast. we've got enough finesse, unathletic players on this squad.

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  78. Saying Beasley is unathletic is funny.

    We don't run a true pick and roll, so not sure how Beasley's gonna develop a pick and pop game. Haslem gets open jumpers on Wade drives....well because he is Haslem, and no one guards him. That doesn't happen for mike.

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  79. Here's the latest from ESPN the Magazine's Ric Bucher: "Michael Beasley's collegiate career and NBA stats would suggest an up-and-coming star; combined with his rookie contract in these harsh economic times, all that should make him irresistible to any team looking to move an established, expensive star for a less-expensive future one. But the latest evidence that an overwhelming majority of the league's decision-makers see him as more flash than substance is reflected in a proposed three-way trade whose principle parts were 76ers F Andre Iguodala, Suns F Amare Stoudemire and the Heat's Beasley.

    "While other pieces would've had to be included, the trade essentially would've sent Beasley to Philadelphia, Iguodala to Phoenix and Stoudemire to Miami. The deal broke down, sources say, because Philadelphia wasn't overwhelmed by the prospect of rebuilding around Beasley.
    ---------------------
    Arison says Beasley hasn't been put out there; good enough for me. The polarity of opinion is hysterical though.

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  80. Beasley is athletic. He is just not really explosive.

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  81. Beasley dunking in traffic:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBHHmwH3m_o

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMvZAdX2RnM

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT6fhl6eI1M

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK4CovTymGc

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tETG62Re3EY

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dsGsbg3SA4&feature=PlayList&p=A5AA652CBF4D0A3D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=10

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVG2l-AP0Vc

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS6Bxa_Kg5M&feature=related

    ---------------------------------------------------

    Maybe the problem isn't Beasley. Maybe the problem is the offensive system that has him catching the ball 20 feet from the rim 80% of the time.

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  82. I saw Beasley in a pre-draft workout (Youtube video - not in person) and the trainer was trying to get him to slam the ball and Beasley joked that it wasn't his style and that is why his nickname is "B-Easy" and not "Beastly".

    Every once in a while he does dunk in somebody's face, but he is only concerned with the ball going in the hoop. Last year he was having a tough time with it because he was going to the rim with some weak stuff, but he is a lot more confident around the rim this year.

    I hate to see a player lay it up when the dunk is a higher percentage shot, but I think Beasley is coming around.

    I don't complain about Miami giving him SF minutes, because I think he would work really well alongside Chris Bosh with both playing out of position for 12 minutes a game.

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  83. It's amazing to me that people will run with one unconfirmed -- and flat-out denied by one supposed actor -- report and draw conclusions based on it. It's just terrible journalism.

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  84. "But in terms of potential and raw production, it's hard to debate that he's the best PF to enter the NBA since Chris Bosh."

    A case could be made for DeJaun Blair. That kid could put up some serious numbers if given the time.

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  85. "I don't complain about Miami giving him SF minutes, because I think he would work really well alongside Chris Bosh with both playing out of position for 12 minutes a game."

    I would be very interested to see how that would work out. I'm not convinced either way. I think Beasley is a pure PF, and I think Bosh is out of place at center, as well. But for 12 minutes a game, I could see Beasley surviving at SF, and Bosh surviving at C. I would be skeptical, but I'd definitely give them half a season to gel before looking to make a move to balance the roster.

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  86. I'm glad arison gave beasley the vote of confidence that spo an Riley refused to do like i've been saying Wade would b traded before beasley,Wade isn't getting traded but if the heat had to choose it would b Wade at this point of his career that's y most fans are mad the on court duo of Wade is only together 16-18 min a game and free chef beasley could b a dynamic pick an pop/rolll guy If we ran a two man game between Wade an beasley the same we do for haslem

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  87. "Maybe the problem isn't Beasley. Maybe the problem is the offensive system that has him catching the ball 20 feet from the rim 80% of the time."

    Maybe it's not even a 'problem'. He has an incredible shooting stroke. He's just as likely to hit from outside as he is from inside. I think Beasley would play the same way in just about any offense.

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  88. "A case could be made for DeJaun Blair. That kid could put up some serious numbers if given the time."

    Eh, I don't know about that. Gregg Popovich isn't Erik Spoelstra. He knows what he's doing. If Blair is playing 18 minutes a game, it's for a reason.

    Regardless, I don't think there's a legit case for Blair. If you remember the last Spurs game, Beasley destroyed him early -- Popovich went to the bench like 5 minutes into the game to get a different match-up. I think Beasley had 20 points in the first half of that game.

    I like Blair's game. I think he's way better than Kevin Love, for example. But I don't think he's a star-quality player. I think he's more of an elite role player -- the PF equivalent of like a Bruce Bowen (not even close to as good defensively, but way better offensively -- and elite rebounder). I don't know if you can ever focus an offense around him, though.

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  89. Adam, we do run pick and roll. Side pick with Wade --> Haslem leaks baseline for the midranger. High screen, top of the circle --> Haslem or JO slips it to get to the middle of the floor for the wide open free-throw line jumper (or once in a blue moon JO dunk where he hangs on the rim for five seconds afterwards).

    I guess you can argue that Beasley is "athletic" in that he can run the floor and that he exhibits creativity around the rim. Personally, I wouldn't toss that term around. When I think of athletic, I think of the josh smiths, gerald wallaces, iggys and rudy gays of the world. Perhaps saying beasley isn't "explosive" would be more like it.

    Semantics aside, wade desperately needs a freak that'll go up and get it. life would be so much easier. i'd be willing to part with supercool.

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  90. "He has an incredible shooting stroke. He's just as likely to hit from outside as he is from inside."

    That's just not true. He's shooting 40% on jump shots this season, and 66% from inside. He's a good jump shooter, but he's a *very* good inside scorer, even despite the somewhat high number of shots he gets blocked.

    As a point of comparison, last season, Chris Bosh shot 43% on jump shots and 59% from inside.

    If anything, I'd argue that Beasley has shown that when he plays inside, he's an elite scorer. He gets to the line, he's efficient, and he's a much better offensive rebounder. His worst games are the games where he floats around the perimeter and settles for 20 footers.

    Any competent offense's goal should be to force him inside as much as possible. Get him the ball at the elbow and let him go to work.

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  91. Blair is a beast eddie but he isn't in beasley category not even bosh was as skilled as beasley this early in his career

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  92. "When I think of athletic, I think of the josh smiths, gerald wallaces, iggys and rudy gays of the world."

    Those are 4 of the 6 or 7 most athletic players in the NBA. You're not talking merely 'athletic'. You're talking freaks of nature.

    But for as great as athletes like those are, none of them can be a #2 offensive option for a contender. They're not good enough at creating their own looks.

    And in all fairness, we had an athletic freak here -- his name was Shawn Marion. It didn't really work out that well. What Wade needs are more playmakers that can score themselves and create for others. If this team started the season with a solid playmaker at point guard -- not even a star, but someone like Kyle Lowry -- they're probably 10 wins better.

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  93. Beasley had a 39 inch vertical rose had 40 so da non athletic comments can stop

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  94. In keeping with the theme of trade deadline speculation, I'm going to pop my blog cherry in a bit.

    ...

    Yep. That's the mighty wind of anticipation coming through, folks. OK, maybe not anticipation.

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  95. I'm not getting the obsession with ultra-athleticism or alley-oops. We've had a few Wade-Beasley alleys in the last few weeks. I don't recall the opposition bowing down in majesty and just giving us a W. I'd rather maximize the basketball talent here, as opposed to being overly concerned with compiling a highlight reel.

    Amar'e (apparently a 'beast who can really go it' has played with a Hall of Fame PG. What exactly has it gotten him or how has it made Phoenix a championship threat? Come on.

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  96. josh, those video clips of beas dunking in traffic are nice, but really misleading. he gets his stuff tossed back at an alarming rate. i mean, he's doing better this year, but it doesn't sit well with me that a guy as young as beasley needs to coached to take it harder to the whole, to finish over the top.

    it's in his nature to crafty and finesse around the rim. when's the last time you saw finesse player suddenly turn into an aggressive rim-stuffer, never to revert back to those soft tendencies.

    if you're an aggressive above the rim player, you come into the league that way. cold-hearted. i would never call beasley's game "nasty." he's just not a good fit with wade.

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  97. I don't really think it's an alarming rate. According to 82games.com, he's getting 13% of his inside shots blocked. That's the exact same percentage as Carlos Boozer, who I don't think anyone would describe as soft inside. Bosh gets 9% blocked. Haslem gets 17% blocked.

    I agree that he's not a nasty inside scorer. He's more finesse than freak athlete. But whatever. He's scoring inside at a reasonable rate, and he's doing it efficiently. If you want a slasher to finish at the rim, it shouldn't be your PF, anyway. Get an athlete at SF -- they're a dime a dozen. Dorell Wright is an incredible athlete.

    But like I said, I don't think that's our problem -- at least not offensively. Defensively, we need more athleticism. Offensively, I think we need a much better system, more creators, and better outside shooting. Athletes in this offense just end up spectating. Maybe in a better offense Wade would benefit from playing with athletes, but we saw what happened with Marion. Wade just goes 1-on-5 while the 'athlete' sits at the 3 point line on the weak side waiting for kick-outs. That's our SF's job in the offense.

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  98. agent d, goran dragic has a 40 inch vertical. . . some guys just measure well. doesn't always translate.

    josh, i actually thought marion's athleticism was a good fit for us on defense and hustle plays. unfortunately, our roster as it stood at the time, had zero inside presence. also, marion wasn't exactly a pick and roll player as much as he a guy on defense who would generate turnovers to start a fast break or would fill the lane in an uptempto style.

    lord hades, i'm not just bowing down to a highlight reel. i'm just saying amare's explosiveness and legit interior power game are a much better fit with wade. jo was supposed to be our interior presence, a supposed back-to-the-basket guy, but he's proven otherwise.

    amare and wade would put so much pressure in the paint, which is something this franchise is about. however, that also applies to defense, but for a half-year rental, it's as good as it gets for us.

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  99. Amare at his best for about 3 years is what Beasley will become in about a year of full-time PF minutes and proper playing calling and coaching alongside Wade.

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  100. Josh, I love how you refute all of the Beasley myths... the numbers don't lie

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  101. josh, i don't want to sound like a beasley basher b/c i think the kid's a legit talent. imo, i don't think the reports are accurate in that teams aren't interested in him. he's young, skilled, has a tremendous ceiling. kerr must be bluffing.

    i just don't envision beasley as the type of long-term running mate that wade deserves. beasley's nice but he's not dynamic around the rim. i'm sure his inside offensive numbers compare favorably to boozer, but part of the boozer perception of "toughness" comes from his true back to the basket skills and rebounding. (i should also mention that boozer is a player miami should stay away from, but that's another topic.)

    if you don't want to waste any more of wade's prime years, go out and get one of those stars from team usa. sure, we can always wait for bosh, but if amare is out there, and it doesn't seem like beasley fits here long term, go get amare.

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  102. From HoopsWorld
    The Stoudemire Sweepstakes

    Miami is another team that desperately wants Stoudemire. Sources say that the HEAT have offered packages centered around Jermaine O'Neal's $22,995,000 expiring contract.

    Sources close to Stoudemire's camp say that South Beach is still his preferred destination. If he were dealt to the HEAT, there's no question he would re-sign this summer. The eighth-year forward owns a home in Miami and would love to be there long-term.

    The same cannot be said for Cleveland. While he would love to contend for a championship this season, sources say he's hesitant about re-signing with the club. While he would love to finish the season with the Cavaliers and then test free agency, it's very unlikely that Cleveland makes a move without a guarantee from Stoudemire he'll re-sign this offseason. Cleveland and Phoenix started talking on Friday and the discussions are continuing.

    While some reports have suggested a deal is close to be completed, it will likely be a couple of days before something gets done. Keep checking back for updates as the sweepstakes continues.

    The consolation prize for the team who fails to land Stoudemire could be Antawn Jamison. While Cleveland has shown interest in Jamison for quite some time, Michael Lee of The Washington Post is reporting Miami is also looking at the forward.

    "I've been told that the Cavaliers aren't the only team interested in Jamison. Miami has also expressed interest of late, according to a league source," Lee writes.

    Some believe Cleveland is just using Amar'e as a smokescreen to free up Jamison. The forward will likely be dealt before Thursday and there's a chance that whichever team doesn't land Stoudemire, could get an All-Star caliber forward of their own to play with in Jamison.
    ----------------------------------------
    Would Jamison be a rental and a trade chip for the summer? That's the only way I think Riley even makes a move for him. But how about Amare saying he wouldn't commit to resigning with Cavs if traded there. I think he already knows he and Lebron's egos would clash at some point or maybe the real deal is knowing that Shaq is there and he and Shaq didn't work as well they thought they would in Phoenix with a great PG Nash. Don't know....

    I think Riley stands Pat and signs Amare straight up if he can't get Bosh in the offseason and still gets to keep Beasley. Also if Amare is willing to come to Miami he must be more than willing to play the 5...

    Like I said last week: "I'D TAKE AMARE ALL DAY AS MY CENTER IN THE EAST!!!!!"

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  103. "Josh, I love how you refute all of the Beasley myths... the numbers don't lie"

    Haha, thanks. In all fairness to the people raising the complaints, I think a lot of times it's just a matter of "grass is greener" syndrome. We see every single shot Beasley has blocked. We see every single jump shot he takes. We see every single rotation he misses. With players on other teams, I think the vast majority of posters really only see them play maybe 5-10 times a year, plus highlights. If you only saw Beasley play 5 times this season, you could think he was anywhere from the next Chris Bosh to the next Charlie Villanueva based on what games you saw.

    There are legit complaints with Beasley. The two I think are most damaging to his current production and future potential would be his relative inability to get to the free throw line and his inconsistent rebounding.

    But IMO, he will learn to get to the line way more as he gains the league's respect. He's still a kid, and a kid coming off an embarrassing off-season at that. Next year, I think he will begin to get some respect from the officials. That should only improve. Still, it's a matter of faith over how much it will improve. Will he be a 5 free throw per game type of guy, or an 8 free throw per game guy? Because that's the difference between being an all-star and a superstar.

    On the other hand, his rebounding should improve greatly once he bulks up and is allowed to play PF only. He's shown that when he gets 35+ minutes in a game, he generally grabs 8+ rebounds. He's also shown that he rebounds far better from the PF position. So once he begins to get 35-ish minutes per game at the PF position, it stands to reason that his rebounding will greatly improve. I don't see him ever being an elite rebounder, but I think he could very easily be a 10 rebound per game guy for a long time.

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  104. "i just don't envision beasley as the type of long-term running mate that wade deserves."

    That's completely fair. I don't agree, but that's not an opinion that I have a problem with. I also agree that we should ideally pair Wade with a great running mate that can make us a legit contender.

    I don't think Amare is that guy. I think he's vastly overrated (due to the Suns' style of offense and the fact that he's being fed by Nash), and I think in 2 years, Beasley will be a better player as Amare's athleticism drops off and Beasley's game grows.

    I think the ideal scenario would be the Heat going into the 2010 off-season and signing LeBron, Bosh, Amare, or Joe Johnson, and rolling with a Wade-free agent signing-Beasley core for the next 8 years. For the next 3 years, Beasley could be the third wheel to one of those dynamic duos. Then in 3 years, as Wade is starting to decline, we could have Beasley just peaking as a player and entering his prime. What we lose with Wade aging, we gain with Beasley aging.

    And then when Wade finally retires, we would have a legit piece in Beasley to start re-building around instead of starting all over again.

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  105. adam, i think you're right about getting more athletes out there on defense, but i think our defensive mistakes get amplified when we play such a slow pace on offense. in the modern day nba, there are lot of 3pt shooters out there and teams will eventually get on hot streaks beyond the arc. our offensive philosophy gives us such a small margin of error on defense, defensive intensity is just not sustainable for a long stretch given our personnel. plus, who's a defensive guy out there we can grab?

    we need firepower inside to make the game easier on everybody else. with the exception of wade, we're a jumpshooting team. we're essentially the bulls.

    i think our roster has plenty of capable shooters, respectively speaking. jo, beasley and haslem hold down the midrange. while our three-point shooters are inconsistent, i think q-rich has proven himself in the past (maybe distant past), cook might bounce back the second half of the season, jones showed in the playoffs he could step in, and dorrell looks good launching from either baseline.

    our glaring weakness is in the interior. and like d_webz says, i'd take stoudemire all day in the east, particularly the bottom half playoff squads where you go up against guys like brad miller, joakim noah, bogut, bargnani, dalembert, etc.

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