The question Heat fans are asking lately seems to be… Do we sign Iverson or no? Well here’s what I’m going to say to this.
Sign him. Sign him now!
Well, by signing him, won’t we have to put Chalmers on the bench? The simple Answer is NO. Iverson is at a point in his career that he will do anything to continuing playing. As we know, Pat Riley is notorious for signing free agents past their prime and make them into champions. Jason Williams, Antoine Walker, James Posey. All were the stars on their respective teams but one they moved to south beach, they became roll-players for Wade and O’Neal. Now, Riley will work that same magic with former league MVP Iverson.
Iverson is hungry to win his first ring and Wade is hungry to go back to the promise land. Iverson will come from the bench, and some times he will start. We need a player that comes out of the bench and can drop 20 or so points. Iverson is that guy and not Michael Beasley. I’m sorry, but Beasley has to become a better defender, but that’s a whole different article.
Rumor has it that the Memphis Grizziles and the Miami Heat are talking to Iverson. Now, if you were Iverson, where would you go? South Beach or Tennessee? Would you want to play with O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay, or Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley? The only thing that Memphis can do to lure Iverson is say that they are going to give him guaranteed starting time. Miami will not do that. We have Mario Chalmers, he is the point guard of the future for the Heat and Iverson can be a great addition to help Chalmers achieve his potential.
I don’t see Iverson starting any drama with Miami. The last guy that gave Pat Riley drama left and has been on the downhill since (*Cough*, Shaq, *Cough*)…
Here is what will happen when Riley signs him. “Welcome to Miami Allen! Now, a few ground rules… if you break any of them, you are gone.”
Now, the next question. Is Riley going to sign Iverson as a desperation move to keep Wade? No
Riley is for sure worried about Wade, but all these interview Wade has done in the past week is nothing but media hype. Wade isn’t going anywhere and true Heat fans know that Riley has the contract offer ready to go for Wade and that as soon as he signs it, he will pull the trigger on a trade that he has had under his Armani sleeves for a while.
Bottom line, this summer you can expect some things… Wade resigning, Iverson coming to Miami, and Riley pulling the trigger on a trade with Toronto…
(Let me spoil the trade for you… Udonis Haslem and Mark Blount/Joel Anthony for Chris Bosh and cash consideration or a draft pick)
Ricky Rubio, one of the most sought after point guard in last weeks draft, was selected 5th to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The wolves, had picks 5 and 6 in the draft, and when David Kahn the Timberwolves president) was asked why he took a pair a guards with the 5th and 6th pick he said, “Rubio and Flynn will play off of each other extremely well and together, we will have one of the most dynamic defensive backcourts in the NBA over time.” Hmm I don’t believe that. And here’s why, the Timberwolves took three point guards in the first round alone! Now, when the wolves were introducing their 2009 Draft Class, two of them were there. Want to take a guess who wasn’t? Bingo, Ricky Rubio. He wanted to relx one more day in New York… Good sign for the Knicks? I think so.
Pedro Heizer: Is there any special meaning behind your name?
A very interesting part of the Michael Beasley interview that was on heat.com this morning:
Ever wanted the chance to meet HEAT Legend Alonzo Mourning?
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…”
This is a story of two cites, Miami, the night life, known for its Heat. Orlando, the city where joy is abundant, known for its Magic. When someone is firsttold of Miami and of Orlando they always think those two things, Heat and Magic. Heat – south beach, clubs, and the night life. Magic – Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, The joy in the face of the people.

Both the Magic and the Heat had their worst seasons after the departure of Shaquille O’Neal. When a greedy O’Neal left the Magic as a free agent in 1996 they went from a 60-22 record in the 1995-1996 Season to 45-37 in the following year. Not a terrible record, it was still good enough to make the playoffs but lost to the Miami Heat. Miami on the other hand, after hitting the all-time high in
2006, had a mediocre 2007 season going 44-38 and being swept by a much more athletic team in the Chicago Bulls. Then, in 2008, things got ugly. Many argue that O’Neal simply gave up on Pat Riley and the Heat. Riley couldn’t swallow the fact that O’Neal had the audacity to do that and traded him halfway through that horrible season to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Mario and Marcus Banks. The drama didn’t end with O’Neal’s departure. Miami finished the season with a 15-67 Record and the O’Neal was still whining about how “bad” the Miami Heat and its fan treated him in his four year stay.
Both the Heat and the Magic also had one coach in common. Stan Van Gundy was the coach of the Miami Heat for two and a half seasons (Van Gundy resigned from his position as Heat head coach on December 12, 2005). With a 112-73 as the Miami Heat head coach, he took them to the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2004 and to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2005. Now, as the head coach of the Orlando Magic, he has a 111-53 in only two seasons and has the Magic in the NBA Finals.
Last year when I wrote the last article of the season, it was a win over the playoff-bound Atlanta Hawks. This year, the last post of the season will be on a lost to those same Atlanta Hawks. But this time, it was on a game seven of the NBA playoffs. A place that no one believed Miami could be after only one year.
To begin, Miami needs help for Wade. No, Michael Beasley coming off the bench didn’t help much in the playoffs except for game six. Miami needs more firepower. What does that mean? Easy, they need a reliable 3-point specialist. They need a Jason Kapono-type of guy that can come in from the bench and drop a three from the corner with 10 seconds left. Miami was 4-19 from behind the arc during game seven.
impact to the roster. Spoelstra would have Beasley play small forward and Bosh play power forward. He would have O’Neal at center, and Wade and Chalmers in their regular places. That alone would be a great trade. It would leave Miami to bring Jamario Moon, Daequan Cook, and James Jones to come off the bench. Those players are important to Miami, but the Heat needs them to come off the bench, not start.
“He was a titan tonight,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Dwyane Wade.
