J-Ri's Random Thoughts

The Heat Wave of 2010…

Shhhh.

The Miami Heat have been quietly, if not deceptively, making arrangements to take over the NBA. The cunning ability and foresight that made Pat Riley one of the greatest coaches of all-time is about to launch him into the stratosphere of GM’s. By the end of the next decade, we’ll be talking about how Pat Riley changed the game of basketball in the summer of 2010. I can’t prove it with quotes or concrete evidence, but I can with logical reasoning.

Follow with me.

You’re the Miami Heat. You have one of the most beautiful and enticing cities in the U.S. You have the beach and the inviting weather to go along with it. You’re basically the East Coast Los Angeles, with less traffic, lower taxes and no threat of an earthquake swallowing everything you own. In 2000, you built a state of the art, $200+ million arena (American Airlines Arena) in downtown Miami. Aside from maybe Los Angeles and New York, you can’t possibly ask for a better free agent destination.

For this season, you are on the books for $74.2m, the 11^th highest payroll in the NBA. Next season, you are looking at D-Wade’s $17.1m player option, Michael Beasley’s $4.9m, Daequan Cook’s $2.1m and… wait; what? That’s it? Here’s the list of current Miami Heat players that are completely off the payroll for next season:

Jermaine O’Neal
Quentin Richardson
Udonis Haslem
Dorell Wright
Jamaal Magloire
Carlos Arroyo
Chris Quinn
Yakhouba Diawara
Joel Anthony

Here are the guys you have a team option on:

James Jones ($4.64m)
Mario Chalmers ($847k)

Assuming you keep D-Wade, you’re looking at a payroll in the area of $24.1m. If the salary cap remains steady around $58m, the Miami Heat will have $34m ready and available to spend on the dynamic free agent class of ’10. While we have all been on the Lebron James to New York watch for the last couple of seasons, sneaky Pat Riley has sprinted right by his competitors in the free agent sweepstakes.

He has managed to free up more money than New York and Cleveland.

I’m going to step out on a shaky limb here and declare the Miami Heat starting lineup to be the following in ’10-11:

G – Mario Chalmers
G – Dwyane Wade
F – Lebron James
F – Michael Beasley
C – Chris Bosh

Is there any way that team doesn’t win the next five NBA championships? I just threw up a little bit thinking about it. Here are the three steps I envision making it all happen (most likely taking place simultaneously):

1. Wade exercises his player option to stay in Miami for one more season.

Why not, right? You’re still making top-10 money ($17.1m). You get to stay in Miami, where you have played your entire career. You now have a shot at landing a major free agent in the best free agent class of the decade. This puts you back in the upper echelon of the NBA. You’re instantly hailed as the ultimate team player and everyone loves you even more than they already do. Other players want to play with you and companies want you to endorse their products. This is a win/win for you on every level:

If it doesn’t work out… you’re a free agent in the summer of ’11. You still cash in on a max deal somewhere else.

If it does work out… you cash in on a max deal in Miami, where they can still pay you slightly more than any other team in the league.

If you’re D-Wade, there is no way you don’t do this if the opportunity is in front of you.

2. Lebron bolts mediocre Cleveland and signs a max deal with the Miami Heat.

You get to join D-Wade, a top-5 player in the league, a former Olympic teammate and a close friend. You sign a max deal making you the highest paid player in the league ($24m/year). You have just swapped freezing cold Cleveland for warm and sunny Miami. You just gave yourself a great chance to compete for an NBA title every year for the next decade.

Additionally, you no longer have the carry the full load every night. You have more than trustworthy help in the form of Wade (and Bosh). You immediately exonerate the arrogant card by proving that you can share the glory with another top player in the league. You have set yourself up to make a realistic run at being remembered as the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time).

If you’re Lebron, there is no way you don’t do this if the opportunity is in front of you.

3. Chris Bosh escapes Toronto to jump on the Miami Championship Express.

You are joining two of the five best players in the NBA. You won’t see another double team until you’re playing with your kids in the driveway of your beautiful Miami mansion.

You are still making top-25 money – somewhere around $12m/year. You have just grafted yourself into the Miami championship triangle as the third and final piece. Instead of playing in obscurity in Canada, you are on National TV almost every single night. With National exposure comes endorsement opportunities that you would have never seen in Toronto. Most importantly, you are now playing deep in the playoffs and competing for an NBA championship every season for the next decade.

If you’re Chris Bosh, there is no way you don’t do this if the opportunity is in front of you.

Excuse me while I step away and swan dive off of my apartment balcony. The more I think about this actually happening, the more I realize that it won’t make a whole lot of sense if it doesn’t happen.

Here is what all of that would look like financially for the Miami Heat:

’09-10 Season:

G – Mario Chalmers – $847k
G – Dywane Wade – $17.1m
F – Michael Beasley – $4.9m
F – Lebron James – $24m
C – Chris Bosh – $12m

That puts you at $58.8m, which is right at the salary cap limit. Even so, you are still well under the $74.2m you have on the books for the ’09-10 season. If you take that remaining $16m and fill out the rest of your roster with role players, you have the same exact payroll you had for the ’09-10 season, except now you have Wade, Lebron and Bosh.

Damn you, Miami… damn you.

Thanks to your genius, you’re now getting veteran role players at discounted prices. Who doesn’t want to win a championship? Who doesn’t want an opportunity to play with Lebron and Wade? Who doesn’t love living in beautiful Miami? You have suddenly become the new Lakers. You are easily the best team in the NBA and the odds on favorite to win the next 10 NBA championships.

In addition to all of that, you’re now raking in money on a new TV and broadcasting deal. Do you think there’s any way ESPN isn’t going to outbid every one of the local competitors for broadcasting rights? Just ask the Lakers how that went when they won last years’ NBA championship. You’re now maximizing your value with the media in a way that your franchise has never done. Hell, this doesn’t even include the greatly increased apparel and jersey sales you will see just from Lebron. As a result of it all, you can now justify a steep increase in ticket prices, all generating millions and millions of dollars a year into your already overflowing pockets.

(Terrified Silence)

Here’s to you, Pat Riley. You have certainly fooled us all.

       

            Here are some similar posts you may enjoy:

• No Related Post