Miami Heat: Time To Build a Dynasty

As I reported in my first article last night, Dwyane Wade met with the Miami Heat yesterday to talk about a possible teaming with Chris Bosh.

Wade wanted this to happen, especially after he heard rumblings that the Raptors and the Cavs were trying to bring Bosh to Cleveland in a sign-and-trade. Bosh wanted to play with Lebron James, but not in Cleveland.

Now that Miami has their two centerpieces, is it time to go after a third star and play with second-round draft picks and league minimum players? Do they want to spend the rest of their cap space on four or five solid contributors and instill some depth? We are going to look at what their options are to build a dynasty down in South Beach.

Plan A: Add LeBron to Create the New

Five teams (Bulls, Cavs, Heat, Knicks and Nets) still have a reasonable shot at landing the most anticipated free agent to date.

After ESPN's Chris Broussard broke the story this morning of Wade-Bosh, he believes that the Miami Heat are the front-runners to land James.

They will have to trade Michael Beasley's contract and get little-to-nothing in return. The asking price will probably only be a future first-round pick since his stock is low. I still believe that Beasley can be a solid player in the league—he just needs a change of scenery, possibly being added to the core of the Sacramento Kings.

This will be worth it if they are able to bring James to Miami (and win 5-8 Championships).

Plan B: Create Depth around Flash and CB4

If LeBron stays in Cleveland or goes anywhere other than Miami, Pat Riley should look to build a Championship with the rest of the cap space and add 4-5 solid players. The next four slides are the players the Heat should target if that happens.

B-1: Brendan Haywood

The reason Bosh left Toronto was because of his frustrations with the team's philosophy on and off the court.

They played Bosh at the five, while Andrea Bargnani played outside of the paint at the four. With Brendan Haywood, the Heat would have a legitimate big man who could do all the dirty work down low while Bosh creates scoring opportunities either as a passer, finisher or shooter.

Haywood is a solid 10-10 guy who would start for this team and bring an excellent defensive presence.

B-2: Mike Miller

Mike Miller is a very underrated player who played on a bad Wizards team last year. His 3-point range is lethal and has developed a solid game attacking the basket. If he can find his way to Miami, he would provide an excellent bench scorer for the Heat and can be a potential sixth Man of the Year player.

B-3: Randy Foye

Another former Wizards player, Randy Foye could provide some bench help in South Beach. Although he is a restricted free agent, the Wizard's back court is loaded with Wall, Arenas and Hinrich. Although Foye has had a disappointing career thus far, he's proven to be a capable scorer, and I think he could find his niche as one of the first players coming off the bench for a contending team.

B-4: Josh Childress

I was always a Josh Childress fan. The former Atlanta Hawk turned Euroleague forward has considered heading back to the NBA. Although his rights are still with Atlanta, it would be wise to pursue the restricted free agent to come to South Florida. However, he might prove to be too pricey, seeing as he could potentially command around 7 million dollars a year as a rising star in Europe.

Plan C: Risk Players/2011

This plan seems highly unlikely, but if they are not able to create a core, it is time to play the one-year contract game. They could bring on some players they are not sold on (Shaq, Richard Jefferson, Allen Iverson, T-Mac) for just one year to see how things work out.

Conclusion

Plan A Recap...
PG: M. Chalmers
SG: D. Wade
SF: L. James, D. Butler
PF: C. Bosh, J. Varnado
C: D. Pittman

Plan B Recap...
PG: M. Chalmers, R. Foye
SG: D. Wade, M. Miller
SF: M. Beasley, J. Childress
PF: C. Bosh, J. Vernado
C: B. Haywood, D. Pittman

Plan C Recap...
PG: M. Chalmers, L. Ridnour
SG: D. Wade, D. Butler
SF: M. Beasley, R. Jefferson (C. Anthony 2011)
PF: C. Bosh, J. Varnado
C: S. O'Neal, D. Pittman

Miami is in the perfect situation. They have created the best pitch to James to land in South Beach and will now have to sit and wait to see if they get a call before "The Decision" at 9PM ET on ESPN (keep soaking it in, Lebron). Personally, I think plan B makes the most sense to create a more balanced attack. Plan C seems unlikely because Carmelo is New York bound. Besides, Wade and Bosh are determined to win now. Plan A or B makes the Heat the instant favorites in the East. I am already excited for the new Heat-Lakers rivalry.