PG Solution

[Poe]

Heat Off-Season: PG Sollution

 

There's a lot to discuss about the offseason for Miami. Let's dedicate this thread to strictly the point guard position.

 

Throughout the 09-10 season, there have already been some issues at point guard. Chalmers, Arroyo, and Alston all had cracks at the starting job, and with Alston suspended and Arroyo's contract expiring, the Heat will most likely need a new starter at the position.

 

I can think of several solutions:

 

1. Sign through free agency

Given the huge amount of cap space the Heat will have this offseason, it's easy to think they can use their money to sign a point guard. Although there are no "big names" at the PG position, there are plenty of capable starters such as Raymond Felton, Randy Foye, Steve Blake, and Will Bynum.

 

2. Draft one through the Heat's first round pick

Personally, I'd choose a center since there aren't very many to choose from in free agency, but that's another discussion. Though whoever the Heat would draft for a PG, it should at least have a high possibility of being an upgrade to 2nd round pick Mario Chalmers. Eric Bledsoe seems like the most likely pick.

 

3. Trade

The remaining contracts and likely trading chips the Heat have this summer include Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Daequan Cook, and I believe James Jones. Perhaps the solution could be to trade one of these players or package a few of them, maybe even sign and trade other players to bring in a legit point guard to pair with Wade and the potential max free agent. Darren Collison may be shopped, and also Rodrigue Beaubois, Kirk Hinrich, and George Hill, or perhaps a bigger name like Devin Harris. I'm not completely certain about any of these as possibilities, and I doubt anybody truly knows what Riley has planned just yet. Given the circumstance that they are back ups worthy of starting jobs, teams may look to shop them to strengthen the other positions on their team.

 

4. Mario Chalmers

Chalmers has spent two years in Miami and still struggles to solidify his position as a point guard. His handle is still shaky at the NBA level, struggles against pressure defense, and is pretty turnover prone overall despite spending the majority of his time at the wing on offense with Wade or Arroyo dominating the ball. His ability to steal the ball and make the occasional great play offensively still leaves some potential. The Heat will have to put a lot of faith into him if they believe he'll be ready by next year, that he can be the starting solution at PG for a championship caliber team.

 

5. Dorell Wright

For those that are less familiar with Wright's game, he has a very strong handle for a player his size, and he's an underrated passer as well. He's played point guard before and once had 19 points, 5 assists, and 0 turnovers playing the position off the bench. If Wright works on tightening his handle even more and raising his awareness, he could learn to be reliable at the point guard position consistently. Riley has experimented with the idea before, and if he proves to be the solution, I'm sure you can imagine the mismatches it would create having a 6'9'' guy playing a six footer's position.

 

6. Use Dwyane Wade as point

I know this is by far the least likely solution, but since he played PG before during his rookie year, it is at least worth mentioning. In a scenario where the Heat get two great wing players, it may be best to use Wade as the starting PG.

[Poe]

I copied this from my post at CTS. Feel free to share your thoughts here as well.

[Flash]

Like I said over there. I was talking to someone close to the team and he told me we may make a serious push for CP3. I know it sounds far-fetched but hey, you never know. He also told me we're going to throw everything we have a LeBron this summer. Just TIFWIW.

[Poe]

Trying and succeeding are two different things. With the small windows of opportunity, the Heat will try to hit the homerun on these deals. I think the chances of trading for CP3 and signing LeBron are too small to even hope for. If it happens, freaking awesome. If it doesn't, I'm not disappointed, since I wasn't expecting it anyway.

Edited May 11, 2010 by Poe

[Flash]

Trying and succeeding are two different things. With the small windows of opportunity, the Heat will try to hit the homerun on these deals. I think the chances of trading for CP3 and signing LeBron are too small to even hope for. If it happens, freaking awesome. If it doesn't, I'm not disappointed, since I wasn't expecting it anyway.

 

Well I was told that it wasn't as crazy a thought as some people think that the LBJ thing could get pretty serious come summer time. IIRC, Colin Cowherd said on the radio the other day something about Wade and LBJ talking a lot lately. Again, I'm not saying anything is set in stone, but we've got a better shot with LBJ than most people are giving us.

[Real Deal]

The only way LeBron and Wade play on the same team is if they both go to New York. Of course, that's just my opinion, but I'm sure a lot of others will agree...and the possibility of that happening? I don't know, but I would say highly unlikely.

 

Part of me would love to see it, and the other part would hate it, for obvious reasons.

 

The CP3 deal...I wouldn't put too much into that. The Hornets won't look to trade Paul...not yet. They would rather deal Collison, out of the two point guards...and he would be pretty damn good for the Heat.

 

I just have a feeling Miami will pursue Boozer before they take a look at star point guards.

[Nitro]

All the Heat need is a PG that can knock down jumpshots at a decent clip and be efficient handling the ball. That was generally the formula at the PG position the year they won the championship. Wade may be a SG, but he does the vast majority of the ballhandling and playmaking, as he should. Assuming they get one of the big-name FA bigs (Amare, Boozer, Bosh, etc..), they take the biggest issue the team has had in the last few years as they will have a 2nd player that can create his own shot down near the rim. Once again, a prime reason why a spot-up shooter at the PG position would be ideal.

 

Personally, I think out of all the possible PG's that the Heat could manage to get, Kirk Hinrich would be the best fit. He's tough, a great defender who will take pressure off Wade on that end of the floor, and he'd thrive with all the open jumpshots he'd be getting fed. The 2nd player that came to my mind was Darren Collison, but he's not a very good shooter, a tad small on the defensive side, and while his body of work is limited, having a TO prone PG next to a relatively TO prone SG in Wade could be a problem. Also, after how well he performed last year as a rookie, his asking price might be a bit much.