It seems like a long time since Miami won the NBA title. Maybe it's just me, but I always feel like Dwyane Wade is much closer to 30 than his actual age: 27. Teams with stars on Wade's level don't usually fall apart and only win 15 games unless that star is on a serious decline. But the Heat did, which put them in the Lottery where they picked up Michael Beasley. Despite the fact that Miami rebounded last year and made the playoffs, it doesn't seem like Beasley has really fit into what Miami wants to do. One of Miami's favorite veterans, Udonis Haslem, plays the 4. Beasley wasn't ready or willing to defend at the 3. And Beasley's laid back personality doesn't seem a good fit on a team built by Pat Riley. Maybe it's not his fault though; apparently he wasn't asked to play any defense during his AAU years.
Don't get me wrong, it's not like Miami's situation is doom and gloom. First, Wade and Beasley are two of the most talented players in the entire League. Second, the Heat have NOBODY under guaranteed contract in 2010-2011, so they can easily blow up whatever isn't working and will be a major player in the free agent market after next season or in trades this season for teams looking to drop payroll commitments. Miami also picked up a nice piece in the second round of last year's draft in Mario Chalmers. But convince Wade to stay and to build this team into a contender, Miami has its work cut out. Here are some good initial steps:
1) Trade Beasley for a big man. For all the reasons above, I don't think Beasley and Wade will ever fit together as the building blocks for the Heat. As much as I love Beasley's talent, I don't think he has the tempermant or drive to adjust to being a secondary star. And as long as Wade is in Miami, that's what Beasley will be. It's not like other teams have forgotten how talented Beasley is though, so Miami should be able to get a lot for him. Emeka Okafor is one example of a player I think would work well with Wade and can probably be had for Beasley and filler. I don't know if either Miami or Charlotte could turn a deal built around those two players down. It would give the Bobcats a legitimate star talent to build around, and it would give the a defender and shot blocker to replace what Alonzo Mourning provided for years.
2) Trade Haslem for a versatile guard. Wade has said in years past that he doesn't want to play the point. But as young as the Heat were last year, Wade had to take on a lot of point guard responsibilities. Instead of just worrying about his job, he had to get people into the right place, figure out who should have the ball and who shouldn't, and generally manage the team from the floor. It's too draining to be a top-flight scorer and manage everyone else's expectations also. By asking Wade to be both its scorer and de-facto point, Wade's two roles often conflicted with one another. What does this have to do with Haslem? Well, Haslem is the Heat's other valuable trade chip. Not only does he have an expiring contract, but he's also a solid leader and 4 who can step out and make a shot. As we saw with Orlando this past postseason (and have heard ad nauseum since), having a big man who can space the floor is essential against defenses in the playoffs. You need your big men to be threats so your stars have enough room to drive. For Miami at this point though, it is more important that they let Wade loose and allow him to attack on every time offense instead of worrying about getting everyone else involved. Would Chicago bite on Haslem and Dorell Wright for Kirk Hinrich, or something similar? (And if the Heat think they can get that point from somewhere else, they could also try to get a young talent to put with Wade like Wilson Chandler from the Knicks by taking on Jared Jeffries' contract. That 2-for-1 works on the ESPN trade checker.)
3) Don't do anything else to screw up cap space for next year. Even with the trades above, Miami is in position to be a huge player in 2010 free agency. For the sake of argument, let's say that the Heat re-signed Jamario Moon for $3 million a year, traded Beasley and James Jones for Okafor, then traded Haslem and Dorell Wright for Hinrich. Going into 2010-2011, they would have Hinrich at the 1 ($9 million), Wade at the 2 (around $20 million), Moon at the 3 ($3 million), and Okafor at the 5 ($11.5 million). I think Chris Bosh would be seriously interested. That's only $43 million and a much more attractive lineup than Bosh has with him in Toronto.
Wade may not be the 30 I think he is, but he's not far from it. With the way he plays, there's even more of a need for Miami to go for it now. It's doubtful Miami would want to put that much money into their starting lineup with no bench to speak of, but at a minimum it's an interesting blueprint for Heat fans to dream about.
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