Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Be Satisfied with the #2 Pick

Heat fans, you should be very satisfied with the #2 pick. Going into last night, this should have been the mindset:

- 3 or 4, bad
- 2 good
- 1 great

The key thing was to avoid the 4th pick, which had some pretty high odds (we demonstrated that). There are two premier players in this draft (Rose and Beasley), so the Heat are assured one of them.

EJ and I both think the Heat would be better off with Rose, and early indications are that the Bulls covet Beasley. Imagine if the Heat got their guy and paid less!

Another possibility is trading the pick, which still has tremendous value at #2. The Heat could try and package the pick with Shawn Marion for a better superstar or fill a few holes with complementary players. A number of good trading partners come to mind, including Portland (Kevin Pritchard is always trying to swing a deal, and they have copious assets), Sacramento (Ron Artest and a package), Dallas, Charlotte, Indiana, Memphis...the list goes on. The Knicks would love to acquire it, but I'm not sure what the Heat would take in return (David Lee wouldn't be enough, and I seriously hope Eddy Curry isn't being considered). Lots of possibilities regardless.

It's time to put the past behind us and focus on a bright future. The Heat are in good shape.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm reading from the papers that the Bulls are under enormous pressure from their fans to draft Rose, a Chicago native who's perceived to have more game than Hinrich. Rose is also the flashy player franchises think attract people to the seats. I become increasingly worried that Rose won't be around at #2.

If I were the Heat, I'd draft Beasley, move Sean Marion to small forward, and trade Udonis Haslem. I love Udonis - I consider him more the heart and soul of this team than Flash. But there is a logjam at power forward, and I think Beasley gives the Heat the best chance to taste championship glory again. So, unless he's fine with coming off the bench, I'd trade U to a better situation.

Andrew said...

Good analysis EJ -

I am happy with either Beasley or Rose, but I am against exploring trade deals to fill in positions. I think either of these guys is worth keeping and unless we can pull off a breakthrough deal for Kobe, Garnett, or CP3...I would hold onto the #2 pick.

-a.b.

ASponge said...

Thanks for the comment, Bennie. I think you're right about the value of Beasley/Rose...these guys should both be NBA stars.

The Heat has/have (I hate the singular) the luxury of floating the pick around and seeing what they can get. No great offer, no problem. I'm just thinking they might get a steal.

We hope you continue to read and comment on the blog. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I concur, Bennie Press and Asponge. The idea of a trade should never be taken off the table - that would be reckless of Riley. But, considering that both Rose and Beasley are likely future stars in the making, I'd be extremely hesitant to pull the trade trigger unless a current 1st-team All-NBA player is offered.