The Miami Heat have made big moves after LeBron James left and after adding Luol Deng in free agency, names like Greg Monroe, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Shawn Marion, Andray Blatche and Greg Oden are still on the market and Miami could look at adding more depth on the bench heading through the summer for Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Miami has been reportedly interested in Chris Douglas-Roberts says the Miami herald, while the team is also looking at bringing back Oden and possibly Michael Beasley. According to ESPN.com, Beasley and Oden are options for the Heat, but the Clippers held a workout for Oden and the Lakers for Beasley and those Staples Center teams could make deals for those players in free agency.
The Heat officially added Chris Bosh to the roster on his five year deal and now he joins with Luol Deng and Dwyane Wade to make a new Big 3 in Miami and Pat Riley said he still thinks this team can challenge for the east. According to ESPN.com, Bosh signed a five year deal worth nearly $120 million and this comes after he flirted hard with the Houston Rockets during the offseason and nearly signed there.
James leaving obviously hurts, but Miami should still be in contention in the east with Chicago and Indiana. The east actually should be very interesting this season, as James leaving opens things up in other divisions and in the conference. The Knicks should make the playoffs this season after missing out last year and the Wizards should be a true threat to Miami in the southwest division after how well they played last year.
Miami has made a number of strong moves this offseason and they have added a ton to their bench after that was their weakest link last year and they have brought in players like Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger. The team added Luol Deng and he is the biggest addition and while he is not LeBron James, he is solid on both ends of the floor and can make up a bit of what James did last season. James led the team in scoring, rebounds and assists and that means everyone needs to step up this year.
Playing with James changes what Wade and Bosh do and now that he is gone, it could be the best things for Wade on the court. Bosh could revert back to the 20 and 10 player he once was back in Toronto and that could give Miami a major lift. The team obviously won't be as good as they were with James, but there is no reason why this team can't make the playoffs as a top seed and no reason why they can't win the division again, even with the upstart Wizards there.
Miami brought back a number of players from last year with Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole and Udonis Haslem as well as Chris Andresen and that gives the team a lot to work with. The team also added Shawne Williams and Shabazz Napier and those players could be big as reserves for the team. Last season Miami did not get enough from their bench players and now the team is hoping that they can be a strength.
