Mourning's contract, which carried a $20.6 million salary this season, expires in June, when he will be an unrestricted free agent. In the May 22 draft lottery, the Heat, with the league's fourth-worst record, has a 12 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick and a 38 percent chance of getting one of the top three picks. That's followed by the June 26 draft, free agency and training camp. By then, Riley hopes to have the foundation laid for getting back to respectability. He said the Heat could have five or six new players next season. Miami could have as many as 11 free agents this summer, both restricted and unrestricted. And for the four players who are signed to guaranteed contracts for next season -- Grant, Caron Butler, Eddie Jones and Anthony Carter -- it seems only Butler's name will not be raised in possible trade talks.
The team should find itself with about $5 million or $6 million of room under the salary cap to sign a free agent. Some of the unrestricted free agents who might fall into that price range are Juwan Howard, P.J. Brown and Dale Davis. The Clippers' Lamar Odom, Andre Miller and Corey Maggette headline the group of restricted free agents the Heat could place a bid on. As for the other 10 potential free agents on the roster, Riley will only bring back a handful, if that. Riley wants to field a team of mostly established veterans, meaning Eddie House, Vladimir Stepania, Sean Marks, Sean Lampley and Ken Johnson might have seen their last days with the Heat.
With Caron Butler finishing the year so strong, I don't think they'll sign a small forward. Although Odom could be brought in to run the point and maggette could win 6th man of the year playing behind Eddie Jones and Caron, but I doubt he'd be happy doing that again. Riley would love to have P.J. Brown back (who wouldn't want this guy on your team?) and we all know he loves howard so I'm guessing they won't draft a 4 either. The Heat have the unique oppertunity to fill one of the hardest positions to find in the NBA, center and PG. With the fourth pick both Chris Kaman and T.J. Ford will still be available, the question is can the pass on Chris Bosh? Scouts high on Bosh compare him to a younger Kevin Garnett and current Pau Gasol because of his long, thin frame and ability to score and rebound inside despite his thin frame. While Bosh is clearly the 4th best prospect in this draft, T.J. Ford has to be either 5th or 6th on most team's draft boards. Picking him would not be a mistake. A lineup of Ford, Jones, Butler, P.J. Brown or Juwan Howard and anyone at Center (with Travis Best providing instant offense off the bench at the 1, 2 spots) is a BIG improvement over last season's team. Imagine how much more electric Butler could be offensively with a brilliant floor-general like T.J. Ford running the show. Caron was an effective scorer when he had to create his own shots, and there was no one else to guard. If he can catch the ball on the move, coming off of curls and screens his numbers will shoot up across the board on offense. Ford's pressence would help make the heat a respectable team on 'O' but what if they're passing on the next Kevin Garnett? Provided the Heat stay at 4; it seems to me as if the Heat can make a safe pick with Ford or a higher-risk, higher-reward pick with Chris Bosh. Its the kind of decision that makes me glad I'm a fan, and get to shoot off my mouth without ever having to back it up as a GM.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting "Rocko220":</div><div class="quote_post">With Caron Butler finishing the year so strong, I don't think they'll sign a small forward. Although Odom could be brought in to run the point and maggette could win 6th man of the year playing behind Eddie Jones and Caron, but I doubt he'd be happy doing that again. Riley would love to have P.J. Brown back (who wouldn't want this guy on your team?) and we all know he loves howard so I'm guessing they won't draft a 4 either. The Heat have the unique oppertunity to fill one of the hardest positions to find in the NBA, center and PG. With the fourth pick both Chris Kaman and T.J. Ford will still be available, the question is can the pass on Chris Bosh? Scouts high on Bosh compare him to a younger Kevin Garnett and current Pau Gasol because of his long, thin frame and ability to score and rebound inside despite his thin frame. While Bosh is clearly the 4th best prospect in this draft, T.J. Ford has to be either 5th or 6th on most team's draft boards. Picking him would not be a mistake. A lineup of Ford, Jones, Butler, P.J. Brown or Juwan Howard and anyone at Center (with Travis Best providing instant offense off the bench at the 1, 2 spots) is a BIG improvement over last season's team. Imagine how much more electric Butler could be offensively with a brilliant floor-general like T.J. Ford running the show. Caron was an effective scorer when he had to create his own shots, and there was no one else to guard. If he can catch the ball on the move, coming off of curls and screens his numbers will shoot up across the board on offense. Ford's pressence would help make the heat a respectable team on 'O' but what if they're passing on the next Kevin Garnett? Provided the Heat stay at 4; it seems to me as if the Heat can make a safe pick with Ford or a higher-risk, higher-reward pick with Chris Bosh. Its the kind of decision that makes me glad I'm a fan, and get to shoot off my mouth without ever having to back it up as a GM.</div> it's a tough one hey? knowing pat riley, you'd be leaning towards the heat taking an established college floor general in ford, but the hype around bosh is tough to pass up on too
