MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: G Dwyane Wade will likely be the MVP as long as he's on the team. But this season you could make a case for G/F Ricky Davis, the only player to play all 82 games. Skeptics might say Davis, an unrestricted free agent at season's end, might have used his contract status as motivation to play all 82 games. Regardless, he rarely displayed a bad attitude despite playing alongside borderline NBA talent. His presence didn't affect the won-loss record greatly, but he showed up for work every day and played through back and groin injuries.
Runner-up for MVP might be trainer Ron Culp. With six of the Heat's top eight players going down to season-ending injuries, Culp stayed busy. By the way, Culp is retiring at season's end after 37 years in the NBA with Cleveland, Portland and Miami. He's the only three-time NBA trainer of the year and the blazer he wore at Wednesday's season finale will be sent to the Hall of Fame. MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: C Shaquille O'Neal. Easy choice. He was injured during training camp. Then he returned and griped about not getting the ball enough. Then he almost got into a skirmish with coach Pat Riley in November, demanded a trade, got the trade, and trashed coach Pat Riley, the Heat training staff and former teammates Ricky Davis and Chris Quinn.
BIGGEST NEEDS: Miami has to get a point guard and a center. And more specifically at center, Miami needs someone who can rebound and defend the rim. At point guard the Heat could be OK if it drafts Derrick Rose. Otherwise, it's the free agent route. At center, Miami currently has Mark Blount, who can score but offers little or nothing in the way of rebounding and defending the rim.
FREE AGENT FOCUS: F Shawn Marion is the biggest domino. If he opts out and leaves with Miami getting nothing in return, the Heat is in big, big trouble. Most likely, however, Marion will return. It'll be either for the final year, which pays him $17.8 million, or for a few years after signing a contract extension.
G Jason Williams is an unrestricted free agent and will most likely depart.
G-F Ricky Davis is an unrestricted free agent but could be back. He'd be a valuable member of the bench. Davis earned $6.8 million this year but he could be looking at a huge pay cut, maybe in the neighborhood of $2 million.
F Dorell Wright, a part-time starter the last two seasons, is a restricted free agent who will likely return. He's a key to the Heat's bench success. Wright is athletic and can defend and rebound, although he still hasn't found consistency.
G Chris Quinn is an unrestricted free agent and he'll likely return. The second-year man from Notre Dame proved capable the last two years when called upon, and he's cheap labor.
C Earl Barron is an unrestricted free agent who might not return. Barron, a third-year player from Memphis, is cheap labor, which is a benefit for both him and the Heat, but he hasn't shown much.
C Alonzo Mourning is an unrestricted free agent and if the 38-year-old decides to play again it will be for the Heat.
PLAYER NOTES:
--C Alonzo Mourning, trying to return from a serious knee injury sustained in December, reiterated his desire to play for the Heat next season and said president Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra said he'd have a roster spot.
"I spoke to Pat and I spoke to Spo," the 38-year-old Mourning said. "They told me to get healthy. 'We'll be here. If there's a spot open, we'll have it for you.'"
--G Dwyane Wade remains a bit irked about what he feels were haters on the Heat's 2006 title. Asked about what was a 2-0 Boston lead in the NBA Finals, Wade went on a bit of a rant.
"As much as we've been taking a hit over the last two years (for poor performance), we've been taking hits for winning it," he said. "I've never quite got that. But what we did in the championship has to be respected because when you're down 0-2 in any series it's tough to come back. And when it's in the Finals it's even tougher.
"But for us to come back and win four straight games, it has to be respected."
