--Heat president Pat Riley said the Heat "tried very hard" to get another first-round pick, somewhere between Nos. 20 and 30. He said the Heat had six players rated "very highly that slipped out of the first round."
You could safely assume Mario Chalmers, whom the Heat acquired in a trade with Minnesota, was one of those players. Chalmers, the 6-1 point guard from Kansas, was selected No. 34. --Pre-draft rumors had Miami trying to trade Shawn Marion, who enters the final year of his $17.8 million contract.
"I'm not trying to move him at all," Heat president Pat Riley said. But Riley said a few teams have inquired about Marion. Keep an eye on that chatter.
--The Heat had "a couple of very respectful offers" for the No. 2 pick, according to team president Pat Riley. He said the Heat had one offer in which "we could put five guys on the court where we had some continuity."
Many took that to mean the Heat could have received a starting center and starting point guard, two areas of need, and it could have added those players to the existing lineup of guard Dwyane Wade, forward Shawn Marion and forward Udonis Haslem.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think he's going to be a flat-out star." -- Heat president Pat Riley on draft pick Michael Beasley.
