Beverly Gone

Well, that was quick and weird. A couple of months after the Miami Heat spent $1.5 million to acquire Patrick Beverly in the draft, the combo-guard signed a contract with Olympiakos in Greece. He is gone. The Heat will still own his NBA rights, but the question here is what the hell was all that Pat Riley talk about getting the player we wanted to get and how important he would be for the Heat this season. 

Granted, he is a second round pick, NBA rookie, and nobody considered him such a hot prospect. I did, however, thought he could be a steal like Mario Chalmers and become an important piece of the puzzle. Considering what we have today, Beverly was better than nothing. 

So now we have nothing. Does this mean there may be another shot at Iverson? Do the Heat have other plans for a veteran point guard? I don't know, and I hope the Heat front office does because after the Michael Beasley news this is starting to be a very strange week, following a very strange summer of no-action (sorry QRICH).

I'm still positive that something good will happen before training camp begins, but at the moment I don't understand what is the direction we are going. It may be a good decision for Beverly to play one more year abroad before coming to the NBA, and it may benefit the Heat in the long run, but right now we have Dwyane Wade on his last year of his contract and I feel that the Heat are doing everything possible for him to leave.

Game Over

Lamar Odom is staying with the Lakers. Shocking? Not really. It was the obvious outcome, but it was nice to hope for a few days and honestly believe that the Heat had a chance. 

I wonder what will Dwyane Wade Twitter now, because I'm sure he will be as disappointed and frustrated as all of us. The Heat had a legitimate chance at getting him it seems, but something failed. Maybe it was Pat Riley, maybe it was something else, but after the Iverson and Boozer rumors, we really needed something to happen. 

I'm somehow optimistic of the team we have, considering that Beasley gets minutes and becomes as lethal as we all expected him to be, Dwyane Wade stays healthy and the rest of the team contributes solid if not spectacular minutes. Still, with so many changes and upgrades to teams this off-season, getting nothing and losing Jamario Moon does not seem like a great summer for us. 

We have had options, and we have had enough money to attract many of the free agents that have now gone to different teams. I blame Pat Riley and the Heat because having Dwyane Wade on the team is reason enough to motivate people to come and play with us. The weather in Miami? Another reason. Seriously. They could have done a lot better, and as much as I keep expecting a surprise that will shut me up, I don't see it happening this summer. 

Nada

It's been a quiet week as the rumors and expectations faded away quickly. There was no deal for Lamar Odom, no deal for Carlos Boozer, and no deal for Allen Iverson. Other than the re-signings of Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magliore, there has been zero activity. 

I wonder what Dwyane Wade is thinking. I wonder what Pat Riley is doing. I wonder if they are talking about it. Is there an actual plan? Am I missing something?

Pat Riley said that there is nothing happening on the Boozer front so far. Iverson has been M.I.A. from the news the past week, even with the Clippers rumors cooling down as well. Now it's been reported that Odom re-started conversations with the Los Angeles Lakers and at this point it is very likely that he will re-sign with them. 

In the meantime, there are less free agents out there. I don't think there is anybody still worth talking to. If there is, I doubt anybody is talking to them. What I do know is that we may lose Jamario Moon before the end of the week. That seemed OK last week when we thought we were getting Lamar and Carlos, but now? I'm not so sure about losing Moon for nothing.

 I guess all we can do is sit and wait. 

Seriously Now...

What is going on with our Miami Heat? I know I seem a bit impatient, but so is everybody else at the Official Miami Heat Message Boards, and everyone who read the rumors today stating that Allen Iverson is in 'serious talks' with the Clippers. 

This has been the strangest summer in a long time for the Miami Heat. Instead of picking up steam after the encouraging season we had, we find ourselves stuck in a very familiar territory. Nothing is going on. 

Then I started feeling worse as I read the news about the Orlando Summer League, the Las Vegas Summer League, and I don't understand why Pat Riley decided that we would not participate this year. Everyone seems excited about the Summer League. Everyone is making trades. Where are we?

I read the Iverson rumor, and then I read that Shaun Livingston is making a 'comeback' with Oklahoma in Las Vegas during the Summer League. Is this for real? Livingston came to the Heat after being injured for a couple of years, but his comeback with the Heat uniform never happened and he was waived some time after. It was yet another disappointment for us fans, but now the guy is once again showing promise while playing with a different team. 

So to recap our Summer. There is no Heat basketball to watch anywhere. No prospects, other than Pat Beverly of course and I'm still excited about him (but not that much). No trades or free agent signings so far. No real advances in getting Dwyane Wade ready to sign an extension or long term commitment with the Heat. 

I may be overreacting, but this doesn't sound good for us. Reading the Daequan Cook is improving will not make my day. I'm happy and expecting that he improves, and that Chalmers improve, and that Beasley improve. I'm also expecting that we can be a force in the Eastern Conference and that we can challenge other teams, and while everyone else is making sure of that by making moves, we are still sitting in the dark. 

Iverson Heats Up

After hearing Dwyane Wade's comments about building a contender and winning another Championship in Miami, Allen Iverson finally spoke about his real interest and possibility of playing in Miami.

''The fact that Dwyane is there and Pat Riley has something to do with personnel, it seems like a great situation,'' Iverson said after his charity foundation presented scholarships to students from his hometown. ``I just want a situation where I can win and be happy. Being that those two guys are there, man, it just seems it'll be a good deal.''

That sounds pretty good, but from there to an agreement there may be a long road ahead. Iverson has to accept getting a very modest contract, but most importantly he has to accept that this is Wade's team and that he will probably come off the bench to provide scoring when Wade is not in the game. They can also play together sometimes, but I doubt that Coach Spo will have Chalmers come off the bench in his sophomore season after he started every game in his rookie season and he proved that he can handle it. 

The Heat have enough money to get Iverson and another good veteran player that can help the very young but talented Miami squad. I was a bit reluctant about this Iverson deal at the beginning, but truth is that it would be a lot of fun to see him with a Heat jersey and playing alongside Wade. It will bring a much needed scoring option, and considering that Beasley will also play more minutes and be more efficient offensively, we can be in pretty good shape. 

I guess we will have to wait until next week, when teams are allowed to start signing players, to see what happens with A.I. Knowing that he wants to be part of the Heat and that Pat Riley wants him on the team is a very good start.