| A Jayhawk Goes To Florida For The Winter Authored by Michael Leffman - June 29, 2005 - 2:49 am
Could this be the end of Udonis Haslem?
Miami’s selection of Wayne Simien, a power forward from Kansas, who led the Big 12 this year in scoring and rebounds with 19.4 points and 11.1 boards, is likely to make Haslem more interested in testing the free-agent market. Simien is a mature player who could see decent playing time during the 2005-06 season.
The Heat extended a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Haslem on Monday, so they can now match any offer from other teams. Will they? Simien is an inch bigger than Haslem (6-9 to 6-8) and he’s heavier (255 lbs. vs. 232 lbs.). Plus he has a nice jump shot. Money could be an issue... with Haslem. A late-round pick does not get a massive signing bonus, that’s appealing. And the Heat will need a lot of their money for Shaquille O’Neal and possibly Damon Jones.
Heat general manager Randy Pfund told The Miami Herald, “I think the challenge of this [draft] is really trying to project where a player is going to fit in.”
The pessimist would say the Heat guaranteed the ability to retain Haslem this past Monday with their qualifying offer, just in case they had to draft a short point guard. They didn’t.
The optimist would say the Heat believe Haslem’s talent is ready for a long-term commitment so they can make a stronger playoff run in 2005-06 and a rookie power forward is best not starting those games.
Here’s a mix of optimistic thought and pessimistic-thinking: The Heat players gave 110 percent during the regular season making them spent and injured for the playoffs.
Regardless of how the Heat treat the two promising power-forwards, they have what could be a timeless two-some of O’Neal and Dwyane Wade. That duo carried them pretty far. And it’s not a matter of if O’Neal will be re-signed, just how much and how long.
They’ve already secured Alonzo Mourning for next year. Keeping D. Jones should be a top priority as his 3-point shooting would continue to be a strong asset in the starting lineup.
What the Heat and GM Pfund already know is they’re team could have beaten the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, despite what most other sportswriters are saying, but in no way were they going to do that with the injury-plagued team they had.
The free agent period begins July 1. |
