Shaqwho?

Let me start this by saying that I still love Shaquille O'Neal and he will forever be one of my favorite players. I've been a big fan since he came into the NBA, celebrated our first Miami Heat Championship thanks to his leadership, and I do believe his presence helped Dwyane Wade become the leader he is today. 

Now, there are things about his behavior that I don't like. No need to become rivals with everyone who used to be your brother before. That is a sign of weakness and insecurity. He did it with Kobe and in less obvious way with Dwyane. And for what? He has nothing to prove. 

The sad part is that he Shaq factor seems to now be a liability instead of an asset. It's still very early in the season and he can still prove me and everyone else wrong, but Shaq did not have the positive impact the Cavaliers were expecting. In fact, it seems very similar to what happened in Phoenix last season. 

Shaq forces teams to change their style. Regardless of who else is on the team, and how involved he will be in both defense and offense, his presence on the floor makes team formations and strategy different. Pat Riley was able to build a team around him, and add Dwyane Wade to the mix. That is what made the team successful and win the Champsionship. Both Phoenix and Cleveland already had a team, and a style, and bringing Shaq into the mix somehow distorts that harmony. 

Cleveland knew they needed help, and so did Phoenix at the time. They fell short of winning the title after having impressive regular seasons. They needed a leader with a few rings on his fingers to help them make that last jump. Did it work for Phoenix? No. Will it work for Cleveland? I doubt it. 

The evidence is there early on. Cleveland had a disappointing start compared to last year. Phoenix had an amazing start compared to last year. Neither one had significant off-season moves other than acquiring and getting rid of Shaq. He is the factor that is making a difference for both teams, and if the trend continues then Shaq could probably be on his last season in the league. 

Why would he stay? If I'm not mistaken he will still have a year left on his current contract, but next season is all about LeBron. What happens if Shaq's on-the-court relationship with LeBron ends the same way as it did with Bryant, Wade and Nash? It will be a tough decision for him. And in the best case scenario, if he wins it all with Cleveland, that should also be a good reason to retire with all the glory. 

I have to say that retiring with glory is not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Shaq. His ego is as big as his body. Switching teams every year looking for more rings is not going to make his legacy more significant, but it will make us remember him in a not so positive note. At least I still look at him as one of my favorite players of all time, and a guy who has a great personality and that everyone accepts and loves as he is because of that. It would be great to keep that feeling towards him forever. 

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.

SuperDepressedBeas

We all knew something was up. The AP reported that Michael Beasley checked himself into a rehab facility to fight depression and probably substance abuse. This happens a few days after Beasley posted a controversial photo on his Twitter showing off his new tattoo. The photo also showed a small plastic bag in the background, and although nobody can tell exactly what that is, the rumors had started already that it was drugs.

It wasn't just the photo. Beasley's Twitter feed gave away the problem.Feelin like it’s not worth livin!!!!!!! I’m done” he said in one, and“I feel like the whole world is against me I can’t win for losin”. He closed his Twitter after that for the second time this summer.

It is very sad that he is going through this, but I cannot help but wonder what is causing it. He is one of the hottest prospects in the NBA. He had a solid rookie season and he is now considered one of the main weapons for the Heat this season. Both Pat Riley and Coach Spo said that they plan to use Beasley a lot more this year, and Dwyane Wade also said he is looking forward to see how his young teammate improved over the summer and how much he will contribute in this sophomore year.

So what is the problem? Beasley had attitude problems before. There was nothing ultra controversial, but the use of drugs already cost him some bad press and $50,000 last summer. It was also said he is immature, but he is 20 years old so that is not exactly a surprise. I thought I heard Coach Spo and the others talk many times about how much Beasley wanted to learn and how hard he worked to improve and listen to his coaches.

I remember how hard Beasley worked on his defense all year, to the point of him celebrating and receiving high-fives from his teammates later during the season when he was able to draw his first charge (offensive foul) against the Pacers. And his defense improved, his offense improved, and his minutes were supposed to improve this year to reflect that.

It's unclear at this point how serious the problem is and what to expect. Training camp starts soon. We know Beasley has been training hard this summer to get better, but his mind is a lot more important than his physique at this point. Let's wish Beas the best in recovering and coming back stronger and happier to our team. We need him and I think the best cure will be showing himself and the whole world that he has the potential to be one of the best basketball players in the league.

Welcome QRich

I loved the excitement on Twitter today. Everyone reporting and re-tweeting again and again that Quentin Richardson is coming to the Miami Heat. In exchange, the Timberwolves are taking Center Mark Blount, which I honestly thought nobody would want.

It's not the trade of the season but its a good trade. QRich has an expiring contract, so even though he will make a bit over $9 million, or $2 million more than Blount, his contract will be up in time for next season and the so important free agency summer of Wade, James, Bosh, etc.

In the meantime, we get a decent player who can score and contribute solid minutes. He is also friends and often trains with Dywane Wade and other Heat players, so the chemistry should be good.  

It should be a happy summer for Quentin, who was traded four times since the end of last season. Apparently he is the player everybody wants to add, but can also live without. I think he will be a good fit with the Heat and although I'm still disappointed with the lack of activity, this is the type of player that we need to add to the roster. 

Welcome to the Miami Heat!

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.