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Here are my thoughts as a loyal Miami Heat fan:

Cleveland Cavs: In my eyes the addition of Shaq will make them look better than with Big Z but the main porblem the Cavs had was defending the pick & roll & honestly we all know Shaq is not a good pick & roll defender @ all...plus in last nights draft they had the chance to grab Sam Young (Pitt) who the Cavs raved about & is a forward who will help them on defense & they passed on him ?

Washington Wizards: For the past few years they have been saying this is their year with their own version of the "big 3" but injuries always slow them down...i must admit they have added young players through the draft & now they have added Mike Miller & Randy Foye but even with those players i still think they are in the bottom half of top 8 teams in the East !

Atlanta Hawks: Even tho they beat us in this year's playoffs i still think if our young players would of stepped up we could of took the series...now they have added Jamal Crawford & even tho he is a Miami Heat Killer i think they still are missing what it takes to be 1 of the top teams...also if iam not mistaken they have a few free agents of their own that they need to sign !

Orlando Magic: The addition of Vince Carter automatically makes them the top team in the East...they have to hope Jameer Nelson can return to form from before the injury cause they included Rafer Alston in the trade for Carter...IF they can resign Hedo wow the rest of the east is in big time trouble but they also need to learn how to make the offense go thru Dwight Howard & Dwight Howard needs to dedicate time to learning post moves & developing a mid range shot...if he can do that they will be unstoppable & he will little by little become the best C to play the game !

Miami Heat: Iam 50/50 on adding Chris Bosh either this summer or before the trade deadline because any trade for him would include Michael Beasley & i dont think Wade & Bosh can get it doen alone...eventually they will need a 3rd option who i would like for it to be Beasley as he developes into the #2 pick we drafted ! Also i heard this morning on our local radio station that Bryan Colangelo (GM of the Raptors) thinks Beasley is immature & is not his kind of player so unless they can find a 3rd team to make this blockbuster trade or they get no better offers from another team i dont see Bosh coming to us via trade. If we do end up trading for him & do give up Beasley i hope we can find a taker for J. O'Neal to get a few players back to go with Wade & Bosh...with that said i think our best bet is to do everything possible to extend Wade to the max this summer & promise him change in the summer of 2010...then next summer we can sign Bosh to the max & have another year under our belt with the young players in roster now in hopes of winning a championship or 2 !

THOSE ARE JUST MY THOUGHTS !

@MIAMISTUD24 Wow. You definitely released all your thoughts on the situation and your points are well taken. I think overall our opponents in the East improved while we stayed the same, which can't be good. On the other hand, you and I can agree that adding Bosh would not put us ahead of the East as the definitive contender to represent the Eastern Conference. Pat Riley has a logical argument for waiting because it could end up blowing up in his face if he did make a huge trade that would backtrack us in 2010. Beasley still has one season to prove that he is ready to be a dynamic player in the NBA. At least, keeping our core will only increase the team bond and result in better cohesive play on the court.

Pat Riley better wake up. Our roster is pathetic. When u have to start a rookie that is not even a natural point guard, mario chalmers, something is wrong. At small forward, we are just patching players here and there, Jermaine o'neal is okay at center. We need depth and playmakers. Pat riley needs to start building up this roster. We have the highest number of undrafted players in the NBA, which tells u they are not very good. Let's get turgolu, rafer Alston, channing frye, ben gordon, zach randolph, leandro barbosa, andres nocioni, samuel dalembert....... TRY pat riley, at least TRY to get some guys.

@adama I understand your frustration with the team, but you must take this into consideration. What moves can we make this offseason that will make us championship contenders? Chris Bosh alone would probably lead to trading away Haslem and/or Bosh - so Miami loses depth and does not gain ground. Getting Alston, Turkoglu, Gordon or any of the others you mentioned would probably be unlikely. Plus, if we did acquire one of them, it would only be one addition that would not make us title contenders either. This team needs more than just a few pick ups and those pick ups cannot be made this offseason with the salary cap restraints Miami has. Waiting until 2010 is the best opportunity that Miami has. At least $30 million worth of salaries will be off the books and thats enough to get two all-star players without having to dispose of Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers or Daequan Cook.