Almost Unique

I knew there was something more significant to report regarding the Miami Heat's quiet summer. It turns out that despite the multiple times where Pat Riley discussed his intentions of building a competitor this season rather than waiting until next year, and despite the multiple rumors and negotiations with free agents like Iverson, Odom, Boozer, etc... the Heat are just one of the two teams in the NBA that signed zero new players from a different team this off-season.

I didn't want to bother researching this because I'm frustrated enough as it is, but luckily enough the Sun Sentinel did the job for me. Below is the list of all 30 NBA teams and their new signings, and you will notice that only the Miami Heat and the Utah Jazz have not signed a veteran this summer.

Atlanta: Jamal Crawford.

Boston: Rasheed Wallace.

Charlotte: Tyson Chandler.

Chicago: Jannero Pargo.

Cleveland: Shaquille O'Neal, Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker.

Dallas: Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, Tim Thomas.

Denver: Arron Afflalo, Malik Allen.

Detroit: Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Chris Wilcox.

Golden State: Acie Law, Devean George.

Houston: Trevor Ariza.

Indiana: Dahntay Jones, Earl Watson.

L.A. Clippers: Sebastian Telfair, Mark Madsen, Craig Smith.

L.A. Lakers: Ron Artest.

Memphis: Zach Randolph.

HEAT: None.

Milwaukee: Hakim Warrick, Amir Johnson, Kurt Thomas.

Timberwolves: Damien Wilkins, Quentin Richardson, Darius Songaila.

New Jersey: Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston, Tony Battie.

New Orleans: Emeka Okafor, Ike Diogu.

New York: Darko Milicic.

Oklahoma City: Etan Thomas.

Orlando: Vince Carter, Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes.

Philadelphia: Jason Kapono.

Phoenix: Channing Frye.

Portland: Andre Miller.

Sacramento: Sergio Rodriguez, Sean May.

San Antonio: Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, Theo Ratliff.

Toronto: Hedo Turkoglu, Jarrett Jack, Marco Belinelli.

Utah: None.

Washington: Mike Miller, Randy Foye.

Now, I'm obviously not jealous of Golden State signing Acie Law and Devean George, or New York getting Darko Milicic. But as I see teams like Cleveland, Washington, Boston, Orlando, and others in the East getting better than last year, it makes me mad because it wasn't that difficult to get 'some help' to surround Dwyane Wade and his current players. We know the team has potential to be better than last season, but so does everyone else in the league. 

We still have time and I keep daring Pat Riley to prove me and everyone else wrong by pulling the magic card out of his sleeve. Will it happen? Seems unlikely. Iverson still needs to find a home. Let's see what happens. 

Comments

[M. Pugliese]

I think that Pat Riley should stop trying to get free agents like Iverson and Odom that would come to be a starter but are too hard to bring to the Heat and he should focus more in building up a complete team with a strong bench trying to get players like Linas Kleiza, David Lee and Eddie House, players that could help when Dwayne Wade is not on the court. In my opinion a strong bench can be the key for a comeback of the Heat.

[HEATFAN]

I agree with that comment, we know the team plays well already when Wade is on the court, but the meltdown happens when he sits down. In that aspect, Iverson would help a lot, but having a few other contributors would also. We need some deadly 3-point shooters and rebounders. The upsetting thing is that there has been zero movement for any type of player at all. It stinks!

[Miami Sports Generation]

Hey Andy,

Interesting article you put together here. Didn't notice it was THAT bad when it came to the Heat sitting back while the rest of the league made moves. There still are free agent options, as you mentioned, but they are running out quickly. The Heat may be forced to make a trade if they want a considerable impact on the starting lineup and/or off the bench. Boozer is still a possibility in the trade market, while Allen Iverson and Jamaal Tinsley are a few worthy free agents. All of them could benefit the team, but we don't know where Pat Riley's mind is at right now. Let's hope it's in the right place.

P.S. Here's a story we just wrote today on the Heat's lack of movement in the trade/free agent markets:

http://www.miamisportsgeneration.com/2009/08/miami-heat-trade-discussions-in.html

[jd15]

So does Sun Sentinal or whatever just consider every player in the NBA a veteran? Courtney Lee? Aaron Afflalo? Do they seem like vets to you? No. They've just barely been in the league. What a terrible story.

[KneeJerkNBA]

@Miami Sports: I'm pretty sure you don't want Tinsley on your team. Trust me.

[Andy K.]

jd15 I think they put emphasis on players that are not new on the league, regardless of how many years they have been playing. It makes sense, because that way the only transactions or signings we don't count are the rookies.

[jd15]

@Andy K Yeah but then why not just say players, not vets? Or something like that. Or just plugging your explanation into the story... That would work.

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