With the previously-perceived trouble in South Beach, is trading Dwyane Wade only a matter of time?
Until last week, things were not working in Miami. The team wasn't getting along, people were not settling into their roles and the wins weren't coming as easy as people predicted. Though the team has improved to 15-8 with a six-game win streak and are sitting at third in the Eastern Conference, it is still a far cry from the record-shattering 73-plus win season people predicted.
Many things have contributed to the unexpected sub-par season. Injuries, unestablished identity and, according to the "King," too many minutes and lack of a fun atmosphere. A week ago, it was being reported there was frustration from the players with coach Erik Spoelstra.
It was becoming obvious something had to happen. Things were not right and the blame had to fall somewhere. Heads needed to roll, so to speak. The media seems to think Pat Riley will step in and take over as coach like he did in '05-06. The conspiracy theory was this was the plan from the beginning when he lured Chris Bosh and Lebron James to South Beach. But I have to question that move. I honestly wonder what kind of difference Riley would make coaching this team because the problem isn’t the coach.
Lebron is a PR nightmare, making things worse for him and his team every time he opens his mouth (somewhere out there Mel Gibson and Pat O'Brien are giggling wildly together saying. 'Look at that idiot'). Bosh seems to be going through the motions and has been putting up decent numbers, but he looks like a deer in headlights, genuinely surprised (and scared) at the negative firestorm the Heat have to endure on a nightly basis.
Dwyane Wade has been oft-injured and put up some of the worst shooting percentages of his pro career. But the most alarming part? Wade really doesn't look like he wants any part of this union. Even when he claims he does.
Does anyone think Riley wants to take this team over? Riley is not a stupid man, and he knows simply changing coaches is not enough. Riley knows what it takes to win (note to King James: If you think Spoelstra is hard on you as a coach, you might want to ask around about Riley's practice sessions), and he knows the Heat are missing massive pieces like a point guard and a center. Why would Riley tarnish his image coaching this team?
Miami needs a floor general, a leader on and off the court who knows how to get the most out of the talent. Wade would be that leader in a normal setting. But after reports surfaced of player's being frustrated with Spoelstra, along with Wade's comments that the coach is “his guy,” it quickly became apparent teammates gravitate to Lebron as their leader. An odd occurrence considering he has made it clear through actions and words he isn’t the guy. Mentally, he isn’t capable of leading this team, though throughout their recent win streak he has led in most categories over Wade. Lebron is a spoiled child with a ton of talent -- Bobby Fischer, if you will. He just wants to have fun and joke around, practice his celebrations with teammates and enjoy South Beach.
So now that things are all better in South Beach, and Miami and the Heat have finally beat a winning team (the Utah Jazz Dec. 8), we don't need to worry about trades, right? But what if the current win streak is just a flash in the pan, a mirage? What if when they start playing some of the league's elite again the losing starts along with it.
The one thing championship coaches know is you can win all you want in the regular season, but if you can't beat the elite teams, you won't win a championship. Miami has been looking so good against sub-par teams lately, we are already starting to forget about their glaring holes at point guard and their attrition in the post. Riley, on the other hand, is still well aware of those holes. He knows as the team is built now, they cannot win it all. So if and when Miami starts losing against winning teams, what should Riley do? Well, the correct and unpopular decision is trade Dwyane Wade.
