Obsessedsportsnut's Blog

After Lebron James announced that he was joining Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami last week, many people pointed out that you can’t win a championship with only 3 players, and that you need solid role players and bench players to round out the team. When Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen came together in Boston in 2008, they had strong supporting talent around them in Leon Powe, Eddie House, Tony Allen, Sam Cassell, etc.

Pat Riley bringing Bosh, James, and Wade together on one team was one thing. How he would fill out the remaining roster with a very little money remaining is another. However, everyone knew that if there was only one person that could pull this off, it’d be Riley.

and after only a couple days, the Heat are shaping up to be one scary looking team come the Fall.

In a span of a couple days, Pat Riley has retained Udonis Haslem, and brought in Mike Miller and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Miller brings outside shooting that every team needs, Haslem brings in hustle and rebounding, and Ilgauskas brings size off the bench to compete with the likes of Boston and Orlando in the East, and LA from the West.

Rumors have it that there’s interest to join the Heat by Jamaal Magloire, James Jones, Juwan Howard, and Carlos Arroyo. These aren’t stars, but they’re solid, decent role players who could contribute well off the bench.

How did this all happen? How is Pat Riley able to pull this off with very little cap room after signing Wade, Bosh, and James?

Two things: Friendship and a commitment to winning.

Lebron, Bosh, and Wade have grown to be close friends ever since they entered the league together and won a gold medal in Beijing together. They are very close to each other, and throughout the entire process, they have consistently said that this was never about the money…it was the opportunity to do something special. This was evident when they took a pay cut and signed less than max contracts so that Riley could have money left over to fill out the roster.

This mentality has stuck with the team and their recruiting of other players.

1) Udonis Haslem has been with the Heat for 7 years, and he’s grown to become a very close friend of Dwayne Wade in their time in Miami.
2) Mike Miller is a close friend of Lebron James, and Miller’s son, Maverick, is even named after Lebron’s closest friend, Maverick Carter. Miller is a close friend of Haslem as they were teammates at the University of Florida in 2000.
3) Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been probably the closest friend to James on the Cleveland Cavs for the past 7 years. James personally recruited the Big Z to come join him in Miami.

In all three cases, Haslem, Miller, and Ilgauskas took significant pay cuts as well for the opportunity to be part of something special. It’s scary to think about how good this team can be.

The Lakers are still the team to beat. They brought back Fisher and have the rest of their core intact. Yes they lost Jordan Farmer, but definitely improved by signing Steve Blake. Rumors have it that Raja Bell and Tracy McGrady are interested in signing with LA as well. Based on current rosters, I think the Lakers still have the edge over this current Miami team. Wade/Bryant is a push, Pau Gasol will destroy Bosh, Ron Artest can still effectively guard Lebron, and when healthy, Andrew Bynum will dominate Ilgauskas. I will also give the Laker’s role players a slight edge over Miami’s.

However, you are naive if you think this Miami team doesnt have the possibility of being dangerous. Chemistry wont be an issue, as I truly believe everyone will check their ego at the door. And if Riley brings in another veteran center and point guard, this team will be very strong.

A couple more smart moves, and we might just be seeing our next basketball dynasty.