LeBron James: 3 Reasons Extended Lockout Is Helping King James and Miami Heat

After LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh fell just short of an NBA title last season, they clearly aren't far from obtaining one.

While many teams will struggle to assimilate back to NBA life after the lockout concludes, the Miami Heat's core will mostly remain the same, allowing them to continue to build right where they left off.

Pat Riley will only have a few minor tweaks to make to the current roster, as the Heat came extremely close to winning an NBA championship with the superstar theory being barely outdone by the Dallas Mavericks.

3. More Rest for the Veteran Players

Outside of James, Wade and Bosh, most of the Heat's supporting cast are made up of aging players.

The center by committee group of Erick Dampier, Juwan Howard, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Jamal Magloire could all certainly use the rest as they are all past their prime.

It will be interesting to see which of the aging big men stick around on the Heat, and which ones need to be replaced.

If Eddy Curry is able to lose a significant amount of weight, it is likely that Riley will give him a fair shake with a 10-day contract.

Don't count on it though, since Curry seems more enamored with the idea of a happy meal than a contract deal.

2. LeBron James Has Worked with Hakeem Olajuwon

Although I realize James could've certainly done this even if it was just an ordinary offseason, it is a benefit to the team that it has occurred during the lockout, so it is necessary to include it here.

Hakeem Olajuwon has worked with Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and now James has become his latest student.

While Bryant seems to have benefited from the wisdom and moves, and Howard increased his scoring average by almost five points per game, it is easy to assume that James working with the legendary big man will only help to improve his game.

That being said, James could probably learn more from Olajuwon about staying calm in the clutch than he can about expanding his already impressive stat production.

1. The Lockout Allows Pat Riley More Time to Come Up with a Free Agency Plan

The man may be viewed as a snake by many, but the reality is there's not a fan out there that wouldn't want Pat Riley in the general manager chair pulling the strings for their ball club.

He's an incredible negotiator and one of the most clever businessmen in the NBA.

While the Heat will be limited on options due to the lack of salary cap space they have at their disposal, Riley has such tremendous business acumen, that you really can't deem any move impossible for him to make.

Mario Chalmers is the only free agent that was a part of the team's core they may have to replace.

However, they have already extended a qualifying offer to him, so it is also likely he may come back and reprise his role as the defensive-minded floor general of the otherwise star-studded Heat starting lineup (with the other exception being Joel Anthony, of course.)

Look for "Slick" Riley to target veteran players who are in search of winning their first NBA championship, as well as underperformers like Yi Jianlian who may go overlooked and could be low risk high reward options.

Riley will have plenty of time to calculate his next move to surround his prized "Big Three" with solid surrounding pieces. Especially if the lockout lasts long enough to cancel a season.