--Pat Riley resigned as the team's coach but will remain as president, and former assistant coach Erik Spoelstra, who has been with the organization for 13 years in various capacities, will take over. Spoelstra started in the team's video room.
--G Dwyane Wade, F Shawn Marion, F Udonis Haslem and F Dorell Wright are all expected to be fully healthy by the time training camp opens. Wade's health, of course, is the biggest factor. He hasn't had a totally healthy season since the Heat won the NBA title in 2006. He's missed 31 games each of the last two seasons. Last season he missed 23 games after dislocating his left shoulder. He had surgery on that shoulder and his left knee (tendinitis) after the season. His recovery led him to miss the first five games of this season. But the knee kept bothering him and the Heat eventually decided it would be best for Wade to undergo OssaTron (shockwave) treatment on the knee, which he did on March 11.
In Wade's five-year career, he's missed 23 percent (95 games of a possible 410) of the Heat's regular-season games.
Wade expects to be healthy by the time the Beijing Olympics roll around in August, but he's never said whether he'd be 100 percent healthy. It's likely Heat management wouldn't want Wade playing if he's not 100 percent healthy. USA Basketball is also anxiously awaiting word on Wade's health status.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "This God-forsaken season has got to be over with." -- Coach Pat Riley, on April 4 after a 109-95 loss at Washington.
