Offseason Moves Series: Forward

This is the second part of my Offseason Moves Series. You can use the table of contents above to navigate to any other part of the series that you want to read about! At any rate, in this issue, we are going to be talking Forwads; both small and power. Incidentally, the difference between saying small and power is huge! I mean, who wants to be called a small forward… It is just embarrassing. They should change it to quick forward, or something less demeaning. I mean, look at king James. He is technically a small forward, but there is nothing about him that is diminutive or weak. However, let’s get back to the Heat. This is a position where the team definitely needs to get better. But how? Younger, more athletic players? Bigger, stronger rebounders? Well, let’s analyze the situation.

Current Situation

As it stands now, I am a big fan of 3 forwards that are on the roster: Udonis Haslem, James Posey and Dorell Wright. Haslem, while being undersized, is one of the hardest workers on the boards. He won’t block many shots, but he provides fairly stiff defense on some of the leagues more dynamic forwards (think Nowitzki in last year’s Finals). James Posey is just a defensive hound; he forces steals, bodies up, and takes good charges (none of those cheap flops, like Ginobili). Dorrell Wright, the young kid, has really impressed me. He is athletic and long and looks to have an incredibly bright future. If you saw last Christmas’ Lakers game, you would know what I am talking about.

The rest of the bench is pretty unimpressive. The only guy I like is Eddie Jones, and only because he is a hard worker. The problem is that he disappeared in the playoffs. Then there is Antoine Walker, and he just looks like his career is done. We also have Jason Kapono, who is a monster from behind the arc, but other than that, he can’t do much. He is certainly weak on the defensive end. Finally, there is Wayne Simien, who I have never personally even seen play. That probably says a lot.

The Draft

I am liking 4 forwards for the Heat in this years oh so deep draft. First, let’s talk about power forwards. The two guys that I like who may be available to the Heat are Tiago Splitter and Josh McRoberts. Splitter was thought to have lottery potential at one time. Now he may need some time to develop, but the kid is huge (7 feet tall) and plays great defense. He blocks shots and would be able to fill the Heat’s rebounding needs. As for McRoberts, his is a crafty left hander, with good rebounding ability and a good basketball IQ. He was a disappointment this past season at Duke, and that is why he may fall this far in the draft.

As for small forwards, the Heat should be interested in Wilson Chandler and Thaddeus Young. Young might be a stretch to pick up with the 20th pick. However, he is a great talent with the ability to dribble penetrate. Then Chandler is just intriguing. He is extremely athletic and may help the Heat against a team built like Chicago’s.

All of that being said, it is extremely likely that the Heat will trade their 20th pick…

Trades

But what might they get for the 20th pick? I am hoping that we can find a way to get Ron Artest. Riley may be one of the few coaches out there who can tame a character like Artest. He is a veteran that is a prototype stopper on D and every once in a while can put up a good number of points. The Heat could really use an athletic defenseman and Artest’s scoring ability is only icing on the cake. He would be the best option to really help the team win now, considering the Heat probably only have 2 more good years with Shaq.

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