The Heat don't need Shane Battier, they need a rebounder/shotblocker off the bench to back up Joel Anthony. Shane won't get much playing time in Miami.
True, so comment on the other 4 sentences. My point was Shane has little left in the tank and isn't fit to be a season-long rotation player (like Miller was supposed to be).
Battier would have a major impact on the Heat, assuming his game hasn't declined. Last season their backup wings were House, Jones and Miller. Two of those guys aren't great defenders and Miller is hurt, and may get cut. How do y'all figure Battier couldn't really help Miami? Do you want Bron and Wade to play 45 mpg during a short regular season? Plus he can fill in at the 3 when they put LeBron at PF. Battier would be an excellent signing for Miami.
Here is another Yahoo article. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-wojnarowski_nba_free_agent_buzz_120311 I have a lot of respect for Pat Riley's abilities to make a team, but I dunno about this. Giving Battier all or part of their MLE guarantees they won't upgrade much at C or PG. Good deal.
I don't think it will be a good fit, because Shane needs around 20 minutes especially with his defense but I don't see a way when he can get those. But damn, I hope this never happens, their defense would be unreal.
Shane is an odd fit. It could work if they wish to go big ala Pippen/Jordan/Harper with 3 lock-down perimeter defenders. But both Shane and Lebron are more suited for defending forwards. But if they can make it work, Lebron/Wade/Shane could theoretically shut down any perimeter game.
Well I agree they def need a C more than anything else. The vibe I got from the article is that Dalembert isn't interested in taking the paycut. If so then splitting the MLE between Battier and another big isn't a bad move.
Personally I think OKC is a better fit for him. However, he has a much higher chance of winning a ring with Miami. I really hope he doesn't end up there, but all the best to him...
I'm sure Battier could contribute to a deep Heat playoff run. He's a smart defender, he plays hard and he'd bury all the open three point looks he'd get in Miami. Could he contribute as much as a good defensive point guard who can hit an open jumper, or a big man who can defend the post and rebound? Not even close.
That's not even remotely relevant. The Heat are making the biggest mistake of their lives spending money on a washed up Battier.
??? The guy has shown he can still contribute. If you wanted to get on the Heat about wasting money, how about looking at the bigger problem of even signing Bosh in the first place. I think they thought way too highly of a guy (and to be fair so did we) who really just puts a cap hold on their team...
I guess the key for the Heat in 11/12 is continuity and having a year of experience under their belt as opposed to improving the roster. After the season, several of their fans here were so confident it would be easy for them to upgrade at PG and C. I strongly disagreed but was willing to be proven wrong. I saw no chance of Dalembert/Nene/[Name any decent C] going there. Looks like that is the case. What kind of C can they get for part of the MLE? PDH, beating up on Bosh is tired. He showed up in the playoffs and definitely isn't why they lost in the Finals. A couple more rebounds per game is about all he needs.
unless shane suffers a big dip in production this year, he's certainly still a rotation player. i mean he was a 30 mpg rotation player for the rockets and a 24 mpg rotation player for a memphis team that made it to the 2nd round. i think others are right that a pg or c upgrade are more important but i'm not sure what the options are on those fronts. chalmers can play a little D and hits 3's at a reasonable rate so a significant upgrade might be hard to find with just the mle. and centers always cost a lot. taking a chance on a healthy oden if he wanted to take the paycut (i haven't read that thread yet) might make sense because if he stays healthy it should make the D incredible, but there's also a risk you're just pissing an mle away to watch oden wear suits on the bench. with battier you should largely know what you are getting. he plays the 2 positions you are strongest at but at the same time he would give miami something they desperately need, a role player who can contribute on offense and defense. chalmers was about the only one they had last season. they basically had to either choose between shooting (jones, house, bibby, ilgauskas) or defense (anthony, dampier, miller) or injured (miller, haslem). battier should at least let lebron and wade rest 10 minutes each with some capable D and 3 point shooting in their place with the possibility of being on the court with both of them. if haslem comes back to form with his jumper (which pretty much disappeared after that first chicago game) then a heat team with chalmers, battier, and haslem should be better than a heat team with chalmers, nobody, and nobody as 2-way role players.
I don't like LeBron the player that much but if he can help lock up DRose he can lock up almost any PG in the league.
I'm not so sure if we are talking about guys you can get with the MLE. If Miller is done/amnesty then they really don't have any solid backup wings. Anthony is more productive than Jones and House (neither who are really defenders) and Riley traded up to get the Nolan kid.
