Riley, however, did put an emphasis on "training camp." He will at least give the core of Marcus Banks, Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem, and Jamaal Magloire a test-run in late September.
"Anything can happen," Riley said after unveiling an Olympic banner in honor of gold-medal winning Dwyane Wade at AmericanAirlines Arena. "But I think this nucleus probably will go into training camp."
The Heat were represented in Chicago to look at free-agent point guard Shaun Livingston. Livingston, a former lottery pick, is attempting an NBA comeback after a horrific knee injury he sustained two years ago. Riley also added that his team is in talks with free-agent point guard Chris Quinn, whom the Heat extended a $1 million qualifying offer for one year.
Livingston has his pros and cons. He is 6'7", which means he will create a multitude of mismatches on both ends of the court. At 22, he has great vision of the court, takes care of the ball, and has good ball-handling skills. However, he has never been a great threat from beyond the arc; and he was weak before his terrible injury.
With Marcus Banks and Mario Chalmers under contract; as well as Chris Quinn in negotiations, Miami is already three-deep at the one. Livingston is not much of an upgrade of who the Heat already have, if at all. The potential to make a trade for Chris Kaman, which has been nothing more than an invention of the blogosphere, has never materialized. But maybe the Heat could work out a sign-and-trade with the Clippers.
I do not see a need for Shawn Marion on the Clippers. Mike Dunleavy already has a nice starter in Al Thornton. Thornton averaged 13 points and five rebounds a night last season and his productivity is only going to go up. Ricky Davis was signed as his backup. They also have Tim Thomas, who can play some of the three, who averaged similiar numbers to Thornton last season.
I could see a reason why Mike Dunleavy could want Udonis Haslem. While Tim Thomas has been a fine pickup for them, he's on the wrong side of 30 and making more than $6 million. Brian Skinner is a backup at best. DeAndre Jordan, who was thought to go much higher, slipped down to the second round for a reason: all of that "potential" everyone was talking about never translated into the college game.
The problem is that Chris Kaman will make $9.5 million this season and his contract doesn't expire until the summer of 2012. He could give Miami a double-double consistently and is young, but his contract situation could make Riles a little leery.
A trade of Marcus Banks and Udonis Haslem for Chris Kaman and Shaun Livingston (if the Clippers sign-and-trade him to a deal worth roughly $1.3 million) works. The problem is if you are the Clippers. I'm sure for them, Banks and Livingston would essentially cancel each other out. Chris Kaman clearly has the advantage over Haslem. Therefore, Miami would have to add some extra assets to the pot to appeal to the Clippers. The Heat don't have a first-round draft pick. I guess they could add a few million dollars. The ball is in the Clippers' court to make it happen, not in the Heat's.
No comments:
Post a Comment