Only Lukewarm Changes?

In the eyes of some, Pat Riley should be sitting pretty right now. He shrewdly drafted Michael Beasley and later picked up a steal in Mario Chalmers. He then signed James Jones, a three-point specialist with some size. And to top it all off, Dwyane Wade looked very athletic and explosive in his recent game against Canada.

An off-season of these standards would be considered a success for a playoff team. The problem is that this team showed anything but the pedigree of a playoff team. They won 15 games last season. There are still a lot of holes that are needed to fill. Now, August and the Olympics are just around the corner. And the Heat haven't done anything in weeks.

Concern of this team just having lukewarm changes should be growing. The two most pressing needs are a center and a point guard. Pat Riley does have a quality point guard in the making in Mario Chalmers. However, Chalmers is going to have to prove himself among the upper echelon of point guards in the East. Anybody, including Dorell Wright and Earl Barron, can have a good summer-league showing.

Having a defensive-minded center who can rebound and be an occasional low-post threat is also vital for success in the East. Miami is going to have to go up against Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, and Jermaine O'Neal. Those faces will be even more familiar if the Heat make it to the playoffs. They are going to need an experienced big man with good size and skills in order to get back to prominence.

That seems simple enough. Having expendable trade chips such as Shawn Marion and Udonis Haslem makes it even more expendable. The problem is that the top free agents have either already signed a new contract or don't have a chance to be with the Heat. A couple of weeks ago, I read an article that Pat Riley rejected a trade offer that would have sent Jamaal Tinsley to Miami in exchange for Haslem. I agree with Riley's decision. The problem is that he shouldn't be reacting to these trade proposals. He should be acting and making the trade proposals. Another team isn't going to want to help the Heat. He needs to do that.

When you have a 15-67 team, you don't want to keep many of those players. If Pat Riley does not make any more significant changes, it's difficult to see them back to the position they were in 2007, much less in 2006. I would take Sean Williams of the Nets if it meant having a starting center with some upside. It doesn't matter if he's going to be a sophomore in the League. He'd be better than Mark Blount and Joel Anthony.