The NBA Waiting Game: Miami Heat Fans on the Edge of Their Seats

A team waits, fans in the city sit on the edge of their collective seats, and a superstar decides on his future.

The waiting game has the entire City of Miami holding its breath, waiting on the decisions of a number of organizations and a number of players.

With trade talks and free—agent signings looming over the sunny skies of Miami, I and every Heat fan alike is on the edge of their seats waiting for this suspenseful chapter of the 2009 offseason to end in the Heat's favor with Carlos Boozer and hopefully Lamar Odom on the team.

While over the past few years the Heat have made major and minor moves over the offseason, some for the better and some for the worse, there has been no offseason like this, most in part because of the circumstances the franchise is under.

Dwyane Wade, who was stuck with the team through its best years and its worst years, in only a six—year span has voiced his displeasure of carrying an entire team on his back and will only sign an extension with the team if president Pat Riley makes a move to give the superstar his sidekick.

So what is a fan to do when their team is in a limbo that could possibly make or break an entire franchise?

Wait and keep on waiting.

What we know about Riley is that he is capable of bringing in the right man for the job (Shaquille O'Neal), but that he is also capable of bringing in more of a problem than a solution (Ricky Davis and Mark Blount). Riley does only want what's best for the team, and like the rest of the city of Miami, he wants Odom and Boozer more than anyone else.

It's not just the team on the line, it's his job and the result of the franchise if Wade decides to leave in 2010.

Just a few weeks ago, the chance to grab All—Star Allen Iverson was on the table for the team. The organization knew that Miami would be Iverson's top selection and could have grabbed him right when the opportunity was there. Most Heat fans jumped at the chance to grab Iverson, but the organization knew there were better possibilities for the team and that Iverson was not going anywhere. With Iverson still on the market, the team looks like it was right to be patient.

The thought of bringing in players such as Boozer, Odom, and Iverson have Heat fans in a tizzy of the possibilities of what magic Wade can work with these players.

But to be a smart fan is to be a patient fan, and that is the only way we are going to get out of this offseason—with patience.