As the doors close, ending another anti-climactic Miami Heat season , we are all left in wonder of what will become of the franchise in the next few months. After just finishing a series where the Celtics pummeled the Heat like a school yard bully, we feel chills that those games could be the last Dwyane Wade played in with a Heat uniform on. But before we discuss that large elephant in the room, we will give this year’s team their fifteen minutes.
The Heat finished 47-35 (one game better than SportsAgentBlog.com predicted) this season, playing exceptional ball after the All-Star break that landed them in the number five seed in the playoffs. There were some minor bright spots over the course of the season. For example, Dorrell Wright could almost be mistaken for a first round draft pick. We were reminded just how good Dwyane Wade is, who carried this team himself with an under-achieving Michael Beasley and some garbage formally known as Jermaine O’Neal, who gave Wade the least help they could in order to make it to the post-season. Overall, this season left us with a lot of holes to fill over the summer, including one that could possibly be in the Head Coach position.
So if Dwyane Wade is this good when it’s so bad, just imagine the possibilities! This summer has become the most talked about thing in the NBA since the 2003 draft. Let’s look at it in the only way we care…how can the Heat get better? Well here is the menu: Notable Free Agents Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, LeBron James, Josh Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, David Lee, Carlos Boozer, Joe Johnson, and Yao Ming.
Best-case scenario: The Heat have a chance to make the biggest moves the NBA has ever seen, but only if Pat Reilly gets a little aggressive. First, the critical move: we need to ship Daequan Cook and Michael Beasley somewhere far away – a team with enough room under the cap to simply just give them to. What does this do except leave us with zero players on our roster? It allows the Heat the room to sign not only Dwyane Wade back, but to add two other max contracts. Yes, that math was right; the possibility of having LeBron James and Chris Bosh in Heat uniforms next fall. Epic.
Worst Case Scenario: In the darkest of days, Dwyane would leave, but the thoughts of what the worst could actually be makes a Heat fan feel like it’s a nightmare on Elm street.
Likely Scenario: Wade returns, the Heat sign Bosh, and Beasley gets his second chance and gets to play as a terrific third scorer. Miami will replace the Celtics as one of the top tier Eastern powers. The results will come soon enough.