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.
I hear you laughing at me, but hear me out here. Lebron and Wade play the same way and have basically filled the same role for their respective teams over the years. Their skill sets are the same, and it is becoming more evident by the day they cannot play together. It's not a bickering type of can't-play-together, it's just their skill sets don’t complement each other.
Riley is not going to trade Lebron because, let's be honest, he is possibly one of the best talents the league has ever seen and isn’t even in his prime yet. Bosh is the only other valuable trade commodity, but it wouldn't be wise for Riley to do so considering Bosh is a scoring power forward with an upside for defense. Getting rid of bosh only opens another hole plus, he is willing to accept his role as a blue-collar player and will give you 20-10 for the next 10 years without complaining. You don’t trade that guy, either.
Which leaves the logical choice for a trade in Dwyane Wade. It's not that Wade has done anything wrong, he just happens to be the logical choice. He has huge value, a championship pedigree and has proven he can take a team on his shoulders. Riley knows Wade is often injured, and more likely than not, his career will end early. Get what you can for him while the getting is good. It's possible to trade Wade for another NBA All-Star heads up, maybe more.
If you're Riley, you know you will not be popular for making this trade. But you don't have anyone to use as a bargaining chip to trade for elite or close-to-elite players. The Heat don't have to win it all this year, but they need to contend. If the Heat can't beat the top teams, they won't contend, and people will quickly reconsider this team as a hack job. The only way to change that is to win against the elite on a consistent basis, which means changes must be made.
I'm not talking Erik Dampier. (You might as well throw a Shawn Bradley Fathead out on the court; it will be more productive.) The panic may have subsided in Miami, and moving Wade's contract* could prove difficult, but if the Heat still haven’t proven they can beat premier teams by mid-January, it might be time to pull the trigger on a trade. If you don't believe me when I say Wade is the best trade bait, let me prove my point with a few possible trade scenarios I see working better for Miami than their current lineup:
*Dwyane Wade Contract-was re-signed to a six-year, $107,565,000 contract in July 2010. His contract contains an Early Termination Option after the fourth season and a Player Option after the fifth season, as well as a 15% trade bonus increasing the unlikely hood of a trade. The contract was signed utilizing cap space. Wade will be 34 at the end of his contract.
(Note: The ESPN trade machine will not let me trade Wade before Dec. 15th because he was a free
agent this summer. With that being a factor I will do my best to give monetarily realistic trades.)
Trade 1 - Dwyane Wade for Steve Nash & Channing Frye:
You know the Heat's issues now look at the Sun's. Steve Nash isn’t getting any younger on a team that is aging and currently very outgunned in a deep western conference. Through out his years in Phoenix Nash has been the consummate and loyal professional. I know that no player is owed anything by a team in professional sports but if there were anyone that deserves a trade to pursue a title it's probably Steve Nash. The Sun's watched their hope of title contention go out the window when Amare went to New York. Now Nash is stuck in Phoenix with about 40 small forward's and no chance at taking down any of the west's contender's unless they trade for some help in the post. That scenario isn’t likely to happen considering everyone in the East needs their big men to contend with the Celtics, Magic and Atlanta and there is no way anyone in the West is trading anything to Phoenix. Well maybe Memphis they do still have a Gasol and it happened once right?
Why it works:
Nash looks to have 3-4 years left of high quality basketball and that’s exactly what the Heat need's. Nash would easily facilitate the Heats offense which is built in his favored run and gun style. Nash will bring balance to Miami enabling Lebron to take the primary scoring role (where he is most comfortable) while creating plenty of opportunities for Bosh, Miller, and Jones. Nash can also score large amounts of points when the team needs them while staying within the context of the offense.
The Sun's already have a competent replacement for Nash in Goran Dragic. Dragic and Nash play so similar that it's possible to mistake one for the other if you are not paying attention to a game. Dragic isn't MVP caliber (yet) but he is capable of leading this team into the future. Trading Channing Frye simply makes the numbers work and gives the Heat a much needed body in the paint as well as the ability to stretch the floor and shoot 3's.
Wade will bring all the tools he has shown the Heat over the years; tight defense, physical and mental toughness, plenty of scoring and his lightning speed to the Sun's. Anyone saying Jason Richardson is just as capable of putting up the same numbers as wade is crazy. Richardson can definitely score but not like Wade. The Sun's don’t need to trade Richardson either he is more than capable of playing Small Forward which will give an aging Grant Hill some rest which could prove to be very useful in the playoff's. But, if they felt the need to trade Richardson he would be good bargaining chip to get a legitimate big man to shoulder the load in the paint with Robin Lopez.
Wade will bring a new excitement to the valley of the Sun while proving to the fans that the Sun's are still trying to win now and not dismantle and rebuild which seems to be the current feeling.
Wade has a lot more years on the odometer than Nash which should give the Sun's plenty of time to get an appropriate big man for their system.
Anyway, this is the most equal trade. It's beneficial to both sides and to top it off neither fan-base with be to ticked off.
Heat fans will be upset but they will quickly see the upside too. Miami needs a facilitator and Wade is not a facilitator and I don’t think he can be. And, to be honest the second Lebron touched down in Miami it was no longer Wade's city no matter how much us sports writers said it had to be or wanted it to be. One thing with kingdoms, there can only be one King. More than one equals a division of the people and civil war and we have already seen a glimpse of that with the who supports Spolestra incident last week.
Phoenix will also be upset but knowing they are getting another premier player will ease that pain drastically. They wont feel like they were slighted or *Maloofed in the trade. Sun's fans relate extremely well to Nash's plight to win a championship. He was originally drafted by the Sun's and is considered one of their own, a home town boy if you will. Trading him would be more about the Sun's organization doing right by him, putting him in a great position to win instead of trading him to a bottom feeder to waste away until retirement (at least that's how they could spin it). This thought process also benefits Miami, in the sense that you will gain Sun's fans (and Nash fans) as supporters. This means one less hostile environment for the Heat to play in and less of the American public rooting for them to lose. It will become more about get Steve a ring than stop Lebron from ever getting one.
As far as trades go this one looks to be the most mutually beneficial with both teams receiving proven quality players. Wade shouldn’t be to unhappy in Phoenix. It's widely considered one of the best places to play among NBA players. While Nash would relish another legitimate chance at a ring and could probably use the change of scenery while going through a divorce. Now, will Riley and Lance Blanks see the opportunity they have is the question.
*Being Maloofed is when a sports teams owner(s) trade away their untroubled all-star caliber talent year after year in an attempt to discourage a fan base from supporting that team. In this example to take that team to a perceived better city but could also just be a move of pure greed and a lack of caring for the fan-base, sport, or players. Can also be know as being D.Sterlin'ed.
Trade 2- Wade for Baron Davis and Brian Cook:
For the Clippers this is the perfect trade. Sterling gets a sure fire superstar with Hollywood charisma who will fill the stands. I doubt he cares about the fact that it makes them instantly playoff bound. You get rid of Baron Davis who has been disinterested with this team ever since he was double crossed by Elton Brand, who went to the Sixers a few years back in an attempt to do what Bosh, Wade, and James did this summer. Current back up pg Eric Bledsoe has proven himself NBA ready. The Clips have the cap space to absorb Wades 15% trade increase and if you need more you can throw in Rasoul Butler and his expiring contract.
LA is a great landing spot for Wade. They have a good core that seems hungry to win it's just young and lacks veteran leadership. The Clips play a style of ball suited to Wade. Blake Griffins surge into the circle of elite players will give Wade the wing-man that Lebron is incapable of being. Wade's personality makes him an instant fan favorite. His laid back persona that fit in Miami will be right at home in California. Well minus the taxes. Wade will immediately breath life into a long wanted but actually non-existent Lakers – Clippers rivalry as well as being closer to current girlfriend Gabriel Union. There is zero risk for the clippers.
For the Heat Brian Cook is simply an expiring contract and a body to throw in the paint. With Baron Davis they're taking a risk. Davis has sat out almost the entire first part of this season with conditioning issues. Barons biggest flaw is that he has been known to become lackadaisical and disinterested when he is playing for a team without a shot at the playoffs, currently where the Clippers stand. On the other hand when Davis has been on a playoff contender he has been played at an all-star caliber level(remember that Golden State vs Utah playoff series in 07'.) The question- Is the risk of getting a washed up Baron Davis worth the possibility of getting a rejuvenated and completely invested Baron Davis. A lot of risk for the Heat and an unlikely fit but it's certainly an intriguing thought.
Trade 3- Portland: Wade for Marcus Camby and Andre Miller
Highly unlikely is what I would list this trade as. It would probably require a third team to dispose of an already disgruntle Rudy Fernandez. As well as a willingness on Brandon Roy's part to move to small forward while Wade is on the floor. For the Heat it would certainly fill their size needs in the post and give them the true facilitator that they need but they will also lose the scoring threat that Wade presents to opposing teams. This trade would be a step in the right direction for the Heat but by no means a perfect fit for either team.
Trade 4- Denver – Wade for Billups and Chris Anderson
The numbers are close and with some tinkering they could work and, no one needs to make something happen more than Denver. The problem in Denver, Melo' looks to be flying the coop at seasons end. This type of trade could be a last ditch effort to keep him. Denver has no cap space and are completely up in the air in regards to their future. Bringing in Wade might show Anthony how serious they are about building a dynasty, something Carmelo has emphatically stated he wants to be part of.
I think it goes with out saying that J.R. Smith, and his poor attitude, wont be returning next year and Kenyon Martin will either have to sign for less or find employment elsewhere. Billups is on the down slope of his career but a move to a new team in a warm weather city with a shot at a title might just be what the veteran need to give it one more go around. Chris Anderson would anchor the defense for the Heat and give them the much needed grit that they seem to lack. Even if Melo' left Denver it would still leave them with a Core of Wade, Lawson, Hilario, and Al Harrington upon which to build a team.
This trade is and interesting thought and would breath new life in to the Nuggets franchise while giving Miami more pieces to their puzzle. But, there is no way either side goes for this trade. Anthony is Denver's main concern and taking a risk this big with out Carmelo on board is not going to happen. If Denver trades anyone it will Anthony, the Nuggets cant afford to lose a franchise player and get nothing in return.
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