Miami Heat: One Waiver Wire Pickup the Heat Need to Make

I'm a Miami Heat fan, and an honest one at that.

I'll be the first to admit that the Heat aren't the best and most complete team in the NBA—or even the Eastern Conference.

The reason why Miami isn't the team to beat in the NBA or the East, for that matter, is because they lack an offensive presence at the center position.

While Joel Anthony isn't a bad center for the Miami Heat, defensively speaking, he might very well be the least productive center, offensively speaking, among centers in the NBA who average 22.8 or more minutes per game.

At the center position the Heat are getting a combined average of only five points per game, and while having LeBron, Wade and Bosh on the court helps Miami fans think that statistic is meaningless, it's impossible to ignore the gaping hole the Heat have at the center position.

While the Heat failed to make any acquisitions at the center position before the NBA trade deadline passed less than a week ago, Miami can still improve in the paint by making a key waiver wire acquisition.

If the Miami Heat want to improve, offensively speaking, at the center position, they need to shift their focus to adding center Ronny Turiaf, who was just waived by the Denver Nuggets after being included in the three-team trade between Washington, Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Ronny Turiaf is more productive than Joel Anthony and Dexter Pittman combined

The first reason why the Heat need Ronny Turiaf owning the paint at the center position is because he's more productive than both Joel Anthony and Dexter Pittman, and he's done so averaging significantly less minutes per game.

Over the span of Joel Anthony and Dexter Pittman's careers, with a combined average 25.2 minutes per game, both players average a combined total of 4.3 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game and 1.5 blocks per game.

Over the span of Ronny Turiaf's career, in only 17.8 minutes per game, he's averaged 5.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, which is right around the averages of both Heat players this season.

What's more impressive about Turiaf's statistical production is the fact that he's consistently played on bad NBA teams like the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers and, most recently, the lowly Washington Wizards.

There's no doubt that with the talent of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the same court as Turiaf, his production would increase, as the defensive focus would shift away from him.

At 6'10'' and 245 lbs., Ronny Turiaf's size and style of offense fits the Heat's transition focus

While Ronny Turiaf is a big guy, there's no doubt that he would bring an impressive athleticism to the Heat's frontcourt, especially in the transition offense, which would just add to Miami's versatility on offense.

Even if the Heat would add Turiaf and keep Joel Anthony as the starting center on the roster, having Turiaf coming off the bench would be a big improvement over the young Dexter Pittman, who has yet to fit into his massive 6'11'' and 285-lb. frame.

Turiaf is an adequately sized center, and with his years of NBA experience, there wouldn't be as severe of a drop off when Joel Anthony takes his talents to the bench, which would help the Heat's production remain more consistent throughout the longevity of the game, which has been an issue for them so far this season.

Grabbing Ronny Turiaf off the waiver wire would be a great move for the Heat to make, as they would be making a move with a low-risk, high-reward value that wouldn't cause any serious disruption to their current roster rotations.

If the Heat want to prove that they are the team to beat in the Eastern Conference and in the NBA, they need to get more production and consistency from the center position, and the quickest and easiest way for them to do just that is to add Turiaf to their star-studded roster.

Should Miami take a risk on Ronny Turiaf, or should they keep their roster rotation exactly the same as it is right now?

Let your thoughts known in the comment section below. 

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