Does Riley know what he's doing? Or has the losing gone to his head? For some reason he still feels like he has the need to create even more of a logjam at the SG and SF positions. They have no real point guard, they don't have a center, and an offensively retarded PF (Brian Grant). All that and he still wants to sign Lamar Odom, which wasn't a secret after the offer sheet to Brand ploy. He better start making some trades or the team will only get worse.
i think all the losing has made him go crazy. seriously. he's a good coach, but he just needs more talent. he's trying to get more talent, just for the wrong positions
I don't think that Pat Riley has gone crazy. Infact, I think that he has less say in what happens with the team than you think he does. He is not the General Manager; that would be Randy Pfund. I disagree with most of the things that you said. First off, saying that Brian Grant is offensively retarded is quite the overstatement. He averaged ten points a game last year along with 3 offensive rebounds per game (11th in the league). This may not seem like much to you personally, but it gets the job done for the Heat. Grant isn't needed on the offensive end anyway. His primary role is on defense. On defense Grant achieved 10.2 rebounds per game (5th in the league) and 31 double doubles (11th in the league) last year, If Grant averaged 20 points a game like you must think he needs to then he'd be one of the top five players in the league. You said that there was a logjam at small forward and shooting guard, but as of now I don't see one. At shooting guard the Heat have Eddie Jones and possibly Eddie House if they chose to resign him. There is nothing wrong with that. They are obviously going to play Dwyane Wade at point guard instead of shooting guard. With this said, let's look at the Heat's small forward predicament. The Miami Heat have Caron Butler, Rasual Butler, and Sean Lampley at small forward. This is a fine small forward lineup if you ask me. I see no logjam, but perhaps you were considering Lamar Odom a Heat. As everyone knows, Lamar Odom is a restricted free agent so his future is controlled by the infamous Donald Sterling. If Sterling resigns Corey Maggette then it is unlikely that he will also resign Lamar Odom. As of now the team with the offer sheet out on Maggette is Denver, and if Sterling resigns Maggette then Denver will take a very strong look at Lamar Odom instead. Remember, it is the Heat who want Odom not Odom who wants to be a Heat. I don't blame the Heat for going after Odom though. I think that he was the only free agent out there that was both decent and realistic for the Heat. If the Heat do sign Odom then there are two options that they will consider. Option one would be moving Rasual Butler to shooting guard and just playing Caron and Lamar both at the small forward position. There is nothing wrong with having depth. So far Odom is not exactly proven sitting on the bench may suit him well. If Odom is the one starting then everything will still be alright because Odom will either prove unworthy and make a quick trip back to the bench or it will just provide Caron Butler with a learning experience and a chance to develop patience along with unselfishness. The second option would obviously be trading Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, or both. There are a lot of teams that would offer above average centers for either one of them. Any of the options that I just listed would be great for the Heat. The Heat may not have a real point guard in your eyes, but I don't think that is fair to judge whether or not Wade can succeed at running a team unless you've seen him do it with your own to eyes. I believe that he will do a great job. Don't think that the Heat haven't hired specialists to help him work on becoming a point guard this summer. If Wade doesn't turn out to be a good point guard then the Heat could bench him and draft a better point guard in the 2004 NBA Draft. They could also simply trade him for a "real" point guard if this happens. Either way the Heat are just fine. And don't think that the Heat's two backup point guards couldn't both do a good job starting or coming off the bench to run the team. Travis Best, who is a Free Agent but is extremely likely to resign with the Heat, has had experience starting at point guard for both the Heat and the Pacers. Then the Heat also have Anthony Carter at the end of the bench who started on and off not only last season, but the season before that. Pfund must be rather delighted at his teams current point guard status. It is very easy to figure out. As of now the Heat have centers as you stated. This can change though as Vladimir Stephania, Ken Johnson, and Sean Marks are all close to signing deals with the Heat. The Heat also have Jerome Beasley and Malik Allen under contract who could both step up and play center. Again, don?t count out a trade. Not many General Managers can go a whole year without trading at least. The Heat made it through last year without Alonzo Mourning, so why can?t they this year? There, I have broken down the Heat?s situation for you. The Heat aren?t supposed to win the championship next season, but there is nothing wrong with that. The Heat are focusing on rebuilding. I can assure you that not many people in the Heat organization think that they will win the title this year. You don?t have much faith in General Manager Randy Pfund. He most likely has some great trades up his sleeve. And even if he doesn?t I like the way the Heat look in the future. They will draft a high draft pick next season, most likely a Center. Then they have two young players with star potential in Dwyane Wade and Caron Butler. Lamar Odom could also be joining them if things go the way the Heat want them to go. And having veteran Eddie Jones on offense and veteran Brian Grant on defense makes them look even stronger. I think that the Heat will be back in the playoffs by the 2004 - 2005 season if not sooner.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting purehoops:</div><div class="quote_post">Great coach... cant say the same for GMing...</div> edit: nevermind, i misread your post. i thought you said riley was the gm right after spartan explained that he wasn't. if wade plays pg, the heat are fine. i don't think he can, but they are going to try. and they want to trade jones anyway. so there is no logjam. wade will get pg minutes. jones, butler, and butler, will get 2-3 minutes.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting rocketeer:</div><div class="quote_post">hey **** face, can you read. spartan said he isn't the gm. damn, you are stupid. if wade plays pg, the heat are fine. i don't think he can, but they are going to try. and they want to trade jones anyway. so there is no logjam. wade will get pg minutes. jones, butler, and butler, will get 2-3 minutes.</div> LOL that is funny. I think wade will become a great PG Because He is only 6'5" and can lead a team well as most of you know from the ncaa tourny
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I disagree with most of the things that you said. First off, saying that Brian Grant is offensively retarded is quite the overstatement. He averaged ten points a game last year along with 3 offensive rebounds per game (11th in the league). This may not seem like much to you personally, but it gets the job done for the Heat. Grant isn't needed on the offensive end anyway. His primary role is on defense. On defense Grant achieved 10.2 rebounds per game (5th in the league) and 31 double doubles (11th in the league) last year, If Grant averaged 20 points a game like you must think he needs to then he'd be one of the top five players in the league.</div> I don't want 20 points a game from him, however, is it much to ask for 13-15 points from him? He averaged 15 his last year in Portland and they had more offensive options than the current Heat do and he's in the east. He simply can't give a team that many points- he's only had 13+ points a game three times in his career- thus he's offensively retarded. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I see no logjam, but perhaps you were considering Lamar Odom a Heat. As everyone knows, Lamar Odom is a restricted free agent so his future is controlled by the infamous Donald Sterling. If Sterling resigns Corey Maggette then it is unlikely that he will also resign Lamar Odom. As of now the team with the offer sheet out on Maggette is Denver, and if Sterling resigns Maggette then Denver will take a very strong look at Lamar Odom instead. Remember, it is the Heat who want Odom not Odom who wants to be a Heat. I don't blame the Heat for going after Odom though. I think that he was the only free agent out there that was both decent and realistic for the Heat. </div> I was considering Lamar Odom as a member of Heat thus the logjam. Also, they could've saved their money for the free agent class of next year which looks pretty promising. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">If the Heat do sign Odom then there are two options that they will consider. Option one would be moving Rasual Butler to shooting guard and just playing Caron and Lamar both at the small forward position. There is nothing wrong with having depth. So far Odom is not exactly proven sitting on the bench may suit him well. If Odom is the one starting then everything will still be alright because Odom will either prove unworthy and make a quick trip back to the bench or it will just provide Caron Butler with a learning experience and a chance to develop patience along with unselfishness. The second option would obviously be trading Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, or both. There are a lot of teams that would offer above average centers for either one of them. Any of the options that I just listed would be great for the Heat</div> Why put Rasual in the starting lineup when Odom is versatile enough to play SG? He has also proved himself plenty in his first two years, his past two years though have been plagued with injuries and what not. Also why would they trade Odom if they just sign him? Also I don't think Caron would sit pretty with coming off the bench after having one of the more successful rookie campaigns last season. Players don't want to be benched after a very successful year.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting sunsfan1357:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't want 20 points a game from him, however, is it much to ask for 13-15 points from him? He averaged 15 his last year in Portland and they had more offensive options than the current Heat do and he's in the east. He simply can't give a team that many points- he's only had 13+ points a game three times in his career- thus he's offensively retarded.</div> if he's giving double digits, he isn't retarded. his job is defense and rebounding 1st, scoring 2nd. he scores enough for what he is supposed to do. there is no retardation. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting sunsfan1357:</div><div class="quote_post"> Why put Rasual in the starting lineup when Odom is versatile enough to play SG? He has also proved himself plenty in his first two years, his past two years though have been plagued with injuries and what not. Also why would they trade Odom if they just sign him? Also I don't think Caron would sit pretty with coming off the bench after having one of the more successful rookie campaigns last season. Players don't want to be benched after a very successful year.</div> why not just start them all? wade at pg and butler, butler, and odom can cover 2,3, and 4. it could work in the east. and then you have the offensively intelligent grant playing center, where he can still dominate at least half of the east.
I'm pretty sure when the Heat signed Grant to the huge contract they were expecting more from him then the 10.3 PPG he averaged this past season. If he can average 15 PPG on the Blazers, a far more talented team, in the west what would be so hard in maintaining that. Also that lineup would not be smart. Odom might work in doses at the four, but other than that it will have no chance of working.
The heat are going no where anytime soon. They need to be like the bucks and clear their entire roster & cap space. Pat is still a good coach he just has no solid talent to work with
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting J-MAC:</div><div class="quote_post">LOL that is funny. I think wade will become a great PG Because He is only 6'5" and can lead a team well as most of you know from the ncaa tourny</div> The question isn't "Can Wade lead a team?" He proved he can, as he did in the Tourney. But he wasn't the PG. The question is "Can he play the PG at the NBA level?" And to that, no one knows the answer. I doubt he will have a great rookie year at the PG. If he gets SG minutes, he will be fine, but as a PG, his tpg will be very high, as its not his natural position. The reason the Heat may be trying to bring in Odom, is to play some PG. Odom did that for awhile in LA, and proved he can do it. A point forward. This would help alleviate some of the pressure on Wade. Plus, in the East, Odom can get away with playing the 4. At 6'10" his frame is tall enough to do so. Wade will get PG and SG minutes, while Jones will get SG and SF minutes, and Butler will get SF minutes. Odom would probably get PF minutes as well as some at the Point Forward spot as well. Now, should the Clippers match the Heats offer, it leaves Miami gasping for straws for a player who can play PG to help take some pressure of Wade. Why should Miami sign Odom? Because when you are a losing team, the best way to turn it around is acquire talented players. Odom is that. Is he a more of a SF? Yes. But you still dont pass on him. Should the Cavs have passed on LeBron bec. they already have Miles, Davis, and Wagner and could have used a PF? No. You take the BPA. You can always make a trade. Same situation here. Should they settle for Derrick Coleman, who fills a need? No. Odom is more talented. One trade that would make some sense if they didn't sign Odom(especially.....or even if they did, it could still be a possibility), would to deal Eddie Jones for Jalen Rose. The Bulls needed a 2/3 that can defend. Jones is a year or so older, but the Bulls might not go for it since they acquried that in Pippen, even if he is older yet. And the Heat would be sacraficing defense, but they'd get someone who can play the PG, which would help alleviate pressure off of Wade, and allow Wade to start at his natural SG spot. Rose/Wade/Butler/Odom/Grant on offense and Wade/Rose/Butler/Odom/Grant on defense.......... This allows Wade to stay at SG on offense, where it is more natural to him, and he could end up having a similar season to last year's rookie, Caron Butler. With that, Rose at PG, Butler's improved play, Odom's play, and Grant's solid contribution, this could be a playoff team.
