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No, I'm not talking about the possibility of Mike Miller playing the point guard position now that Mario Chalmers sprained his ankle and will be in a cast for two to four weeks.
Miller truly pushed the ball up the court in the sense that he finally signed a five-year deal worth in the $25 to $30 million range, utilizing the last portion of the Miami Heat's salary cap and opening the door for Miami to exceed the cap to sign minimum-salary veterans. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Juwan Howard will soon be able to come aboard, and Heat President Pat Riley can also re-sign restricted free agent Joel Anthony. Anthony is the only player from Miami's 2009-10 season still with his Larry Bird rights, which allow teams to surpass the cap to re-sign players. If Anthony asked for a deal with a starting salary of $2 or $3 million, Riley could oblige him, for example.
Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh all signed less-than-maximum-level deals to give Riley the opportunity to sign Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller. While I expect Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to start games with a traditional lineup, he could play the decisive stages of the game with James at the point, Wade at the shooting guard, Miller at the three, Bosh at the four and Haslem at the five. Bosh may end up defending the opposing team's tallest player, though; the notion of keeping Bosh away from the center position is merely a matter of semantics. Tim Duncan has played the center position for a good portion of the past decade, but he has always been listen as a power forward.
The 10-year NBA veteran out of Florida is a very good complementary piece to this team. He has shot 40.5 percent from the three-point line, and will receive a myriad of open looks with the Heat. He may even lead the League in three-point shooting; Wade and Shaquille O'Neal did that for Damon Jones and Jason Kapono. Miller offers much more than three-point shooting, though. He is very athletic and can slash to the rim; he can handle the ball; his long arms and athleticism allowed him to grab an average of six or more rebounds per game for each of the past three seasons.
More broadly, Riley envisions a team built on mutual respect and friendship. We all know that Bosh, Wade and James are all good friends, and decided to come down to South Beach to play together. Riley then brought back Udonis Haslem, who is one of Wade's best friends, while he was still in talks with Mike Miller. Miller and Haslem roomed at Florida together, and Haslem even said of Miller, "He's like [what] Dwyane is to me, just a different color."
James and Ilgauskas have played together for the past seven seasons, and James lured his friend to Miami as well. Don't discount the possibility of Riley signing some players from last year's team, either. Aside from Anthony, Carlos Arroyo, Jamaal Magloire and James Jones could come for an encore. This team figures to be a very-tight knit group, and the phrase "15 Strong" from the Heat's 2006 championship season may even make a comeback.
"The locker room has to be right," Wade said. "Everyone might not have the right personality to deal with this. We don't want any wrong links on this team."
These players have emphasized sacrifice, and Raja Bell showed none of it when he signed a three-year deal worth $10 million with the Utah Jazz. Bell may not have the right personality for this team, as Wade said. We could see Miami add another shooting guard for depth, perhaps Jerry Stackhouse. Riley still has to add a veteran point guard to the roster, with Arroyo, Jason Williams, Keyon Dooling and Earl Watson among those being considered.
Miami already has a very strong team, and it will be tough for any team to beat this team. Nonetheless, everyone must allow themselves for plausibility. James shouldn't have said the Heat will win "not five, not six, not seven" championships. Miami isn't a lock to win the championship this year, or even come out of the East. It will prove that over the course of several months.
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