Miami Heat Axe Kenny Hasbrouck and Shavlik Randolph as Final Cut Looms

Danny Dolphin

Oct 20, 2010

The Heat have slimmed their roster down to 16 after waiving forward Shavlik Randolph and guard Kenny Hasbrouck Wednesday morning.

They must cut one more player by Tuesday of next week, when Miami will open the regular season against Boston at TD Garden.

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The current roster

Projected Starters: Carlos Arroyo, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Joel Anthony

Bench: Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, James Jones, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Dexter Pittman, Juwan Howard, Eddie House, Mario Chalmers, Jamaal Magloire, Patrick Beverley, Da’Sean Butler

The final cut

It looks like it’s coming down to Magloire, Beverley or Butler, as expected. It’s tough to predict because we aren’t quite sure what Miami is looking for from the end of the bench.

Would they rather have a veteran center in Magloire, who would be more of a contributor in the locker room than anything else, or two young players in Beverley and Butler, who each have some decent potential?

As I’ve said numerous times, the cut should be Maglore. Keeping him makes no sense from a basketball standpoint, especially considering that the Heat won’t have a high draft pick for some time. Remember, the team unloaded picks for what will seem like a century in various moves, and also the sign-and-trades for James and Bosh.

It was well worth it, of course.

Beverley has proven he deserves a roster spot. His biggest strength is his perimeter defense, and on this team, that is of great importance.

Butler should only be cut if they don’t think he will be the same player after he recovers from the torn ACL he suffered last April. If he gets back to playing like he did at West Virginia, he can be a nice role player in this league .

I would expect the final cut comes by the end of the weekend.