That Oregon RB ought to be in jail - sucker punch and a threat to the public safety while taking up valuable state taxpayer dollars on "scholar"ship... The next thing he ought to be punching is the 'CHANGE' button at Wendy's.

I'll be the resident aetheist commie bastard

"Con: Can Pat Riley honestly do this to Erik Spoelstra, add such a combustible personality to an organization headed by a second-year coach? Iverson hardly aided Michael Curry's growth curve last season in Detroit." Big Difference: Here the HEAT is D-Wade's team. Both in Denver & Detroit it couod be argued that Iverson was the only 'proven star' on the team. Wade has a ring and I believe the respect of AI - something that was probably lacking on the other teams.

" I would give David Lee a MLE offer. Let the Knicks match and tie up cap space. He would be a perfect energy guy off the bench and could play next to Beasley. Of course, I would prefer to acquire players by trade versus waiting until 2010 and don't care about the luxury tax. Posted by: JB | August 06, 2009 at 02:26 PM" That's a good move! It puts the Knicks in a bad spot as well because they will risk getting any star there next season by resigning Lee. Lee is quite undervalued and would be a boon to have in the 4 or 5 spot.

" IS IRA FINALLY GETTING IT? DID HE JUST REALIZE THIS NOW?? Posted by: Dom | August 06, 2009 at 01:40 PM" Ira probably has a post-it note of off-season topics and crosses them off each day. Tomorrow should be 'What if no Joe?' as Johnson appears to be getting an extension from the Hawks. 'What if Beasley can't hack it?' would be another in which he can expound on the necessity of getting Boozer or Bosh. 'Miami Arenas?' would mention Gilbert Arenas as a trade possibility mid-season. 'King and Burger King' could highlight the stresses of Shaq and Lebron and open the window for a LeBron signing courtesy of Shaq. 'Short-Order Cook' on the need to trade Daquan early for a decent back-up pg. etc. Instead of a post it, it is probably on an old school Lite-Brite.

Here's a link to a photo of Dueñas... www.flickr.com/photos/62498538@N00/408118829/

"There is nothing on ESPN and to me I've given up hope on Odom. Not to be negative but the guy is playing us u know. There is nothing more we can do at this point other than to have Wade kidnap him in LA and put him on a flight to Miami. Odom will wait possibly the entire summer until the Lakers give him a better offer....similar to what Varejo did with Cleveland a few years ago when they lowballed him and he missed training camp! Posted by: King Riley | July 28, 2009 at 02:30 PM" Looks like that's the way this will play out. If he really wanted to be here, knowing exactly what we can offer, than he would have signed..duhh. Only a pissed off Jerry Bus will send him this way

"Q: Here's something a little different: Who is Roberto Duenas, and why is he considered a member of the Miami Heat (by both 'SI.com' and 'RealGM')? -- Alan." Hahaha - I lived in Spain during those years - Dueñas would have won, hands down, that ugliest player competition, hands down. Imagine Andre the Giant with the body hair of George 'the Animal' Steele. Good player, but had some serious Frankenstein goin on.

Imagine...a small forward with size, the handle of a guard and can play both forward positions.. Antoine Walker! He needs the dough - plus getting J-Will as well will be like the post-championship team we never had: O'Neal Haslem Walker Wade J-Will Admit it, it sounds good!!

"Chicago and Miami have emerged as the frontrunners for Boozer, while the Jazz would like to add a shot-blocker or shooter. The Jazz also are expected trim their payroll from the current $82 million, $12 million over the luxury-tax threshold." http://www.sltrib.com/jazz/ci_12868691 Hmmnnnn....comment posted soon. Posted by: BigSarge | July 19, 2009 at 02:07 PM =============================== Haslem is a shot-blocker. Posted by: badimo | July 19, 2009 at 02:17 PM" So, toss Joel Anthony into the deal! But, I'd rather see us get Odom, use him at the 3, put beasley at 4 and then, if Beasley truly can't take that next step, go after Boozer or Bosh either next season or mid-way through the upcoming one. Of course, Beasley not panning out would prove so monumentally disasterous for a number of reasons that it is best not to go there.

" it's the offseason and beasley is working his arse off trying to get ready and poof wade keeps shyting on him, what a great teammate i tell you, just let beasley go to another team and get a chance to play and be himself. d howard is a clown and a close friends with beasley i don't see anyone in his organization challenge his immaturity but only embrace it. Posted by: hotleo20 | July 19, 2009 at 12:56 PM" I see it completely differently - Wade is putting the pressure on the Beas to show he belongs, to show he will fight for a starting job and fight to get victories..Look at when Wade performed best - when dissed by the competition. Wade takes slights to heart and strives to make others eat their words to get their respect. Being 19, now 20 has little to do with it - look at other sports with younger players, those with resolve and dedication bring it from very early on. And from what I've read, Beasley seems perturbed, seems motivated and wants to prove he was not just a flash in the pan college ssuperstar. If that's what the HEAT get, and it looks that way now, than adjust your perception of Wade's treatment. To quote Ric Flair "In order to be the man, you haveto beat the man"

Perhaps, Dom, you are on to something with the Paul scenario. Why jump for Boozer if Paul were attainable? Of course, trading Paul might result in NO fans storming the franchise office with tar and feathers, so any trade of a star needs to be done carefully. Let's look at it a different way - let's say the HEAT were a financial disaster and needed to clean house, would the fans here be terribly upset if Wade were traded for Blake Griffin and future picks? Losing a star hurts, but there are ways to appease the fan base and a highly touted rookie (or sophomore)player plus picks could do it.

Boozer is an easy deal! the Jazz made it public he is being shopped, so there is no need to mention any top quality young picks (like Beasley) for him. Expirings, cap relief, future pick - those are the tools in this kind of trade. Heck, if Ira ran the Lakers they'd have shipped out Bynum to get Gasol! Imagine if Ira were the HEAT GM...how many silly deals would transpire? Beasley for Miller? check We'd also have Mike Miller on this team (didn't he mention him quite a bit last season?)

Dom - because Beasley is the dead Michael Jackson of South Florida sports - just mention his name and HEAT fans, like moths to a lightbulb, congregate en masse. Don't be surprised if you read more Beasley trade proposals in the near future, even if they are out of context (like in this article) and ridiculous.

" IRA, are u kidding me???? again??? trade beasley for a point guard??? grow up ira. im sorry that your precious haslem looks to be headed out the door, but why do u have to take out your anger/sadness on beasley yet again? you are losing all your credibility. do you have any journalistic integrity?? ENOUGH is ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!! Posted by: TylerD | July 16, 2009 at 05:01 PM" Before DoctorB responds to your post, which resembles my post earlier, I'll beat him to it. What Ira meant to say was that Beasley would be traded for a star PG, like Baron Davis. So, ignore the fact that he referenced Andre Miller, not Davis, because he meant Davis. So, from here on all references to Miller should be translated to mean Davis. Got it? Good!

Interesting... Ira seems convinced that if the deals for Boozer and Odom take place that Beasley would be dealt for a pg. He mentioned Miller and, let's face it, the consensus was that it would be a seriously retarded move that not even Lewis Schaefel on a booze binge would execute (ok, maybe he would)...But recent reports out of Minny say that if they do sign Rubio than Jonny Flynn would probably be dealt. This would be a more realistic move than Miller.

"Beasley for a PG"...Hmmm. How about Beasley for Jamal Tinsley, or maybe a sign and trade with the Celts for Marbury? Nat Robinson, Chris Duhon and Jordan Farmar also come to mind... WTF Ira, dude, get a life!

"If Wade can NOT contend for a title with Odom, Boozer, Beasley, JO, and Chalmers.....then he is OVERRATED. YEA I SAID IT. Posted by: FMB or FS | July 16, 2009 at 12:09 PM" Well, Spo would certainly have his stamp on this being a competitive team - for either good or bad.

"and someone at point guard (either Mario Chalmers, or, more likely, a point guard acquired in exchange for Michael Beasley)" hahahahaha!! Dudes, Ira is officially posting to raise your blood pressure!! What he meant to say, was that Beasley would than be traded, along with future first rounders, back to Utah to re-acquire Udonis Haslem.. Assuming Ira has the inside track and Riley is looking at sending out Beasley for a pg - what PG would be considered a good return? Miller? No way. The 'A-list' is pretty much untouchable and Davis would mean having to toss in JO. How about OJ Mayo? Look, think what you want, but he was supposedly the guy Riley wanted. Mayo Wade Odom Boozer JO interesante... Again, based on Ira's assumption that Beasley will get traded for a guard.

" AP newsflash: "Feds finally located Antoine Walker at a place that no one would ever suspect. At the rim." Posted by: doctorb" LOL. He just gave up Beasley's hiding spot!

" Food for Thought on Miller: He would actually be PLAYING PG instead of acting like he's playing PG like Chalmers did last year so Wade would be playing OFF the ball and be used like an actual SG with him coming off screens and catching the ball on the wing with the defense reacting to HIM instead of him making the defense react to Miller the whole time. MIller has a great post-up game and would and does draw dbl's pretty consistently in the post so Wade would be a shooter in that scenario. Getting Miller would mean a more diverse and less predictable offense. MORE PLAYMAKERS AND LESS PLAYWATCHERS. Posted by: FMB or FS | July 15, 2009 at 11:18 AM at 5.8 mill and can't shoot past 20 feet no thanks, i pass Posted by: hotleo20 | July 15, 2009 at 11:20 AM" No true, Hotleo - he brings a lot more to the table, things that outweigh his lack of outside shooting. He's much better than Chalmers..BDK called it by saying Chalmers 'acted like he played PG'. Let's face it , Wade covered up a lot of Chalmers' difficulties. Miller would allow Wade greater freedom and be much better defensively than Chalmers. I don't know about Boozer, considering both he and Beasley would compete for the same spot - that being said, he is a proven talent and I'd rather he be on the HEAT than on another team in our division (like the Knicks or Bobcats). The solution may be playing Beasley out of position to accomodate Boozer and if Boozer doesn't work out, he could be traded or just come off the books. I like Odom, but I'd use him from the 3 to 5..Heck, he's bigger than Bosh, so why not?

" For all those wondering why Odom would take a deal with Miami over re-signing with LAL. "Yet it's believed that Odom has indeed received offers from the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks that -- because neither Florida nor Texas imposes state taxes -- are not as far away in value from the Lakers' presentation as it would seem. Odom would have the ability with either the Heat or the Mavericks to sign a three-year, $19 million contract and negotiate a new deal with full Larry Bird rights in the summer of 2012 or take a five-year deal worth $34 million to bank more overall money, along with the state-tax benefits, than he could in a new three-year deal with the Lakers." From Stein's ESPN article Posted by: FMB or FS | July 15, 2009 at 11:07 AM" Well,both the HEAT and Mavs can offer no state income tax, something that can't be discounted as an incentive.

On JO: Imagine you are Pat Riley and have just witnessed Zaza Pachulia out rebounding and out hustling your front court ...There is no way he want's to stay status quo and I wouldn't be surprised if he were after Thabeet (but probably wanted Mayo as well) because that is Riley's modus operandi.. I do think Spo is too inexperienced to coach Beasley - kind of like Jim Mora jr. with Mike Vick. Vick played his best with Dan Reeves, than Mora came in with his 'philosophy' and wanted to make Vick something he wasn't, which knocked him down a few levels. At Spo's experience level, he needs role player guys who do what his system calls for. This next season is huge for Spo, as he needs to show a willingness to get Beasley involved.. That being said, Beasley has not been a model rookie, either, and you have to wonder what has gone on behind the scenes.

"Andre Miller is the best pickup by far, he fits GREAT with a starting lineup of Wade-3ptshooter/defender-Beasley-Oneal Posted by: BillyDAkid WADEforMVP2009 | July 15, 2009 at 10:26 AM " Dude - JO needs to show us something before we get stoked about his being our starting 5. 5 rpg's doesn't cut it....For that, we could put Daquan Cook at Center. Haslem for Miller is an upgrade, but I am not sold on the front court.

"WHAT A SURPRISE! Haslem is not only staying but also being re-signed to an extension....typical of Ira. So we get Boozer, KEEP Haslem AND Beasley....hmmm so Ira wants Boozer and Haslem at PF with Odom at SF with Beasley at ????? Fock you little coward Ira, just come out and say it: You don't like Beasley and have no intention of ever writing something encouraging about the long-term prospects of Beasley in Miami. You focking coward. Posted by: FMB or FS | July 15, 2009 at 10:45 AM" Cheer up, FMB - I am sure Beasley fits in perfectly behind Odom and James Jones at the SF - in other words: he'd be just two serious injuries away from starting!! There you go, the glass half full.