NBA Trade Rumors: Why Chris Kaman Would Be a Great Fit in Miami

Pat Riley has made some brilliant moves in his tenure as team president in Miami.  He snatched Chris Bosh from the Raptors and he ripped Cleveland’s heart out by stealing LeBron from them. 

All of that happened in a matter of hours and it nearly won Miami the championship in 2011.  But if Riley is able to land Chris Kaman, it might be his most brilliant move yet.

It’s no secret that Miami hasn’t been getting much from the center position this season.  Joel Anthony, who has started every game for the 23-7 Heat, is undersized (6’9”), but most troubling of all, he’s been completely unproductive (3.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg).

Chris Bosh is a power forward in name only.  Everybody in the league knows he would rather spot up from 15-feet out than work the post.

Udonis Haslem is a bruising low post player but he doesn’t add much in terms of offense and he also has a history of injuries.

Eddy Curry is 7’0”, but he rarely plays.

There’s no question that the center position has been Miami’s Achilles' heel ever since LeBron and Bosh arrived on the scene, and possibly even before that.

At 7’0”, and 265 pounds, Kaman is a true center and a fierce defender in the low post.  He’s also a skilled rebounder (8.3 per game for his career) with a knack for blocking shots (1.3 per game this season). 

Chris Kaman not only gives Miami the consistent physical presence that they’ve been missing, but he also adds another crucial dimension to the offense. 

Where Anthony is a non-factor offensively, Kaman is actually a fairly competent shooter with impressive range for a player his size.  Kaman, an NBA All-Star in 2010, has a career average of just under 12 points per game.  That’s well above Anthony’s measly lifetime average of 2.6.

Kaman is an improvement over Anthony in every way. And he comes without the baggage of Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum.  It also appears that Miami, who is looking to land Kaman via a buyout from New Orleans, won’t have to give up as much either.

The Kaman move is also smart because it takes pressure off of LeBron James. 

For the first time in his career, the King won’t have to do it all.  Essentially LeBron has been playing every position for the Heat, handling the ball and dishing it out like a point guard while also cleaning up the glass and rebounding like a big (he’s tied with Haslem for the team lead in rebounds at 8.2 boards a game).  No wonder LeBron was exhausted by the time Miami made it to the Finals last year. 

With Kaman in the middle of the floor, LeBron won’t have to worry about his low-post game anymore. 

Kaman ruffled some feathers in New Orleans when the Hornets put him on the trading block, but I’d expect him to be super-focused in Miami.  Kaman has only been to the playoffs once in his nine-year career and at age 29, he may only have a handful of chances left to win a ring.  He’ll do whatever Miami needs him to do if it means winning a championship.