Free Agents

[SRV]

I have been reading around, and it looks like we are going after every single big name FA this summer, and the first one to accept the offer will be on our team.

 

Now with all this Lebron stuff going on, would you rather have Lebron, a big man, or two really good players to go along with Wade?

[Poe]

If the Heat have a chance to pair the two of the top 3 players in the world on the same team.... well, I think you know the answer.

[SRV]

I see what you are saying, but a big man could help us. Also, we could get a gay like Rudy Gay and pair him with another FA and we could be a dangerous team. However, I do agree that Lebron and Wade should be our main goal, because that will make us one of the favorites.

[Poe]

Possible key available Free Agents that the Heat should be looking at:

 

PGs: Raymond Felton, Chris Duhon, Steve Blake, Jason Williams, Luke Ridnour,

 

SG: Dwyane Wade

 

SFs: LeBron James, Joe Johnson, Tracy McGrady, Richard Jefferson, Rudy Gay

 

PFs: Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Kenyon Martin, David Lee, Al Harrington,

 

Cs: Tyson Chandler, Ben Wallace, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas, Joel Przybilla, Brandon Haywood

 

Heat FAs: Rafer Alston, Dwyane Wade, Dorell Wright, Udonis Haslem, Jermaine O'Neal, Quentin Richardson, Carlos Arroyo, Joel Anthony, Jamaal Magloire

Considering all of this, Wade is a lock to stay if the Heat can keep him. The Heat already have a franchise power forward in Michael Beasley, who I personally believe the Heat should be looking to develop primarily at the power forward position. The gaps to fill this offseason is the 1, 3, and 5.

 

Although getting a talent at the level of Bosh or Boozer would be great, I think the Heat need to be considering match ups when envisioning a championship team. With Beasley occupying the PF position, that would force Bosh to play center, which isn't the best match up considering playing against teams like the Magic with Dwight Howard, the Lakers with Andrew Bynum, or the Celtics with Kendrick Perkins.

 

If the Heat moved Beasley to the SF position and acquire Bosh or Boozer, or even Lee, Beasley would be forced to guard guys like LeBron James... which would be a complete disaster for the Heat.

 

If Wade is locked at the 2 and Beasley at the 4, and considering the fact that there are no all star caliber 1s or 5s, I think an All Star SF is the #1 priority. Any of the above guys would do for me, maybe to the exception of Richard Jefferson. Rudy Gay's offensive game is expanding, T-Mac is still a prolific scorer and playmaker IMO, and James and JJ are... well.. you know.

 

 

Let's say the Heat do grab one of the big time wings, with 3 20-30 ppg caliber scorers on the team, all the Heat will need is defensive-minded veterans. Steve Blake, who I think was a friend of Haslem's in high school, looks like he would be a great fit to me. He's got range, has a great assist/TO ratio, he isn't ball-dominant, and he's very underrated defensively.

 

And to occupy the starting center position, any of the above centers would do for me. Just anyone who can be a force down low.

 

For the bench line up, the Heat should try to keep who they have. Chalmers - Wright - Haslem - Joel. If Chalmers, Wright, and Joel continue to develop, that should be a solid enough bench squad to compliment a championship caliber starting line up.

 

 

 

So there you go. There's a thought out response to free agency. Maybe I'll make an account on bleacherreport, expand on the Heat's free agent needs, and type up an article about this sometime, since FA talk is so big around the league.

[SRV]

I think a line up of Chalmers-Wade-James-Beasley would be great. Wade and James can do all the passing, leaving Chalmers to play defense and not turn the ball over that much. Wade and Lebron can easily avg 25 pgg, and Beasley will add in about 20 ppg depending on the night. Scoring will be no problem. The only thing that worries me is the center position. The Celtics have bigs like Perkins and KG, the Magic have Dwight, and any team in the West can eat us alive down low. We need to have enough money to sign a decent big guy who can play defense. We also need to bring back Wright, Anthony, and Haslem to sure up the bench.

 

If you take the cheaper route though, you can have something like Chalmers-Wade-Gay-Beasley-Chandler. Scoring won't be there every night, but there is some pretty good defense on that team.

Edited January 19, 2010 by SRV

[Flash]

LeBron is definitely your top target going in. You have to definitely consider all options though. Bosh would play the 5 here most likely and we'd keep Dorell and Q to man the 3. Or you could go after JJ and have him play the 3 or the 2 if you move Wade to the point. I don't think Tracy will command more than the MLE. He has a house down here so that could definitely bring him our way too. Camby is a good option at the 5 as well.

[Poe]

What I was saying about bringing Bosh is that it mismatches the Heat. Whether you put Bosh at 5 or Beasley at 3, it's going to give the Heat a lot of trouble defensively, especially against the top teams in the league. Sure, if the Heat get Bosh, they'll probably have a great regular season record, but come playoff time, the defensive mismatches will come back to haunt them for a possible second or third round upset against a team that would exploit the lack of size.

 

 

Camby might be a good option for center, especially since he won't command too much money at this point in his career and if the Heat are in position to go for the championship. I wouldn't mind Przybilla or Wallace, either. Chandler would be a great pick up if the Heat can afford him, which they would if they could grab T-Mac for cheap (if Bron or JJ isn't available, of course).

 

 

@SRV, I'm still unsure whether Chalmers will be fit to start by next year. I think he does have an upside, and Riles and Spoe have high hopes for him.. I guess it's sort of a wait-and-see sort of thing. If he isn't starter-ready by then, then I think Blake would be a great pick up. No way is he staying in Portland with Miller and Bayless, and he's bros with Haslem.

[Flash]

Didn't ATL make it known that they weren't going to give JJ a massive deal? I thought I had seen it somewhere. He'd be awesome here to take the pressure off of Wade.

[SRV]

I don't think we need JJ that much. I don't want Wade at PG, and JJ probably won't want to play PG. We need some size, someone who can defend the big time centers, and wingmen in the East and West. Lebron is big, and can get you a triple double almost every night so he makes up for that big man. I don't think we will get Lebron though. We said we won't wait for Lebron if another FA wants to sign, and I think Lebron will wait a while to discuss something with the Cavs. Only way we get him is if we are 100% sure he is going to ditch the Cavs, which we would know because he is friends with Wade.