Heat Build Supporting Cast

Adding LeBron James and Chris Bosh to the re-signed Dwyane Wade was supposed to be the easy part for the Heat, with filling out a roster on a limited budget due to cap restraints being incredibly difficult. Some thought the Heat would be unable to sign anyone better than the milk man, but Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, James Jones, Joel Anthony, Jamaal Magloire and eventually Juwan Howard have been amazingly cooperative.

While some people have been suspicious of whether or not the Heat might have been guilty of tampering with James or Bosh, the circumstances of how Haslem and Miller ended up signing with the team are more deserving of an inquisition. Haslem left approximately $14 million on the table versus what he could have made for the Nuggets or Mavericks and Miller took between $6 million and potential $11 million less than what he could have earned elsewhere.

Without being cynical or paranoid, Haslem's sacrifice feels too good to be true and I suspect there is an unstated debt to be repaid upon his retirement. Unless the violation is particularly egregious, I take a liberal viewpoint where we simply turn a blind eye to it. When Haslem becomes a Special Assistant to the Heat, is the NBA going to take down their championship banners like they are a college team?

The Heat now have Bosh and James at $14.5 million for 10-11, Wade at $14.2 million, Miller at $5 million, Haslem at $3.5 million and Anthony at $3.3 million; this exactly the Celtics of the 1950s in terms of depth, but they have done better than expected.

With the highest price-tag, Miller is the most consequential addition to the Big 3. Ever since leaving Memphis after the 07-08 season, Miller hasn't been the same player as he's shelled up almost completely. But he is a 40.5% career shooter from distance and shot an unreal 48.0% on 171 attempts during the 09-10 season.

He is an excellent shooter with a hand in his face, but he simply does not miss shots when he's left open, which is an inevitability due to the double teams that James and Wade command. Even though Mario Chalmers is back to run the point guard position, I don't see how the Heat don't finish games with Wade at point guard, Miller at shooting guard, with James and Bosh at the forward positions.

The logic of choosing Miller over a big man is interesting because the Big 3 should never struggle to score efficiently, with or without a shooter who can stretch the floor as masterfully as him. The area where Miami is setup to be most vulnerable is at center, particularly against the two teams they will most likely face deep into the postseason (Magic, Lakers).

But understanding Miami's logic is easy when looking at the defensive bigs that were available at a comparable price, as well as what they can sign for minimums.

While Miller won't be able to guard Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum or Dwight Howard, there is no question he will make life infinitely easier on that Big 3.

Grade for Heat: A-

Miller is close with both James and was a college roommate with Haslem, so there is of course a built-in comfort in playing for the Heat. Plus, Miller has the opportunity to elevate how he is remembered from a journeyman gunner into the fourth best player on a team that wins multiple titles.

Grade for Miller: A

Haslem was easily Miami's best rebounder during the 09-10 season and should not see any meaningful decline throughout his contract. He is still a decent spot-up shooter and fairly agile, making him a good option for the pick-and-roll.

Defensively, he guards power forwards well, but he is far too small to contain true centers. It will be difficult for Haslem to be on the floor as the same time as Bosh unless the Heat are comfortable going very small since the latter can't really defend centers either.

The real value in Haslem comes in terms of creating some continuity between the old Heat and this new world version, as a very well-liked veteran and also as insurance for when Bosh is forced to miss a few games here and there due to injury.

Grade for Heat: B-

The financial sacrifice made by Haslem is almost impossible to fathom and is not something you or I would ever genuinely consider without some sort of unspoken understanding to make it back secretly over time in retirement.

Let's assume Haslem will not make a single cent from the Heat as soon as steps off the floor for the final time, he is accepting approximately 30% less than what he could have made for his entire career.

The amount of Haslem's contract with the Heat does feel appropriate with his true value and I'm not precisely sure why the Nuggets or Mavericks would feel so inclined to offer the amount of money they even did.

Grade for Haslem: D+

Ilgauskas departs Cleveland after logging 771 games in the wine and gold, but he does so with a clear conscious considering how apparently disappointed he was with the trade to the Wizards, even if it was an obvious charade.

Up until the 09-10 season, Ilgauskas was incredibly productive, but his production across the board dropped. He no longer can rebound or score at the rate we have seen him maintain into his 30s.

But Ilgauskas, like every big over seven feet, has six fouls to utilize.

Grade for Heat: A-

As much as Bosh hitched his wagon to James in the early-going, Ilgauskas was always the surest bet to follow him wherever he signed. Signing for the minimum made that decision a no-brainer for all sides.

Grade for Ilgauskas: A-

The Heat needed a defensive big and Anthony is one of the NBA's best shotblockers. He doesn't do much of anything offensively, but he does defend very well, even if he is undersized. He absolutely has some room to improve, but he is almost 28 already.

The pricetag of $3.3 million in 10-11 is reasonable, particularly in light of what else is out there at center.

Grade for Heat: B+

We never heard much about Anthony's market outside of Miami, but it is safe to assume he didn't exactly leave much money on the table considering how little he has made in his brief NBA career. Anthony has a chance to prove himself on the NBA's biggest stage while making $18 million over the next five seasons and he won't be asked to do anything offensively except watch the show.

Grade for Anthony: A