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With yesterday's announcement that Juwan Howard signed a one-year deal at the $1.4 veteran's minimum and today's confirmation that Carlos Arroyo will re-sign with the Miami Heat, Miami now has 13 players under contract, the league minimum. While we may see Heat President Pat Riley sign another veteran, he would be better served to give training camp invites to several neophytes with such a complete team.
 Although Arroyo won the starting point guard job over Mario Chalmers last year, Dwyane Wade said that the starting point guard is Chalmers' job to lose. If the Heat goes with a traditional lineup to begin games and opts not to start LeBron James at the point, Chalmers should be the starter because he can spread the floor with his shooting. Arroyo only attempted 25 three-pointers last season, and Chalmers has shot 34.6 percent from downtown for his career. When James, Wade and Bosh are all on the floor, Miami needs a shooter who can space the floor.
The Heat coaching staff may still be hopeful that Chalmers can develop into a defensive pest, and he may be able to. Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo are not good jump-shooters; Kobe Bryant gave Rondo lots of space while he guarded him in the NBA Finals. If Chalmers forces Rose and Rondo into jumpers, he does his job. Jameer Nelson can shoot, though, so Chalmers should work on his foot-speed and his shooting before training camp.
Arroyo figures to be Chalmers' primary back-up, and I expect their minutes to be kept relatively close. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra could even have a back-court of Arroyo and Chalmers, similar to how Miami occasionally had a back-court of Jason Williams and Gary Payton when they played in South Beach. Arroyo will be a ball-handler when he is on the court, and James and Wade both have shown that they can play well off-the-ball.
More broadly, the Heat will likely have a nine-man rotation: a starting lineup of Chalmers, Wade, James, Chris Bosh and Joel Anthony with Arroyo, Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem and Zydrunas Ilgauskas receiving significant minutes off the bench. Howard, James Jones and Jamaal Magloire will be ready when called upon, and 2010 second-round pick Dexter Pittman may have to show up to most games in a suit and tie.
With two roster spots left, should Riley sign another veteran? I say no. Miami had Arroyo, Chalmers and Rafer Alston under contract last season, but Spoelstra could not please everybody. Eventually, Alston made life easier for Spoelstra when he missed a practice and a game without communicating his absence besides via text message. When the team has Chalmers and Arroyo under contract along with Wade and James, who can both play the point, it can invest in a project at that position.
Wade is the only shooting guard on the roster, although I expect Miller to be a swingman on the Heat. It could sign a veteran like Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Finley or Tracy McGrady, but I would just sign another young, inexperienced player. Miami already has Howard and Magloire as veteran voices in the locker-room; it doesn't need another.
Teams can carry as many as 20 players during training camp, although they must cut their rosters to 15 players by the time the season starts. Riley should not make any more moves and just send invites to seven players from the Heat's summer league team to compete for the final two spots. Jarvis Varnado and Da'Sean Butler -- Miami's two remaining 2010 second-round picks who remain unsigned -- should receive invites, as well as 2009 second-round picks Pat Beverley and Robert Dozier. Kenny Hasbrouck and Shavlik Randolph, who played for the Heat last season, also should receive call-ups. Jon Scheyer, the marksman out of Duke who was injured during a summer league game, could be the final guy to receive an invite.
In the end, I see the two spots going to Beverley and Butler, though. Miami needs defense at the point guard spot, and Riley has lauded Beverley's defensive skills, even comparing him to All-NBA Defensive Team player Rajon Rondo. By keeping Butler in Miami, the Heat coaching staff could help rehabilitate Butler's torn ACL much better than if the swingman out of West Virginia was stashed overseas.
Riley has quickly silenced the doubters who thought he could not surround Wade, James and Bosh with a competent supporting cast. He convinced the Three Kings to take less-than-maximum-level deals and signed Miller and Haslem, who will be perfect role players. He then surrounded a nucleus of Chalmers, Wade, James, Bosh, Miller and Haslem with Ilgauskas, Magloire, Anthony, Pittman, Jones, Howard and now Arroyo. Who knew this team could come together in July?
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