New roster?

[Multi-Billionaire]

Perfect sense? K-Mart is 33 with multiple micro-fracture surgeries and 70+ games played only once in the last 6 seasons. He's also in no way, shape or form a center, and the Heat already have arguably the best PF rotation in the league (Bosh/Haslem/James).

 

He averaged only 8.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg but he also played only 25.7 mpg (down from 34.2 mpg in 2009-10) and took only 7.5 shots per game (down from 10.7 shots per game in 2009-10). The reduced shot attempts made him more efficient 51 FG% (up from 46 FG% in 2009-10). He was as solid as ever, catching passes for explosive dunks (James and Wade would be much happier throwing passes to him instead of Joel Anthony), was still one of our best defenders. Haslem (physical but not constantly), Bosh (not physical), and James (not true PF) are all nice, but KMart would be your more athletic version of 2007-08 Boston Celtics' PJ Brown.

 

And if lobbied hard enough, KMart may sign veteran minimum (he has said money is not a factor, but winning is).

 

Arguably easiest prediction of "what will happen this summer in NBA" is: Kenyon Martin will sign with either of these FInals teams: Heat or Mavs.

[Nitro]

He averaged only 8.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg but he also played only 25.7 mpg (down from 34.2 mpg in 2009-10) and took only 7.5 shots per game (down from 10.7 shots per game in 2009-10). The reduced shot attempts made him more efficient 51 FG% (up from 46 FG% in 2009-10). He was as solid as ever, catching passes for explosive dunks (James and Wade would be much happier throwing passes to him instead of Joel Anthony), was still one of our best defenders. Haslem (physical but not constantly), Bosh (not physical), and James (not true PF) are all nice, but KMart would be your more athletic version of 2007-08 Boston Celtics' PJ Brown.

 

And if lobbied hard enough, KMart may sign veteran minimum (he has said money is not a factor, but winning is).

 

Arguably easiest prediction of "what will happen this summer in NBA" is: Kenyon Martin will sign with either of these FInals teams: Heat or Mavs.

 

All of that's nice, but he's not a center, and he's 33 with multiple microfracture surgeries. The Heat already have 2 PF's who are better than he is, and they will likely spend the MLE (if there is one) on a true center or point guard. If he signs with the Heat for the minimum, he'll probably end up getting Juwan Howard minutes.

[Multi-Billionaire]

^Cmon did you just compare Juwan with KMart? Juwan was a nice player but he's old and washed up... KMart still has a good 1-2 years left in him. He's still explosive for dunks.

[Newman]

K-Mart wouldn't play before Haslem or Bosh though.

[?QuestionMark?]

Dalembert would be a great acquisition for Miami. He's defends, boards, swats, anchors, and has developed a pretty decent mid-range shot making him more of a scoring threat than Anthony.

 

A lot of what Miami does depends on the new CBA. Assuming the new CBA looks somewhat familiar, a guy like Dalembert is gonna cost MLE money. A lot of teams will want him. Boston, SA, Portland, and New York could be suitors. Other guys to consider for Miami are Joel Pryzbilla and Nazr Mohammed.

 

As for PGs, really this is a weak year for FAs. Most of the talented players are restricted so Miami is out of the running for most of them. Keep Chalmers because he's the best Miami can do via FA. Maybe sign Earl Watson as a backup.

[Abro]

What about throw the MLE at JR Smith?? He's an athletic 2 guard who can hit the 3 with some consistency, can play the point guard position, and doesn't turn it over much, only downsides are that he doesn't play good defense, but he can rebound and can be a decent decision maker too.

 

Then maybe get a vet like joel pryzbilla to sign for the vets minimum.

 

What do you all think about this idea??

Edited June 15, 2011 by Abro

[Nitro]

^Cmon did you just compare Juwan with KMart? Juwan was a nice player but he's old and washed up... KMart still has a good 1-2 years left in him. He's still explosive for dunks.

 

No, I said he'd be getting Juwan Howard minutes. K-Mart is not a better player than Bosh (who will be playing 35-40MPG), Spo loves Haslem who is arguably a better player than K-Mart and will see his 20-25MPG at the 4/5, and the Heat will most likely be getting a center this offseason, who will occupy 20-30MPG, with Anthony and Haslem/Bosh using the rest of those minutes at that spot.

 

In other words, the only opportunities he will have to play are the same minutes Howard got this season (which were higher than usual since Haslem missed nearly the entire season).

[Erick Blasco]

Dalembert offers size and rebounding, the two areas Anthony is completely awful in. Pittman I think can be a nice project as he is a very good finisher and has some good post moves, but he's nothing more than a raw project. All those times Miami was getting crushed on the boards against Dallas by Chandler (which is what caused all those loose ball fouls in the 4th quarter in the games at Dallas) would be greatly reduced with Dalembert in the middle.

 

I don't think the size itself is a big skill. Anthony plays bigger than his size on defense. I wouldn't hesitate to call him one of the best defensive big men in the game today. If the Heat are signing a player like Dalembert for his rebounding, they should also go after a player who offers rebounding and provides more of an offensive game than Dalembert. It covers more of Anthony's weaknesses than just board work.

[Nitro]

I don't think the size itself is a big skill. Anthony plays bigger than his size on defense. I wouldn't hesitate to call him one of the best defensive big men in the game today. If the Heat are signing a player like Dalembert for his rebounding, they should also go after a player who offers rebounding and provides more of an offensive game than Dalembert. It covers more of Anthony's weaknesses than just board work.

 

Size is important. Anthony is smaller in height and weight than LeBron, and even though he is a great shotblocker, he does get exposed for it...any time KG or Dirk (PF's, mind you) would back him down in the playoffs, they bullied him around with ease. On the boards, he has terrible instincts and his size hurts him, with many big men simply reaching over him for the board even when Anthony does have position. This could be seen in the Chicago and Boston series', and I remember the worst game of the year with this was when the Jazz came back from a huge defecit and won with Milsap going for 46pts. His size also kills him around the rim as even when he does catch the ball (an issue for him), he has a ton of problems finishing around the rim unless he is completely wide open.

 

Dalembert has his weaknesses, but he offers size, rebounding, defense and can actually finish around the rim. This offseason offers little in terms of centers who provide offense, and the ones who do like Gasol will be going for way more than the MLE. I think it'd be smarter to invest in a sure-thing who will fit in with Miami's system like Dalembert, and give Dexter Pittman the opportunity to develop and eventually get significant NBA minutes. Pittman actually does offer a solid post game, and is very good at finishing around the rim, so I think he could eventually be a key contributor if they develop him some more.

[Clutch]

rio / bev / house

wade / iverson or redd

bron / mike miller / jj

bosh / haslem / varnado

dalemebrt / joel / pittman / and the final spot i wouldnt mind bringing back magloire or juwan to chill on the bench

 

i would gamble on both iverson or redd, get some sort of scoring off the bench. but dalembert should hands down be the biggest target

 

oh and varnado and bev, bring them back from europe.. cheap but athletic and defensive gems

 

having bev there would also force spo to stop [expletive]in around with the rotations all the time lol since he is a poor mans rondo (zero offense, but solid defense, playmaking and rebounding) ..varnado is joel part 2 with probably a better offensive game...he would be more useful than juwan thats for sure.

 

main 3pt shooters would be rio, miller and jj (or redd if he still remembers how to play basketball) - rio is the best pg for us, he knows exactly how to play as a pg with this team without handling the ball a whole lot. he still creates for everyone including himself so i wouldn't worry about searching for pg's this off-season.

 

2nd unit of a healthy mike miler and haslem with another scorer and 2 defensive players at point and center would be solid - big 3 could be rested more, especially lebron since he was always left out with that horrible lineup this year bustin his ass off all over

[Erick Blasco]

Size is important. Anthony is smaller in height and weight than LeBron, and even though he is a great shotblocker, he does get exposed for it...any time KG or Dirk (PF's, mind you) would back him down in the playoffs, they bullied him around with ease. On the boards, he has terrible instincts and his size hurts him, with many big men simply reaching over him for the board even when Anthony does have position. This could be seen in the Chicago and Boston series', and I remember the worst game of the year with this was when the Jazz came back from a huge defecit and won with Milsap going for 46pts. His size also kills him around the rim as even when he does catch the ball (an issue for him), he has a ton of problems finishing around the rim unless he is completely wide open.

 

Dalembert has his weaknesses, but he offers size, rebounding, defense and can actually finish around the rim. This offseason offers little in terms of centers who provide offense, and the ones who do like Gasol will be going for way more than the MLE. I think it'd be smarter to invest in a sure-thing who will fit in with Miami's system like Dalembert, and give Dexter Pittman the opportunity to develop and eventually get significant NBA minutes. Pittman actually does offer a solid post game, and is very good at finishing around the rim, so I think he could eventually be a key contributor if they develop him some more.

 

I wonder what his PPP against was. Every time I saw Anthony attacked directly, he was usually doing his job extremely well. I agree with you about the rebounding. I think Anthony's rebounding problems definitely require the Heat to build around him. But I see Anthony as a defender who makes opponents miss shots. Dalembert has a lot of awareness problems with his defense and doesn't offer much on offense besides his default being better at finishing around the rim.

 

Because of this, I think the platoon big Miami should bring in should be a more offensive minded center who also rebounds. I'm thinking of a Troy Murphy type player, without the magnitude of suck on defense. I don't think Dalembert would play well on Miami. He makes too many mistakes. Given that Anthony plays bigger than his size, he covers passably for two of Anthony's weaknesses. Why not try to find a player who covers for more AND who plays decent defense.

[Nitro]

Because of this, I think the platoon big Miami should bring in should be a more offensive minded center who also rebounds. I'm thinking of a Troy Murphy type player, without the magnitude of suck on defense. I don't think Dalembert would play well on Miami. He makes too many mistakes. Given that Anthony plays bigger than his size, he covers passably for two of Anthony's weaknesses. Why not try to find a player who covers for more AND who plays decent defense.

 

In principle I agree, however out of all the positions in the NBA, finding a quality center for the MLE or lower is damn near impossible. If you do find one, they are likely to be severely flawed in at least one important area. And finding one that can score is an ever bigger challenge. Ideally the best fit for the Heat would be Tyson Chandler...I always envisioned him being the perfect fit. However, after this season he will likely command a contract worth more than the MLE, and I doubt he'd leave Dallas seeing as how he is so valued by that organization after this year's championship run. I think Dalembert would be a pretty good fit for this team; I mean, if they got away with Big Z and Dampier so long, and then Anthony/various PF's throughout the last 2 rounds, I think he'd definitely be a signficant upgrade.

[Flash]

Oden!!

[Nitro]

Oden!!

 

See my posts earlier in this thread about Oden. Unless he comes for the minimum it'd be a big mistake.

[SRV]

Oden might have the worst luck in the world, but he is still a #1 pick. The few games he has been healthy, he has been a great player. I would much rather take a chance on him than bring in like 3 old centers who all do the same thing but can't actually help the team in any way. Plus if he gets injured again we still have Anthony and Haslem, although they are short, they still were good enough to get us to the Finals.

[Nitro]

Oden might have the worst luck in the world, but he is still a #1 pick. The few games he has been healthy, he has been a great player. I would much rather take a chance on him than bring in like 3 old centers who all do the same thing but can't actually help the team in any way. Plus if he gets injured again we still have Anthony and Haslem, although they are short, they still were good enough to get us to the Finals.

 

All of this is assuming the Heat will have the MLE. If the Heat have the MLE, there is no need to bring in 3 old vet-minimum contracts like they did last off-season when they split the MLE with Haslem/Miller. As I said, if they bring in Oden for the minimum, cool, then that's a low-risk/high-potential deal. However, if they have to spend any more than that for a guy that has serious surgeries in his past and has played only 1/8 of the last 2 seasons, then that's too risky for a team that's so close to winning a title. They need to spend that MLE money on proven, durable talent that they know will be reliable and improve the product they put out in 10-11.

[Erick Blasco]

All of this is assuming the Heat will have the MLE. If the Heat have the MLE, there is no need to bring in 3 old vet-minimum contracts like they did last off-season when they split the MLE with Haslem/Miller. As I said, if they bring in Oden for the minimum, cool, then that's a low-risk/high-potential deal. However, if they have to spend any more than that for a guy that has serious surgeries in his past and has played only 1/8 of the last 2 seasons, then that's too risky for a team that's so close to winning a title. They need to spend that MLE money on proven, durable talent that they know will be reliable and improve the product they put out in 10-11.

 

Especially since Oden has very little experience and can't move fluidly. With how the Heat make it a point to hedge on screens Oden may not be fluid enough to work.

 

Kris Humphries may be available this offseason. It may be possible in some lineups to have Bosh move to center or play Humphries against some centers. A rotation of Haslem and Humphries backing up Anthony and Bosh may give the Heat some options. Humphries isn't a great defender, but he has offensive skills and he's a fantastic rebounder. Throw in some arbitrary seven-footer for pure center depth (Semih Erden?) and I think the Heat would be on their way.

[Abro]

I wouldn't go after kris humphries though.. They already have chris bosh and UD at the pf spot.. That would make them pf heavy worth no decent big unless they could possibly get dalembert (or however you spell it) to sign for the vet minimum.

[Abro]

Oden might have the worst luck in the world, but he is still a #1 pick. The few games he has been healthy, he has been a great player. I would much rather take a chance on him than bring in like 3 old centers who all do the same thing but can't actually help the team in any way. Plus if he gets injured again we still have Anthony and Haslem, although they are short, they still were good enough to get us to the Finals.

But not good enough to win the finals...