This is a good starting point, not sure Caron has much left though, but trading Amare would have to followed by more moves....many more moves. Amare has proven he CAN NOT be the 2nd best player on a title contender, even if he thinks he can be. Nash and Amare couldn't get to the NBA finals(yea, yea..conspiracy crap here you come), so Wade and Amare and shouldn't be expected to be able to do it. The East is very similar to what the West was back then with some superior teams at the top. Posted by: FMB(Heat reflects Spo - SADLY) | January 26, 2010 at 10:48 AM You're definitely right that Wade + A'mare isn't a gimme. Still, A'mare has been a beast in the post season. And I still think that his game compliments Wade's game better than Bosh. My biggest concerns with A'mare are that he's injury prone and that his productivity will likely fall off dramatically once his legs go. I think that his defense would improve in the Heat's system, if for no other reason than the fact that the team plays at a slower pace. I also wonder about Caron. He has the look of a player who might have peaked. Then again, the environment in Washington has been toxic this year, even before the gun fiasco. I think Haywood is under-appreciated; he plays solid D in the middle, and would work very nicely next to a PF like A'mare. Again, I'm not advocating that these trades fill all of the team's needs and makes it an instant contender. But I think it makes the team very competitive and well-placed for a run (i.e. 1 or 2 trades away from a legit run).

Depending on the inside information that exists (OMGZ, we can haz Lebron!), I think that I would pull the trigger on an A'mare provided that it was part of a larger overhaul. For example, I'd be a fan of pulling a 3 -way deal involving Washington and Phoenix that would net us a frontline of Caron, A'mare, and Haywood at the expense of Beasley, Jsoft, and Qb!tch. Re-up Haslem in the offseason and use the MLE on a PG. Although it still leaves the team short on the bench (with the continued and glaring lack of a 3 pt shooter to space the floor), I think its better than Plan B in the offseason.

"That's if Amare and Bosh didn't resign with the Suns and Raptors." Um, yeah.

Its too bad that the Beasley at SF experiment doesn't seem to be working. Had it worked, then we could have gone into the 2010 bonanza targeting something like a Beas + Bosh/Amare + Haywood (or Dampier or the like) frontcourt rotation with Beas picking up the rest of his minutes at SF.

"Am I the only one who sees nothing wrong with these comments?" He's disparaging the Bobcats by predicting an easy win. Its no big deal, but its not a particularly diplomatic or professional statement to make. Given his usual disposition, I'd chalk it up to nothing more than him not being particularly savvy in articulating his thoughts. IOW, I'd find it hard to believe that he was trying to show-up the Bobcats. Granted, I don't know the kid personally, but he just doesn't seem to roll that way.

Soft (adj.) - A player whose production declines significantly or disappears altogether in response to being challenged physically and/or mentally. See O'neal, Jermaine.

Having watched the NJ Nets several times this year, I'm hard-pressed to blame Lopez for their record. That entire organization is a train wreck right now. And its reflected in the disorganized, listless play of the team. In fact, Lopez is the only thing that stood out for me the times that I've watched them play. That kid is a baller down low. Yet, NJ seems either unwilling or unable to consistently feed him the ball in the low post. IMO, Lopez easily becomes a 20ppg+ scorer with a +0.500 FG %; IOW, in any other situation right now where someone can just complete an entry pass into the post.

Dejuan Blair tonight: 28 & 21. F*ck. It's amazing how often GMs can talk themselves out of good picks. Everyone loved this kid, despite the knees. And he played well against top talent during his college career.

Sometimes I think that one Northwestern class got Shannon hired. He was recruiting those kids for a LONG time. And yes: this year's class is sh!t. Take a look at the top recruits in So. Fla. and you'll see UF cherry-picking the top ones across the positional board.

What kills me about this team is that its a decent, consistent 3 pt shooter away from being better than mediocre. I've seen maybe two games this year where the opposing defense has been spread out along the perimeter. Instead, Wade and Beasley often have to beat both their respective defenders AND a help defender virtually from the start.

Not to antagonize the fine folks on this blog, but Beasley is on track to log 18 out of the 24 minutes in the first half. That's 75% of the first half. In fact, he's logged the most minutes of anyone on the roster so far.

Has Jermaine O'neal provided any value whatsoever to this franchise beyond unloading Marcus "I can't haz dribble!" Banks?

Ok, technically we never had Mason. But we might have sweetened the offer last year to lure him from the Whizz.

Answer: Anthony Morrow and Roger Mason Jr. Question: Guys that we might have kept if we didn't invest in D. Cook. Cook and Chalmers are my own Dolphin and Whale. F*ck you Cook!!! And f*ck you Chalmers!!

Stephane Lasme. Blake Ahearn. Kasib Powell. I have to keep reminding myself of those names so that I don't bitch and cry about the dearth of talent on this team, and to derive some modicum of joy from this season. ::rocking back and forth under desk clutching my Chris Quinn bobblehead::

Does anyone have a link to the game? atdhe doesn't seem to be working. In fact, it hasn't been working for Heat games for a while now.

"::disrobes, revealing a more exquisite chinchilla vest::" Oh, its like that? Fine. I'm not gonna pull any more punches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TevQS4qgE_Q

"they all lie" Does that include you? If so, then how do I know that you're not lying about everyone lying? You know what....::throwing red paint on Leo's leather jacket::

"But changing the world climate? Who cares?" For starters, try the Pentagon...as far back as 2003: http://www.gbn.com/articles/pdfs/Abrupt%20Climate%20Change%20February%202004.pdf In any case, your naivety is astounding.

"This is the kind of misinformed bullsh*t that destroys a blog. Kobe is not moody." Bush lied, troops died. Get it straight, you fascist pig!! ::throws a bucket of red paint onto Eddie's chinchilla coat::

Let's not half-arse these trades. If we're going to do business, then let's go "all in." Maybe something like Wright and Cook for Kobe and a draft pick. Unfortunately, the adage that you have to give something up to get something in return often holds true. IOW, as much as it pains me to give up Wright and Cook's enormous potential for a past-prime, moody chucker in Kobe, I think we need to shake up this roster.

http://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-scientific-consensus.htm It is a fact that there is a undeniable and overwhelming consensus both in the scientific community, and climatologists in particular, in support of anthropogenic climate change.

"Sure we have a right to complain." FYI: Complaining and your bigoted, crude rants are two different things.

So is Arroyo all but gone at this point? I'd be very surprised if he's still on the roster by the weekend. If so, then either Wade becomes the 3rd string/emergency PG, or the Heat are going to pick up another PG off the scrap heap.

"Of course its a tax mitigating move. Y else would we give up all that? We probably wont even use the trade exceptions we acquire. Good move. If we could pull off a similar for Diawara we would be in business" Uh, you do realize that we are still about $3M beyond the luxury tax threshold and that Diawara's salary is only $0.8M, right?