NBA Free Agency: 10 Players the Miami Heat Should Pursue This Offseason
Even with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh leaving their mark on the Miami Heat, it doesn't mean that the team couldn't still use a little extra help. The big three have done their fair share of the heavy lifting and have scored the majority of their teams points, even scoring as much a 90 percent of their teams overall total, and have led the team to a 50-22 record after a rough 9-8 start.
James and Wade have both earned MVP talk, and Bosh is finally adjusting to the new system he is molding into.
Yet, there are still holes and flaws that need to be fixed on this juggernaut of a basketball team. For one, there is still no center worthy of recognition or anywhere near credible. Miami has gone through three different starting centers this year with varied results and have yet to find any consistency or reliability from the five spot with Joel Anthony, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Erick Dampier all receiving an opportunity.
Miami has even tried Jamaal Magloire, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem at center too with less than stellar results.
The point guard spot has easily been the Heat's achilles heel all year long. Their conference rivals in the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls have scorched them all year long mostly due in part to the extreme advantage they have at the 1-spot with Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose.
Rondo's ability to create plays and Rose's ability to finish them have tormented the Heat all year long leading Miami to a combined 0-6 against the top two teams in the East.
The next few weeks and the postseason should truly decide if the Heat really do need some help as far as a center, point guard or even a capable shooter.
Miami hasn't exactly exceeded expectations or lived up to the hype, but they have played like a team and made plenty of progress as a cohesive unit, which is the most important aspect of this team at the end of the day. They have the point guards and centers that can fill the spots for now, but they're looking to be put over the top now.
They won't be making any coup's like last summer's offseason, but they could make a big splash with some of their signings this coming summer with the myriad of centers and point guards that will become available.
They also have to take in being cost effective as well now that they have most of their money tied away with their big three. With most of their veterans free agents, we could see just as different of a Heat team as before.
Samuel Dalembert
1 of 10
Possibly the best option the Miami Heat have for a center, as well as the most cost-effective, Sacramento Kings center Samuel Dalembert represents himself as the possible starting center for the Heat next season.
Miami has a plethora of centers on its roster, but they are all either a few years from retirement (Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamaal Magloire and Erick Dampier) or entirely too young and raw to be given significant playing time (Dexter Pittman).
Dalembert will be 30 by the start of next season, and he would give the Heat some sort of defensive and offensive prowess in the paint.
When the Heat play their usual centers, they basically leave themselves at a disadvantage by playing four on five on offense. Players like Dampier and Magloire don't have much of a post-up game left and find their points coming off easy dunks, while Ilgauskas can find himself scoring mostly from his usual mid-range spot.
Dalembert however can bring a mid-range game, as well as an extremely valuable asset in being able to catch a ball and being able to finish.
If you've seen Joel Anthony play, you would realize that hands are an asset not every player automatically possesses.
Most of all though, Dalembert brings plenty of defense in the paint. He's been a renowned shot blocker ever since his days with the Philadelphia 76ers and can give Miami the defensive presence and toughness that they've needed all season.
Dampier and Magloire are big bodies, but they severely lack in speed or being able to stay on the floor that long due to their age. Dalembert can bring the best of both worlds by bringing his defense, being able to play significant minutes and also being able to finish on offense.
Rasual Butler
2 of 10
With the way Mike Miller has been playing this season, the Miami Heat might need to invest in a more capable shooter. You could possibly blame the finger injury he suffered in the preseason, but the fact that he is actually hitting all his shots during shoot-around makes you think this is a mental problem, more than a physical one.
With James Jones as the only pure shooter on the team, Miami need to invest in another shooter.
Enter former Heater Rasual Butler. Recently acquired by the Chicago Bulls from the Los Angeles Clippers, Butler was actually in the middle of a less than stellar season where he was hitting less than 33 percent of his three-pointers.
He was also hitting a dismal 32 percent overall from the field in one of his worst shooting seasons since his rookie year. Nevertheless, Miami could use a shooter who isn't afraid to shoot and isn't afraid to hit some shots a few times either.
Butler played his first three years in the league with the Heat and shot a career high 46 percent from deep before departing for New Orleans two years later. Over his nine years in the league, Butler has made as many as two three-pointers in a game and averaged as much as 12 points per game only last season.
With the inconsistency the Heat have from beyond the arc, a player like Butler could be just what they need for production along the perimeter.
Nene Hilario
3 of 10
Possibly a little too far out of the Heat's price range, but Nene Hilario would be the ideal player the Heat would desire out of the 2011 free agent class. Hilario has admitted this season that he has thought about leaving the Denver Nuggets organization with a possible intention of signing with Miami next season.
When Carmelo Anthony left, it appeared the Heat would be waiting with open arms to sign Hilario who would most likely be leaving an organization in dismay.
However, now that the Nuggets are seeing plenty of success with their new-look team, it might take a few more dollars and a lot more convincing to get Hilario out of Denver. Hilario represents himself as the best option for the Heat as far as centers go because of his prowess on both ends of the floor.
With no Anthony on the team, Nene has become one of the team's best offensive producers now that he is averaging a career high 15 points per game. Couple that with his hard-nosed defense, and Nene becomes a perfect fit for Miami.
As anyone can guess though, Miami is ludicrously short on money. With LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh tying up most of their money, the Heat will have to drop a few players just to give Hilario near the salary that he will desire.
If Miami can get a championship or at least advance deep enough to convince Nene to leave the team that he has called home since 2002, this could be the move to really put the team over the top for good.
Chris Wilcox
4 of 10
If the Miami Heat are going to be able to sign anyone, they have to be cost effective when going about it. There are plenty of opportunities to secure a reliable role player for cheap than in Detroit where power forward and center Chris Wilcox will be a free agent next season.
With Udonis Haslem out all year, the Heat have lacked rebounding, defense and toughness at the position and on the team overall. Bringing in a player like Wilcox would address all three issues while giving the team some depth at the four and five.
During his time with the Seattle Supersonics, Wilcox played the best basketball of his career when he averaged 14 points and seven rebounds while receiving the first decent amount of significant minutes in his career.
Since then though, Wilcox has bounced around from New York to Oklahoma City before finally ending up in Detroit, where he is currently listed as the backup power forward. He hasn't averaged double-digit points since the 2007-08 season, the last season where he received 20 or more minutes a night.
With the Heat, Wilcox would find himself as the third string power forward and a possible backup to the center that will be named later. He has proven himself before as a more than capable starter and would be a perfect fit for a Heat team that could really use some size and power near the rim.
Ronnie Price
5 of 10
With the turmoil in Utah and the way the organization has gone down the tubes since the departure of coach Jerry Sloan and All-Star point guard Deron Williams, it wouldn't be surprising to see a few players possibly wanting out next season.
The Utah Jazz have six unrestricted free agents with one of those free agents being fifth-year point guard Ronnie Price.
If anyone has even heard anything about the Heat, it's that they have had obvious problems at the point guard position. Aside from Mario Chalmers off the ball defense, the Heat don't have many stoppers with Eddie House and Mike Bibby being the only other point guards on the team.
Ronnie Price can address those defensive issues the Heat have had problems with all year against the elite point guards of the league.
Of course, the Heat would have to make some moves to fit Ronnie into the rotation. He is far too small to be moved to the 2-spot and would have to compete with three other point guards for playing time.
Eddie House and Mike Bibby are both free agents next season and Mario Chalmers has been the talk of trade rumors for the past two seasons, so it is highly possible there could be a complete overhaul of the Heat point guards by next season leaving room for players like Price.
Nazr Mohammed
6 of 10
A capable center for the time being, but a capable one nonetheless. Nazr Mohammed hasn't always been one of the most feared centers in the league, he won't make any highlight reels unless he's on the opposite end of a poster, and he certainly won't make any All-Star games at 33 years old, but the Miam Heat aren't looking for any of those qualities when they are bargain hunting.
In fact, those are the qualities they are looking for when searching for a cost-effective free agent.
Mohammed has bounced around the league with seven different teams and has averaged double-digit points only twice in his lengthy 12-year career with Miami seemingly being the only team that he has yet to play for.
Nazr is currently averaging a little less than seven points and five rebounds with the Oklahoma City Thunder and has been a solid contributor coming off of the bench this season and for the majority of his career.
While he'll probably see his retirement soon, he is still a reliable big man that the Heat could possibly use for the next two or three seasons. He can rebound at an impressive rate, finish around the rim and can play capable defense, all the quality assets the Heat are striving for when it comes to reaching out for a center who can actually offer some sort of contribution and production.
Kwame Brown
7 of 10
Don't laugh. The Charlotte Bobcats have actually given Kwame Brown a new lease on his NBA life now that he is averaging some of his best numbers since the beginning of his career. At seven points and seven rebounds per game, Brown is actually showing off some sort of offensive game while also being a productive rebounder for once.
The seven rebounds he is putting up is the highest it has been since the 2003-04 campaign when he averaged a little more than seven.
A main problem for Brown though would be the possibility of him being star struck by the amount of talent on the Heat. He played with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in between the Shaquille O'Neal and Pau Gasol eras and wasn't always met with the best reception by his teammates and his own teams crowd.
He gets frustrated too easily and isn't the most fundamental player in the league, but he does have the size the Heat could use.
He is in no way, shape or form starter material, not even for a team like the Heat that could use just about any center with hands that isn't set to live in a retirement home by the time their career ends. Kwame though could be an asset off the bench and could even get some tips from the assorted veterans at the 5-spot on the Heat's roster.
A player like Jamaal Magloire could give Brown some life tips that could turn his career around for the better.
Or not. Most likely not.
T.J. Ford
8 of 10
A player that has been highly coveted by the Heat over the past few seasons, Indiana Pacers point guard T.J. Ford could very easily find himself in a red and black uniform by the beginning of next season.
Miami has consistently had problems at the point guard with Mario Chalmers and Eddie House's inconsistencies on offense and defense and Mike Bibby's lack of defense, and a player of Ford's caliber could very well easily be the answer to a few of these problems the Heat are looking to address over the offseason.
Ford would be the fourth player from the 2003 draft on the Heat, but lacks the star power the other three players bring. Nevertheless, Ford does bring the offense that the Heat could really use from the 1-spot. He hasn't played that well this season, averaging only six points and four assists, but he has posted up as many as 15 points two seasons ago and as many as eight assists five years ago.
In the same case as Ronnie Price possibly joining the team, T.J. Ford would only see playing time if the Heat make some moves and cut some space for another point guard to join the team.
All three point guards are free agents, and the need of a point guard with some offensive capabilities would be extremely beneficial to a Heat team that could use some production on the offensive end from a point guard.
Kyrylo Fesenko
9 of 10
Now, this is what you call a reach. Utah Jazz bench warmer and center Kyrylo Fesenko will also be one of the six unrestricted free agents coming out of Utah, and he will also probably be the most cost effective.
Miami's overall lack of a capable big man has been detrimental to the team with the team going through three different centers already in the starting lineup. Joel Anthony, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Erick Dampier have all been used with varied results, most of them being on the negative side.
Fesenko has never been given any significant minutes and has never averaged more three points in his four years in the NBA, but he does have two huge factors in his favor that could prove valuable: size and youth.
At 7'1" and 280 pounds, the Russian product is one of the biggest players in the league and could play a large role in a conference that features names like Dwight Howard, Andrew Bogut and Brook Lopez. Being 24 years old helps as well as the Heat could possibly invest in one of the best kept secrets in the NBA.
Miami does already have a big body in Dexter Pittman learning the ropes in the D-League, but it wouldn't hurt to grab a hold of another large body that actually does have some sort of NBA experience. With the limited amount of time and experience he has played in the NBA, it wouldn't be surprising to obtain Fesenko for very cheap.
Greg Oden
10 of 10
This could either represent itself as the best or worst move of the offseason by the Miami Heat. The former No. 1 pick and perennial bench warmer Greg Oden is becoming a free agent for the first time in his career and isn't expecting the pay day he was possibly expecting when he joined the league in 2007.
Oden is missing his second complete season of his career and has only played 82 games in the four years he has been in the NBA.
Prior to being injured early last season, Oden was actually showing signs of resilience when he averaged a career high 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. His offensive rebounding was also very impressive considering he averaged three per game in both seasons he played with Portland.
While he hasn't played enough to truly gauge just how good of a player he can be, it would still be wise to invest some money in him despite all the injuries.
Oden should come for cheap because of the risk of injuries as well, making it very manageable for Miami to pick him up over the offseason.
Miami hasn't had much luck this season when it comes to centers and even with the risks and baggage that Oden brings along with him, he could still bring plenty of success to a team that could be a piece or two away from being one of the most dominant teams ever assembled.
