The Miami Heat's blue collar power forward Udonis Haslem has decided to return to his hometown team despite receiving offers from Dallas and Denver that could have been up to $35 million over five seasons. Haslem instead signed a five-year deal with the Heat for around $20 million. In regards to leaving such a large sum of money on the table, Haslem said, "I would be changing my DNA if I was leaving just for money."
Pat Riley has made no secret that he has a big boner for Haslem's gritty, selfless playing style, as he has stated time and again that retaining Haslem during the offseason was one of his biggest priorities. Former #2 draft pick Michael Beasley was spared in order to keep Haslem in Miami, with Beasley being traded to Minnesota for two second round picks. While Beasley has the potential to be a more productive player than Haslem, the Heat are clearly in win-now mode and Haslem is better suited for this, especially because of his defense.
I must say that Haslem's return makes me feel much better about carrying on as a Heat fan in the wake of the arrival of the big three. I think Haslem's willingness to return for much less money says something for the Miami Heat as an organization.
If there's one word to describe how I feel about the arrival of LeBron James to South Beach, it's conflicted. Obviously bringing LeBron to the Heat is an excellent basketball move, and Pat Riley deserves all the praise in the world for pulling off the greatest heist in NBA history, but as a Heat fan soaking this all in right now I just feel, well, dirty.
I feel dirty for rubbernecking through that entire broadcast last night, watching as Cleveland fans' hearts were scraped from the asphalt after LeBron announced "The Decision." I feel dirty because, at the expense of the Cleveland faithful, my favorite team has transformed like Voltron into a Yankees-esque super team.
While true Miami Heat fans like myself do deserve a winning team after sitting through one year of atrocious Heat basketball (2007-08) and the following two years of expiring contract mediocrity, Cleveland fans certainly don't deserve this. I would have been completely content with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade surrounded by role players in Miami, while LeBron continued to toil away in Cleveland. But clearly, LeBron wasn't content with that fate.
Now my favorite team will forever be linked to that ridiculous broadcast last night. It seemed as if the King was a mere pawn during The Decision, as many are speculating that LeBron's marketing team LRMR pushed him into making his choice on live television. LeBron was clearly uncomfortable and flustered with his speech, at one point saying, "One thing you can't control is you never know." Maybe that's some way out there transcendental shit that's over my head, like some George Harrison lyrics or something, but my best bet is that LeBron was so caught up in the moment that he hardly knew what he was saying.
I understand and respect LeBron's choice to join Wade and Bosh with the Heat, but the television special was a huge misstep by him and his camp. Although it did raise millions of dollars through advertising for the Boys and Girls Club of America, there has to have been another way to give back to charity that spared LeBron's former fan base. As Dank Game's own Teenage Soul Patch has been quick to point out, Kevin Durant signed a lucrative long-term contract with the Thunder without any of the hype. Of course LeBron's decision carried a lot more weight, but he certainly could learn a thing or two from Durant's humility.
With the NBA trade deadline quickly approaching, rumor has it that the Cavs could be on the verge of trading J.J. Hickson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to Phoenix for Amare Stoudemire. The Suns have been actively shopping Amare in fear of losing him for nothing in free agency. If the trade goes through, Big Z would likely be bought out by the Suns, probably because he'd be unable to keep up with their run and gun offense. Then again, Shaq somehow managed to keep up. Once Z is waived, he would likely be resigned by the Cavs. These types of moves have always seemed fishy to me, but the NBA allows it.
The Cavs have also been linked to trade rumors with Washington for Antawn Jamison and Indiana for Troy Murphy AKA Big Ugly (props to my homeboy Ryan Hubbard for coming up with that nickname). It has been reported that LeBron prefers Stoudemire, so there's a good chance that these trade talks have died. After all, keeping LeBron happy so that he'll resign in 2010 is Cleveland's biggest priority outside of winning a championship.
There is also word that the Heat have been actively pursuing Stoudemire, but it seems that the Suns have no interest in Miami's players. Because of this, I'm assuming the Heat haven't offered Michael Beasley, unless his off court issues have made the Suns weary.
So how might these potential deals affect the much hyped 2010 free agent market? I have my own theory, however it is highly wrought in hypotheticals. But hear me out.
If Cleveland does pull the trigger to bring Amare to Cleveland, I think Chris Bosh will realize the Raptors don't have what it takes to be true contenders, especially with Hedo Turkoglu making big money past his prime. In realizing this, Bosh will look to sign elsewhere in the offseason, with South Beach being his most likely destination. If Bosh signs with Miami and Pat Riley is able to put together a quality roster around Bosh and Wade (assuming he resigns), the Heat and Cavs would both be contenders for years to come.
UPDATE: Cleveland has acquired power forward Antawn Jamison in a three-team, six player trade. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is headed to the Washington Wizards along with a first-round draft pick and the draft rights to Emil Preldzic (whoever that is). Washington will also get Brian Skinner and Al Thornton from the Los Angeles Clippers. Cleveland will also get point guard Sebastian Telflair from L.A. and the Wizards will send Drew Gooden to the Clippers.
So, um, yeah. You can kinda disregard most of this post now.
This season's Miami Heat team has been a huge flirt. They start the season out strong at 6-1, and before you know it they fall back into a middling team struggling to remain above .500. Then they have those games when they look poised to turn a corner, only to be put in their place by a buzzer beating freak shot by the best finisher in the game. Then they come out and get embarrassed by the Grizzlies on their home court. Less than a week after that, they blow out Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic at home.
And then there's games like last night, when they trade runs with the KG-less Celtics and let a sizable lead in the 4th quarter disappear, putting the game up for grabs in the waning moments. And then, when Wade seemingly has the game sealed after a an improbable steal and dunk putting them up by 2 with .6 seconds remaining, Paul Pierce executes a perfect mid-court inbounds alley oop to Rajon Rondo for a tip-in that would tie the game and send it to overtime. And of course, the Heat collapse in overtime. What makes this even more heartbreaking is that the game should have ended after Wade's dunk. The time keepers mistakenly stopped and restarted the clock after a Celtics turnover with about 8 seconds left, as they anticipated the Heat to call timeout. I don't know how much more of this I can take, and when you factor in the Bengals' gut wrenching season, I'll probably be going grey by the time the NBA Playoffs roll around... but I digress.
Dwyane Wade seemed livid after this loss, and you can't blame him. Dude posted a season high 44 points and basically had the game won only to see it go to waste because Mario Chalmers couldn't keep up with Rajon Rondo on that final play in regulation. In a season that's been all about assessing the Heat's youth, you have to wonder if this single play has made Chalmers' future with the Heat all the more questionable. While Chalmers did have a few big plays (mostly steals), he shot poorly from the field and crumbled on defense when it mattered most. Is this really the type of running mate Wade is hoping to spend the rest of his career with? Can Chalmers really contribute to a championship team? The answer to those questions is seeming more and more like a resounding "no."
As for the rest of the Heat's youth movement, Dayton's Daequan Cook has basically been banished from the rotation as he still struggles to find his shooting stroke, which he lost all the way back at last year's All Star break. Dorell Wright has been pretty solid this year, but it's doubtful Heat management will resign him unless he's willing to settle for a meager contract. Michael Beasley still looks to be an All Star in the making, but you have to wonder if he can maintain consistency in the playoffs if the Heat do retain Wade and become contenders with a big free agent signing this summer. I even have my doubts that Beasley has what it takes to contribute throughout a single playoff series, although I'd like to think otherwise. If only coach Spoelstra would give Beasley minutes when the games matter most so we could have a better idea. Lord knows his offense could've been used last night in overtime. With that said, you can't blame Spo for sticking with Haslem last night as Udonis had the hot hand in the second half, nailing baseline jumper after baseline jumper to finish with 19 points.
And so Dank Gamers, I'll end this long overdue Miami Heat rant with more or less no conclusion, because it's hard to make any sense of this team thus far. Maybe the inevitable return of Rafer Alston (who's contract was bought out by the lowly Nets) to South Beach can bring some perspective to this motley cast of characters, or maybe he'll make the roster all the more confounding. I just hope Pat Riley has a better idea of where this team is headed than the rest of us Heat fans.
The Miami Heat's blue collar power forward Udonis Haslem has decided to return to his hometown team despite receiving offers from Dallas and Denver that could have been up to $35 million over five seasons. Haslem instead signed a five-year deal with the Heat for around $20 million. In regards to leaving such a large sum of money on the table, Haslem said, "I would be changing my DNA if I was leaving just for money."
