Miami Heat: A Bright Future in South Beach

Dwyane Wade (left) and Shawn Marion (right) during Marion's debut in Miami.  (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)

You know, I keep hearing how the Shaquille O’Neal trade was a good trade for Phoenix and that it was a one-sided desperation move.

Well, I beg to differ.

The winners of this trade are the Miami Heat. With the new acquisitions of Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, the Heat just took a giant step in the right direction.

By sending Shaq to Phoenix, Miami unloaded roughly $40 million over two years.

That leaves cap space to pursue a big name in the offseason. Possible free agents include Gilbert Arenas, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Antawn Jamison, Sam Cassell, Baron Davis and Ron Artest to name a few.

Let's not forget that before Steve Nash strolled into town, Marion was the captain of this ship, averaging 21 PPG, 9 RPG, 2.3 SPG and 1.3 BPG.

Those are pretty solid numbers for a guy who was supposedly not team orientated in Phoenix. In his debut, Shawn gathered 15 points and 14 rebounds to go along with three blocks.

As for Banks, he is also good in his own right and was a 90 percent free throw shooter in the 05-06 season.  He is a 77 percent free throw shooter for his career.

In his debut, Banks had seven points and four assists.

The Heat’s defense will eventually become focused and better overall with the addition of Marion’s all around skills. The Heat will also most likely receive a top 10 pick in this year's draft.

The reason the Heat may not receive the first overall selection, is because the play of Wade and Marion will hurt their chances of ending with the worst record in the league.

Look for the Heat to possibly trade up for the top pick and possibly draft Roy Hibbert from Georgetown. Miami is also in the running for Knicks' foward Zach Randolph.

The Knicks, however, won’t budge unless Udonis Haslem is sent in return via trade.  Then again, the Heat could make a deal for Chicago center Ben Wallace, who looks unhappy right now in Chicago.

Wallace seems to have fallen out of good grace with the Bulls, and Miami may be able to get him for a bargain, perhaps Ricky Davis and Daequan Cook.

Well, whatever Miami decides to do, barring a catastrophic meltdown, the Heat look to be a potential top five team in the Eastern Conference by next season.