11 replies to this topic

[blakecouey]

So, if Miami loses tonight the general consensus from the media is they will lose the series(I don't think that's a lock but down 3-1 is tough).
If Miami does lose the series, what changes will be made?
Bosh:
It's shown a lot about Bosh that Miami can't seem to win without him, at least against this Pacer team. Bosh only missed three other games this season, Miami went 1-2 in them(losses to Jazz and Lakers, win against Portland). Going back to last season, Bosh missed 5 games, the Heat went 3-2(two wins against Toronto, one against Detriot, losses against the Knicks and Hawks). Easily interpreted as without Bosh Miami is 0-4 against playoff teams during the regular season, with two more losses in the playoffs to Indiana so far. I have heard several times that if Miami misses the playoffs that Bosh will be shopped, my question is WHY?? I agree that he is obviously the third-wheel to James and Wade, but a debate could be made that he is likely the most needed for them to succeed. I still think that he may be the one traded, if only because you cannot trade Lebron(nor would you want to), and trading Wade is almost as preposterous.
Wade:
This season Miami went 14-3 without Wade in the lineup. Wow. Only one of the losses came against a playoff team(Boston-was without James as well), with 6 of the wins against playoff teams(one of them Indiana!). I'm not saying Wade has lost it, he is still one of the top 10 in the league without question, but in this system he is MUCH LESS important than Bosh.
Lebron:
Say what you want about Lebron, he IS the MVP without question. This season the Heat went 1-3 without Lebron(two of these losses were without Wade). Small sample size of games, but either way I don't think there is much need for me to delve into reasons to keep Lebron-first they wont trade him, second he is the best in the world.

So my question is what should the Heat do this offseason? Im leaning toward finding a new home for Wade. There are reasons why you should keep all three, but Wade's reasons are outweighed by the teams ability to win without him. Wade probably has the second best trade value, and they would be able to get a lot of quality depth in replace of him.
Firing Spoelstra is not enough in my opinion, and I'm against it. Except for a few arguments that wouldnt have made the media had they not involved a struggling superstar and his young head coach the guy has done a great job.
In no way am I saying the Rockets will acquire ANY of these players, that's a totally different topic for another day, all I want to know are your thoughts on how to fix the Heat.

[rockets best fan]

don't fix them. I love this(the heat choking on their own pride and overconfidence) I hope they never win a championship. just proves you can not discount what roll players mean to a team. basketball is a team sport. the best team will win, not the greatest collection of stars. now all those arrogant statements they made taste like sour milk and they can't get the taste out of their mouth. they will get no pity from me. I want them to keep this team together. they deserve each other. the next time they jump on stage with smoke blowing everywhere make sure you have a championship already. the self proclaimed king (lebron) ain't dead yet, but there plenty of trouble in the kingdom.

[blakecouey]

I want thoughts as Management will take it, not as people who hate the team. Pretend it was your team, what would YOU do to fix them so you have the best possible chance at winning a championship.

[rockets best fan]

ok ok blakecouey i'll play along. the management won't do anything to the big three, because to trade one of them would be to much like admitting they were wrong to sign them. now if I were management I would trade bosh for draft picks and find me a rebounder/shot blocker in the draft. then use the rest of the saved money from bosh trade to sign roll players to come off the bench

[blakecouey]

Thanks for playing along! I think you're wrong though. Bosh is clearly more valuable to this team than Wade has become. A trade of Wade could bring in a quality C, as Haslem and Anthony are weak links in my opinion. With the availability of an upgraded C, you can get rid of one Anthony or Haslem, which is another big bill lifted, leaving plenty of room for a replacement at SG. I don't think PG is a real need, as Lebron is most likely going to have the ball in his hands anyways. I don't think the draft is the answer for this team, as regardless of what they do they aren't far from a championship and a draft pick might not be enough to get them there. Proven role players or cheap quality vets are the answer for a team near a championship.

[Stephen]

Blakecouey,
Wade is the Miami Heat. They aren't trading him. You underestimate how big he is in Miami,both w/Riley and among the fanbase.
If the Heat fall short this yr,they fire Spoelstra,not make any big trades."If only Bosh wasn't hurt..." will be the excuse needed to keep the team together.
That said,IF the heat were to trade one of the Big 3,it would be Bosh.
They would never get anywhere near LeBron's value and Wade is untradeable for Miami.
That leaves Bosh. Since they'd only trade Bosh to get better now,a draft pick is nice,but not key for them.
They'd need a quality big,a young prospect-preferably another big-a decent wing,some cap relief and they'd probably also like to unload Mike Miller. In many ways Houston could fill all of Miami's needs-Bosh,Miller for Dalembert,Scola,Bud(option taken by Hou) and perhaps Morris and the rights to Llull. Altho a Utah trade of Bosh,Miller for Jefferson,Milsap would be an intriguing one.

[blakecouey]

Blakecouey,
Wade is the Miami Heat. They aren't trading him. You underestimate how big he is in Miami,both w/Riley and among the fanbase.
If the Heat fall short this yr,they fire Spoelstra,not make any big trades."If only Bosh wasn't hurt..." will be the excuse needed to keep the team together.
That said,IF the heat were to trade one of the Big 3,it would be Bosh.
They would never get anywhere near LeBron's value and Wade is untradeable for Miami.
That leaves Bosh. Since they'd only trade Bosh to get better now,a draft pick is nice,but not key for them.
They'd need a quality big,a young prospect-preferably another big-a decent wing,some cap relief and they'd probably also like to unload Mike Miller. In many ways Houston could fill all of Miami's needs-Bosh,Miller for Dalembert,Scola,Bud(option taken by Hou) and perhaps Morris and the rights to Llull. Altho a Utah trade of Bosh,Miller for Jefferson,Milsap would be an intriguing one.

I understand well how much Wade is adored by the fan-base in Miami(I lived in Miami in 06-07), and as far as Pat Riley, a good manager should be capable of setting personal feelings aside for the betterment of his team. I have no misunderstanding of how great a player Wade is either, the FACT is he is less useful to this team than Bosh is, and clearly less than Lebron. Any team besides the Lakers would be thrilled to have Wade, and would give up a lot to have him. Second, firing Spoelstra is not enough, and as Bosh's injury being the scapegoat, you're probably right.
For your suggested actions, Mike Miller has to go, 6m for him next year is absurd. Bosh/Miller for Jefferson/Millsap? If Miami did that it is my suspicion that they would be setting records and winning championships. The only issue with that is Utah can't be that retarded.

As for RedStewie, upgrading their role players AND bench are their biggest needs, but they cannot afford to do that without big trades. Aside from the big three their next 5 biggest contracts are a total of 21m next year, which puts their cap hit at 56m for 8 players. With 3 more players under contract for the year, adding another 4m. Unless they can find a trade of Anthony, Haslem, and Miller, for a good C they are forced into keeping the team that they have with the rest of the roster filled with draft picks, and minimum contracts, or making a big trade involving one of the big three. To do nothing would be a mistake, as it wasn't enough last year, and they're struggling this one as soon as one gets hurt.

[Stephen]

Reading an article somewhere the writer made an interesting observation.
The Spurs Big 3 actually take up a higher percentage of the Spurs payroll that the Heats big 3 do of the Heat' payroll.
The big difference is Pop and the Spurs have filled out their bench w/Draft picks while the Heat have done so w/old vets.
The Lakers have done the same,repeatedly trading away late Firsts and the result is their supporting talent level has collapsed.

[blakecouey]

I don't think Miami is willing to wait 4-5 years to develop draft picks when they're not far from their goal, which is why they have targetted vets

[Chichos]

Does anyone else want to punch half the Heat roster in the mouth? I can't watch one of their games without thinking these guys are A**holes.

But I'll play your GM game. Bosh is so crucial because he is a pick and pop big man who can pass, shoot, go to work on the low block, and guard any PF in the NBA. Trading him would be a huge step back because he makes the Heat above average in so many areas that they would then have to address. Although the Jazz trade mentioned earlier would be intriguing. Plugging in Jefferson and Milsap gives you 95% of Bosh and keeps Haslem and Joel Anthony on the bench (something I think we can all agree is a good thing).

As a rockets fan I hate the move because that means the Jazz now have Favors and Bosh starting with Kanter coming off the bench. Favors and Kanter bang down low while Bosh swings from the high post to down low depending on lineups... That is a tough front court both offensively and defensively. If their point guard and wings could hit threes it would be a scary team for anyone to face.

But Riley is not about the trade anyone. Wade has 3-5 years of elite play in him especially now that he is deferring to Lebron more. I think we will see Bosh's role increase over that same time span. Everyone laughs now at Lebron's "not one, not two, not three..." but Riley didn't even crack a smile. He has his big and his wings and a pg who is developing into a reliable three point threat. Honestly the day he learns to pay minimum salary guys the minimum is the day they become unstoppable. Also telling Spo to keep Pitman off the court would help. The dude has played like ten minutes and hasn't made a shot and managed to get suspended (I don't know if he has or not, just that elbows to the throat are generally frowned upon in today's tickle me Elmo NBA).