Bleacher Report - Articles by Lucas Rifkin

Gerald Wallace Moving to South Beach?

Lucas Rifkin — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:02:14 -0400

It's completely possible.

The Charlotte Bobcats have reportedly been discussing the option of trading forward Gerald Wallace. Some have made a few rumors fly off deals that can go down. I have an idea that is likely and has an honest chance of actually happening.

It's simple—Wallace to the Miami Heat in exchange for combo forward Shawn Marion.

With a pretty wide difference in salary—Wallace is set to make a little over $8 million this season, with an increasing rate over his next four seasons, and Shawn Marion with a year remaining on his current deal at a little over $17 million—there would probably have to be more than just Wallace dealt to the Heat.

With Miami recently trimming its roster to the league limit of 15, and not looking to cut someone to make room for an extra player from Charlotte, the extra in this trade may end up having to be a draft pick.

The Heat, left without a first-rounder in the 2009 Draft due to a botched deal with Minnesota, certainly would enjoy having another selection. The Bobcats being, well, the Bobcats, would not want to lose their first-round selection due to the fact it may be a relatively high pick. So my idea is throwing a second-round pick into the equation.

The Heat gain a great young talent and a good amount of salary space. Wallace can be great for the future of Miami, while Marion may look for an exit route after this season.

The Bobcats gain a solid veteran combo forward to shore up their offense and possibly mentor the vast amount of young talent Charlotte possesses. Being that the 'Cats have more salary space than the Heat, and not as much risk of losing their star talent in two seasons, they can offer Marion the extension he so greatly desires and the possibility of making him their first or second option on offense.

As you see, the trade would be beneficial for both teams. But what do I know? I'm just some 17-year-old guy speculating. What's your opinion of this trade, and do you see anything else happening?

Shaun Livingston Signs with Miami Heat

Lucas Rifkin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:52:35 -0400

Reports are coming out of South Florida that the Miami Heat have won the Shaun Livingston sweepstakes.

The ex-Clipper guard met with the Heat on Friday, where a 2-year contract was signed.

Livingston's agent, Henry Thomas, said earlier this week that Shaun was "leaning toward Miami."

With little space in salary cap, look for the Heat to make a trade deal somewhere down the line to dump the contracts of Guards Daequon Cook, Dorrell Wright, or possibly Marcus Banks. They have all been names mentioned that may be gone.

A former No. 4 overall selection in the 2004 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-7 guard was on his way to stardom with the Clippers before suffering a gruesome season-ending knee injury.

The question still remains, can he bounce back from such a devastating injury? Time will tell with the Miami Heat.

(Story first broke on Sun-Sentinel.com, but is re-written by Lucas Rifkin for BleacherReport.com)

Shawn Marion a Bull? Ben Gordon to the Heat? Far-Fetched Trade Rumor Looms

Lucas Rifkin — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:23:15 -0400

Rumors are flying about a possible blockbuster deal involving Heat forward Shawn Marion and Bulls' guard Ben Gordon.

A long shot to actually happen, the trade has been said to include the Heat giving Marion and guard Marcus Banks to the Bulls in exchange for Gordon, guard Larry Hughes, and forward/center Joakim Noah.

The deal has already been classified to be dead by many analysts due to the facts behind it. The Bulls are looking to sign and trade Gordon and can do that with this deal while getting rid of Hughes; however, giving up young talent drafted early in last year's draft in Noah seems like an unbelievably high-risk and questionable move.

This move is also beneficial to the Heat in that they can bolster a bench that struggled to do much of anything last season. Gordon would back up Wade and Noah can either back up Magloire, or even start. This move can also make players such as Mark Blount and even Dorrell Wright expendable. A downside to this deal is that this kind of deal can cause a salary cap problem when all the big free agents become available in 2010.

As you have seen over the years, anything is possible when it comes to these NBA trades. Keep an eye out for developments on this deal, and if it goes down, remember where you heard it first.

Heat sign Jamaal Magloire

Lucas Rifkin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:47:10 -0400

The Miami Heat had a gaping hole at the center position.

Shaq, traded. Zo, maybe returning before the halfway point of the season. Mark Blount? Yeah, about that.

It has been announced that the HEAT have agreed to terms with veteran big man and former all-star, Jamaal Magloire.

Magloire, a 6'11" 265 lbs. center, who is also 30 years old, is expected to be playing for on a veteran minimum salary contract, most likely in the short term. He split last season between short stints in New Jersey and Dallas.

There may be a competition for the spot considering that HEAT president Pat Riley has stated in past interviews that the job was Blount's to lose, and he was even quoted saying that Udonis Haslem can even fill that spot.

Personally, I feel Magloire has enough left in him to start.

Chalmers to start at Point Guard?

Lucas Rifkin — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:39:13 -0400

The Miami Heat had a horrible season in 2007-2008, earning them the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft. They added a huge piece in young Forward, Michael Beasley. Questions remain at two key positions, center and point guard.

Already on their roster, the Heat have young semi-talented guards in Marcus Banks and severely underestimated Chris Quinn. After the draft, the Heat completed a trade that may have ended their search for a starting point guard.

Most outstanding player in the 2008 NCAA Final Four, Mario Chalmers was brought to the Miami Heat. With very impressive showing on the Heat's summer league team, people began asking, can we start this kid? Well as of today there are developments and a possible answer to this question.

Miami's beloved star, Dwyane Wade has leaked information that can be pointing the finger right in Chalmers' direction as the next starting point guard for the Heat.

In an interview in Beijing, Wade was quoted saying, "I really believe in our point guard, Mario Chalmers, I think he can be great for us and surprise a lot of people".

Some analysts believe that this could have been a bit of a slip of the tongue by Wade. New Head Coach Erik Spoelstra, who is also good friends with his star, may have called Wade to let him know who he'll be sharing the back court with this season. Wade may have thought this news was already public and decided to mention it to reporters. This is not known for sure.

Keep your eyes peeled and wait and see if the Heat are willing risk starting two rookies.

(Can't really hurt them to try, right?)

Miami Heat On The Rebound

Lucas Rifkin — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:25:03 -0400

The clock hits zero, Dwyane Wade tosses the game ball to the sky, and is embraced by a suit-wearing Dorell Wright. The Miami Heat are the 2006 NBA Champions.

Recieving their rings on opening night of the following season, the Heat proceeded to be dominated by the Chicago Bulls. Little did they know this would be the start of a large decline for the Miami Heat organization.

After this abomination of an opener, returning from a championship, the Heat were eliminated in 4 games by the very team that ran a train on opening night. What no one really saw coming is what happened next—the worst season in franchise history, exactly 20 years after the inaugural season.

The Heat had the worst season ever by a team just two years removed from a championship. So began the rebuild.

During this horrible 15-67 season, the Heat trimmed a huge piece of the roster they felt was past his prime, and holding them back more than helping. I am of course speaking of Shaquille O'Neal. The trade brought in two important pieces to the Heat's rebuild—combo forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks.

The draft lottery also brought some relief, awarding the Miami Heat the second-overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft—which brought in a young man by the name of Michael Beasley. Beasley was considered to be the best overall player in the draft, and is already a favorite to win the NBA's rookie of the year award. Another piece added by the Heat was second-round pick and most outstanding player in the NCAA Final Four, guard Mario Chalmers.

After a long offseason of signing and releasing various players, the Heat acquired three-point specialist James Jones. Jones finished the 2007-08 NBA season third in three-point accuracy, behind only Jason Kapono and Steve Nash.

Miami also picked up French guard/forward and former Nugget Yakhouba Diawara. With still the possibility of more moves to come, it'll be a bit of a waiting game to see what happens next.

Another question to be asked—can Dwyane Wade recover from his surgeries and play even a fraction of his old self? Unless you've been under a rock for the past few weeks, the USA Men's basketball team has been dominating, with Wade as their leading scorer.

With outstanding athleticism and quickness, Wade has shown he is back in full—and then some. Many of his teammates on Team USA have said they haven't seen him this good since the NBA Finals.

Questions still remain for Miami at the point guard and center spots, but as the year matures, decisions will be made and maybe even some moves as well.

The REAL question on the tip of the tongue of all Heat fans and pretty much all NBA fans is—could this be the start of a new beginning in South Florida basketball? Only time will tell.