| An Offseason To Remember Authored by SW36 - August 10, 2005 - 2:52 am
After a great year of success, the Miami Heat had come to realization that they hadn’t reached the promise land, despite challenging Detroit to a game seven in the Eastern Conference Finals, which was played at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. But President of Basketball Operations Pat Riley wasn’t going to stand by quietly.
This years draft proved to not only be great, but incredibly deep. Miami, who had the 27th pick this year, selected Wayne Simien from the University of Kansas. With, what some might say, the “steal of the draft”, Wayne made the Heat an even deeper, and dangerous team.
With Wayne locked up with a contract already, the free agency period hit. Miami’s first priority was to sign Shaq to a long term deal. Finally, on August 2nd, that was exactly what they did. Shaquille signed a five year, 100 million dollar deal, which showed what a loyal player he was to the Heat organization, by leaving millions of dollars on the table to other teams. But to O’Neal, it wasn’t necessarily about the money, as much as it was about winning a championship with Miami. The 12-time All-Star, averaged 22.9 points, while snatching down 10.4 rebounds, while also leading the league in field goal percentage during his first year with the Heat. Udonis Haslem, who also re-signed, and who also took a pay cut, was happy that he could continue playing with a legend.
"I guess that's five more years of wide-open shots for me," said forward Udonis Haslem, who signed his five-year, $30.7 million deal to stay in Miami on Tuesday. "I'm looking forward to that, definitely. Obviously Shaq has been a tremendous benefit to the whole team. ... I'm going to ride him until his wheels fall off."
The news only got better for the Heat, who on August 3rd, made the NBA’s largest trade in which they received Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, and James Posey, while only dolling out Eddie Jones, and Rasul Butler, one thing was clear…The Heat are becoming the leagues most dominant team. The trade was the largest in NBA history, edging out the 2000 trade in which Patrick Ewing was traded.
"We traded a lot, but we got back three quality players," said Heat president Pat Riley. "Antoine Walker is one of the very best multi-faceted, versatile players in this game. ... He is able to handle the ball, pass it, make plays, shoot 3's and rebound the ball. There isn't anyone in this league better at doing that."
Walker, who was selected to three All-Star games in his career already, will play the small forward position, while James Posey, an above average defender, serves as his backup. And barring the absence of three point threat Damon Jones, who is currently still a free agent, Jason Williams would become the starter at point guard.
It was announced as the largest trade in NBA history, a record 13 players switching teams, with four teams involved, and no one could have been happier than the Miami Heat. Antoine Walker, who was reunited earlier in the year with the Celtics, was surprisingly let go, and has arguably made the Heat a much stronger team.
Antoine has put up numbers of 19.1 points and nine rebounds a game, just missing a double-double average, while stealing 1.16 balls a game. Add Jason Williams to the mix, who last year with the Grizzlies averaged 10.1 points per game, while dishing out 5.6 assists. Not to mention James Posey, the seven year veteran, who came packaged with Williams in the deal. Posey, who was a fan favorite in Memphis for his explosive strides to the basket and his incredible dunks, averaged just under ten points, and five rebounds, while averaging 1.67 steals per game. Last but not least, the Heat received a throw in player, Andre Emmett, a player who has a ridiculous vertical leap, and dazzled fans while attending Texas Tech. The Heat unfortunately had to give up Eddie Jones, a proven leader for the team, and Rasul Butler, who was a solid role player off the bench. Jones leaves the Heat after five seasons with the team.
"I spoke to him and he's appreciative of the five great years he's had in Miami," agent Leon Rose said. "He's proud that he's helped build something, although it's unfortunate that he won't be able to see it to fruition. But he wishes the organization nothing but the best."
However, with this trade, the Heat have not only gotten stronger, but more feared as a team.
The Heat are also welcoming back rookie sensation Dwyane Wade, who has been nothing else but great. And if you know Pat Riley, then you know that there could still be something left up his sleeve. But for now, I’m sure everyone involved with the Miami organization is happy with their revamped roster.
Now the only thing left to do now is wait for the regular season to open, because this is an off-season to remember. |
