What do you think the Heat have to do during the offseason to improve for now and the future? I'll answer later when I have a little more time.
Bring in young talent, that's all I can say. Bring in a young point guard that you can trust with backup minutes right now, I think that is a big key with Gary Payton on his last breath as an NBA player. The 20th pick in the draft should get them a nice young player to add on to the roster. It's all about getting some young, fresh legs, and maybe make a deal or two. Miami needs to start planning for the future soon, because their veteran core is almost done. They are gonna get beaten by Chicago in the 1st round, GP and Zo may retire, Antoine regresses every year, Shaq isn't getting any younger, J-Will is getting older, Eddie Jones only has a couple years left, Posey is gonna be the same old Posey for 2 more years or so.. I mean outside of Wade, Haslem, and Wright the future is pretty 'meh.'
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Apr 28 2007, 11:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Bring in young talent, that's all I can say. Bring in a young point guard that you can trust with backup minutes right now, I think that is a big key with Gary Payton on his last breath as an NBA player. The 20th pick in the draft should get them a nice young player to add on to the roster. It's all about getting some young, fresh legs, and maybe make a deal or two. Miami needs to start planning for the future soon, because their veteran core is almost done. They are gonna get beaten by Chicago in the 1st round, GP and Zo may retire, Antoine regresses every year, Shaq isn't getting any younger, J-Will is getting older, Eddie Jones only has a couple years left, Posey is gonna be the same old Posey for 2 more years or so.. I mean outside of Wade, Haslem, and Wright the future is pretty 'meh.'</div>While I do not believe he will be a star, I think Simien can be solid off the bench for the Heat. They need to start getting him minutes, starting next year, because he is a solid basketball player. He might not have great size, and might not have great athleticism, but he is a good basketball player that can contribute. He will non stop hustle, and be a solid bench player to fill in for Haslem. I agree though, they need to start looking for teams that could use a veteran scorer and try to trade Posey and Walker for younger, faster talent. I don't know what team would give them up for one of these two guys, but I'm sure some General Manager would.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (valo35 @ Apr 28 2007, 02:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>While I do not believe he will be a star, I think Simien can be solid off the bench for the Heat. They need to start getting him minutes, starting next year, because he is a solid basketball player. He might not have great size, and might not have great athleticism, but he is a good basketball player that can contribute. He will non stop hustle, and be a solid bench player to fill in for Haslem.</div> Yeah I like Simien, and I really forgot about him, but he has difficulty staying healthy. I think he definitely has potential to be a solid player in this league, and I also think that Earl Barron could turn out to be a decent backup center, but Miami's core is going to be shredded in another year. They need to make moves now to put themselves in better position for the future. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>I agree though, they need to start looking for teams that could use a veteran scorer and try to trade Posey and Walker for younger, faster talent. I don't know what team would give them up for one of these two guys, but I'm sure some General Manager would.</div> When in doubt, there's always Isiah.
Zo is probabely going to retire this year. With Zo out of the picture they need to bring in a dominant backup center. Shaq can't play intense minutes and the Heat without Zo have no answer to this problem. I don't know how long Gary Payton will stay around for but probabely not for long, a backup PG will be needed to.
I think the Heat definitely need to focus on getting a new backup point guard as well as another backup center. Zo and Payton are retiring very soon in the near future and the Heat need to prepare the future players and get them used to the game plan. The Heat could also pick up some youth because right now, the team is known as being old with the likes of Shaq, Mourning, Payton, Walker, etc., etc. I definitely agree and think that if Simien and Barron are exposed to more playing time, they will definitely become adjusted to Miami's game and be able to help out in the future.
I believe this is Zo's last year if they don't win another title. He has his championship that he always wanted and the only reason he came back is to try his hand at one more. If they get sweeped its almost guarunteed he will go. GP on the other hand might stay 1 or to more years in him. I still wish he could of finished his career in Seatle though.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GArenas @ Apr 28 2007, 01:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Zo is probabely going to retire this year. With Zo out of the picture they need to bring in a dominant backup center.</div> Great idea, but I don't know of any dominant centers out there. Unless you mean Mikki Moore, because thats all the Heat can afford.
The biggest thing is a 3rd option to Wade/Shaq. This team, with another scoring option, and a few other decent, young role players, this team could be back to the Finals. But Wade/Shaq needs help, and the role players they have now just won't get it done. With them being 1 year older, and GP possibly retiring, it will be even more critical. This team will only be at the top for another year or 2 with the personel they have now. They will need to start building for the future and around Wade, but with Riley's GM skills, I am sure they can do this while still improving for next year's run.
