Boy, are we glad we aren't Pat Riley this week. The NBA trade deadline is Thursday, and the Heat's head honcho faces some tough decisions -- to a point.
The plan is and was and has always been to wheel and deal in free agency this summer, to rain help on Dwyane Wade with approximately $41 million dollars in salary cap space. But then the season dragged, and rumors swirled that the Heat, in an effort to placate their All-Star MVP, were eyeballing a trade for Amar'e Stoudemire -- something that could cost as much as former first-rounder Michael Beasley.
(For what it's worth, Heat owner Mickey Arison refutes Yahoo!'s report that the team is willing to deal the Beas -- which is nice, because who would entertain us?)
Of course, one assumes Pat the puppetmaster knows Wade's mind better than we do, or at least hopes. It's worth noting that Wade's only real complaining just happened two weeks ago, long after it was clear the Heat were crap, so he's either bought into Riley's plan or really, really good about keeping his displeasure in-house.
If it's the former, there's no reason not to stick to the plan, especially if the only current fast track alternative is Beasley for Stoudemire. Wade and Amar'e is nowhere near enough of a pairing to win a title, so that trade would have to be followed up by another, bigger one anyway. And if that's the case, why not pick up Amar'e after just 30 more games and keep Beasley, too?
The only argument against waiting is that Amar'e is also being pursued by Cleveland, a pickup that might make it even harder to convince Lebron James to come to Miami (probably a pipe dream anyway). One hopes the Heat are more focused on putting together the best possible contending core of players for the future and not silly enough to be reactionary.
The only other sticky situation on the table is that of Dorrell Wright, who'd be the perfect sacrificial lamb to keep the Heat under the luxury tax penalty -- except that in the last few weeks, he's become the team's best small forward and practically indispensible. Sure, it took six years, but can they afford to deal him in the middle of a playoffs race, such as it is?
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Not really, but no one's likely to take Jermaine O'Neal's inflated, expiring contract instead. Riley's either got to figure out a way, somehow, or convince Arison to enter luxury tax territory and forego the $4.5 million rebate check that goes to all non-luxury-taxpayers.
So...yeah...good luck with that, Mr. Riley. Sincerely.
Janie Campbell is a Florida native who believes in the pro-set and ballpark hot dogs. Her work has appeared in irreverent sports sites around the internet.
