Riley Re-Ups Quinny

In a move in which Pat Riley has been talking about for a while, Chris Quinn re-signed with the Miami Heat, giving the team comfort with three men at the point.

Chris Quinn will join journeyman Marcus Banks and rookie Mario Chalmers in sharing duties at the one. Unlike most NBA teams, it is conceivable that we could see any three of those guys starting on October 29 in Madison Square Garden. Quinn showed great maturation towards the end of the season. He can shoot the three and has good play-making abilities. But it's difficult for me to see Quinn in the rotation by mid-season. Banks and Chalmers both play with more defensive toughness than Quinn. Moreover, they also can shoot from beyond the arc just as good as Quinn can.

I would expect Heat coach Erik Spoelstra giving all three a fairly equal amount of playing time in the October and November. Towards mid-season, I would guess that Spoelstra would settle on Chalmers and Banks as his two main point guards, with the starting position up for grabs.

That does not mean that this was a bad move. At the very least, Quinn is an effective point guard who knows his place on the team. If an injury was to occur, I would feel confident in Quinn stepping right in and doing his job. Although I predicted that Chalmers and Banks would leave Quinn as the odd man out, it is still an open field. If Quinn shows more dedication than the two others at the depth chart, he could end up with a prominent role on the Heat.

This leaves Miami with Shawn Marion, Dwyane Wade, Mark Blount, Udonis Haslem, Michael Beasley, Marcus Banks, James Jones, Dorell Wright, Daequan Cook, Jamaal Magloire, Yakhouba Diawara, Mario Chalmers, and now Chris Quinn. That's 13 guys. Also, Jason Richards (who is out for the year after he tore his ACL) and David Padgett were given partially-guaranteed contracts. Kasib Powell, who had a strong summer league showing, was also given a qualifying offer. Alonzo Mourning said he is aiming for a comeback as early as December. It's evident Riley is going to have to do some trimming. Last year, he was unreasonable when he waived Penny Hardaway to sign Luke Jackson. Hardaway may have been old, but he at least contributed to the Heat last year. Luke Jackson was a sour disappointment. I hope lessons have been learned and he re-tools his roster wisely.