NBA Free Agents 2011: 5 Players Capable of Leading the Miami Heat

The Miami Heat have a lot on their plate this off season; not as much as last offseason, but enough to cause the team to make some legitimate moves in order to strengthen the team into the championship squad that they're meant to be.

Among their concerns will be the obvious lookout for a big man that could hold the fort down in the middle. With Zydrunas Ilgauskas retiring, Jamaal Magloire and Erick Dampier possibly on the way out, and 6-foot-9 big man Joel Anthony not exactly cutting it, the Heat will either have to look for a significant free agent or continue to oversee the development of Dexter Pittman until he's ready to become the teams starting center.

They'll also be on the lookout for some defensive pressure and consistency off the bench. With Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller injured throughout the season, the Heat's supporting cast was exposed as inadequate and inconsistent and it cost the team a number of times throughout the year. With a number of veteran free agents on the market (Tayshaun Prince, Shane Battier and Grant Hill), the Heat will absolutely sign one of those three aforementioned players.

Rather than speaking on those matters again, we'll speak of the issues at point guard where Mario Chalmers is the expected starter. Chalmers impressed in the NBA Finals and was starting by the end of the series after Mike Bibby failed to offer any sort of positive contribution on either side of the ball. Mario filled in nicely, but he's still vastly inconsistent and is still mistake-prone even as a fourth-year point guard playing alongside three superstars.

Joining him at the moment is Mike Bibby who might be on the way out, Eddie House who has announced that he'll re-join the team, and rookie Norris Cole out of Cleveland State. The Heat will no doubt be looking for a solid point guard to help lead the team and possibly take over starting duties if Chalmers doesn't cut it. If it does come to that, they'll have to look to either of these five players to lead the offense and direct traffic.

T.J. Ford

You thought the Miami Heat having three of the top five picks in the 2003 NBA draft was surprising? It turns out that they could easily have four of the top 10 picks from that draft if they decide to strongly pursue Indiana Pacers point guard T.J. Ford.

The eighth pick in the storied '03 draft, Ford hasn't lived up to the expectations that he brought out of two years of playing at the University of Texas. He would play two uneventful seasons, he missed an entire season due to a spinal cord injury, with the team who drafted him in the Milwaukee Bucks where he would average as much as 12 points and a little under seven assists per before getting shipped off to Toronto.

Ford played two seasons with the Raptors and would break out in his first season there by getting the start and going on to average 14 points and eight assists per game. He'd have another injury plagued season the next year and would then be sent to the Indiana Pacers, where he has played for the past three seasons and has averaged a career high in points at 15 per following the 2008-'09 campaign.

Injury woes have persisted over the past two years with Ford playing in fewer than 47 games in both instances.

Ford may be the most logical choice for the Heat sign next season when it comes to filling in the void that Mike Bibby is possibly set to leave behind as he has the veteran experience to lead a team and is capable of allowing other players to do the majority of the work while he either leads the offense or waits for his open shot opportunities from the big three.

He'll also offer some decent man-to-man defense; something that neither of the current point guards on this team can offer.

At 28 years old and not many teams looking to sign the injury prone point guard, Ford should come cheap to a Heat team that isn't looking to spend too much money.

Patrick Mills

He hasn't received too much of a chance to make an impression yet, but there's something about the Portland Trail Blazers point guard Patrick Mills that could surprise many of the teams that are interested in him. The product out of Canberra, Australia only has two years worth of NBA experience under his belt with only 74 games to show for it and he could very well easily find himself playing a significant role on a number of teams interested in finding a capable back-up or a possible future starter.

Mills has shown before that he is capable of playing with NBA talent as he scored 20 points as a 20-year-old during the team's quarterfinal loss to the United States national team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also impressed in the final regular season game of the 2010-11 campaign as he scored a career high 23 points in the teams loss to the Golden State Warriors. Mills led the team in scoring and converted on four of his seven three-point opportunities.

With Mills on the team, not only do you get yourself a lightning quick and explosive point guard that has the potential to drive at will but you also possess a stellar three-point shooter that recently hit on 35 percent of his shots from beyond the arc last year. He hit four three-pointers in three games last season with all of those instances coming off the bench.

It's obvious that Mario Chalmers isn't going to be a Rajon Rondo type of guard that adjusts to his future Hall of Fame teammates. The same can't be said for Mills yet as it's completely possible that the big three and the rest of this Heat team could turn the Australian into a future All-Star that's capable of fitting in and leading an offense that contains the likes of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James.

Mills has shown before that he's plenty capable of leading a team such as the entire country of Australia and it wouldn't come as a surprise if the Heat make a push for him. He won't be heavily pursued and the risk is low, so expect the organization to make some sort of push for the 23-year-old that has plenty of potential to become a legitimate NBA point guard.

Earl Watson

Not to be overlooked amongst the other veterans in this year's free agency class, the Utah Jazz' Earl Watson should also become a possibility when the Miami Heat begin the courtship process of finding a decent point guard to fill in behind Mario Chalmers.

What the Heat are looking for from their point guard acquisition this summer is for a number of things with consistency and the ability to run an offense being key. The team is looking towards a new direction when it comes to having Dwyane Wade and LeBron James playing off the ball and that means having a point guard that has the ball handling skills and court awareness and vision to co-exist and thrive in a system with three superstars.

Watson can address a few of those issues with leading an offense being one. He has spent the majority of his 10-year career coming off the bench with one exception coming two seasons ago with the Indiana Pacers when he started 52 out of 79 games. Watson played 29 minutes per night and averaged eight points, five assists, and two turnovers per that season with the Pacers before being shipped off to Utah over the off season.

Earl has had no problem traveling all over the country throughout his career as he has spent time playing with six different teams and his three-year tenure with Memphis has been the longest. While he has always come off the bench to serve his purpose, Watson has always played a significant role on these teams by playing at least 20 minutes per night in seven of the past eight seasons with last year being the lone exception.

If the Jazz aren't going to use Watson right, then the Heat will by putting him as their new No. 2. He's only 32 years old, is known to hit from beyond the arc from time to time, consistently hit from the mid-range, and can play quality ball on both sides of the court. With attention being focused on the likes of J.J. Barea and T.J. Ford, don't be surprised if Watson is donning a Heat uniform next season and giving Mario Chalmers some competition.

Earl Boykins

The shortest player in the league at 5-foot-5 inches and one of its oldest at 35, Milwaukee Bucks point guard Earl Boykins has jumped from team to team and country to country over the past few seasons and could very well find himself in a Miami Heat uniform very soon if the price is right.

Boykins has played with four different teams since 2006 with two stops in Milwaukee, a brief stop in Charlotte, a short stint with Washington, and even some time spent in Italy before finally coming back to the NBA and settling down with the Bucks for the second time in his career. Boykins only averaged 15 minutes a night, but still managed to average seven points and three assists per while also connecting on 38 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

He may not look like much, but don't be fooled; Boykins is a dangerous that is still possible of scoring at a high volume and showed that lethal style of play last season when he hit four of his five three-point attempts to lead the Bucks to an upset win over the Los Angeles Lakers as well as a three of six effort from beyond the arc in a loss to Memphis. Boykins didn't get much of a chance to prove himself, but he took advantage when he had the chance with four games over 20 points.

Boykins has never played the role of legitimate back-up for too long on any team as his longest stint during his 12-year career was playing three and a half seasons with the Denver Nuggets from 2003 to 2007. He saw the best years of his career there where he averaged 15 points per in between time with the Nuggets and Bucks following a mid-season trade.

He's never shown too much of an initiative when it comes to running the point and he's never shown any solidarity at leading an offense, but he's a consistent threat when it comes to making his open shots and that's a huge issue to address at the point guard position. With inconsistent shooters in Eddie House and Mario Chalmers, Boykins would help address the shooting issues from the mid-range and beyond the arc while easing some of the perimeter pressure on Wade and James.

Anthony Carter

If you're expecting current New York Knicks point guard Anthony Carter to move worlds as the Miami Heat's next possible back-up one guard, then go see a psychologist because it's never going to happen. If Carter is to be signed by the Heat next year, it'll be for nothing more other than some reliability at running an offense and to offer some veteran leadership to the teams two young guards in Mario Chalmers and rookie Norris Cole.

Carter has never been recognized as a prolific guard, but rather as a solid leader that will do the bare minimum to lead your team while committing with as few mistakes as possible. He's only averaged a little more than a turnover per game for his career compared to the four assists per that he's posted up and has mostly been utilized as a bench option for the duration of his time in the NBA with teams such as San Antonio, Minnesota, Denver, New York, and the Heat.

He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Heat where he would come off the bench for the majority of his time there. Carter averaged six points and four assists per in his first two seasons before seeing injuries derail any more progress over the next three seasons as he played in only 100 games over a three year span with the Heat and Spurs.

Carter would see the most productive years of his career come with the Nuggets as he would also get the first consistent starting position of his career after starting in 67 of the 70 games he played in the 2007-'08 season. He was highly productive averaging eight points per on 46 percent shooting to go along with six assists and two steals per and also a shade under two turnovers.

Most recently, Carter split time between the Nuggets and Knicks after being a part of the deal that sent Carmelo Anthony to New York. He played in 19 games with the Knicks and would fill in for Chauncey Billups during the post season where he would score 11 points on five of seven shooting in the teams final game of the playoffs.

Don't expect Carter to make any huge changes to the Heat squad, but do expect some proper guidance to the Heat's two young guards as well as a veteran who is efficient at leading an offense with little turnovers or mistakes.