Miami Heat Improve Their Lineup

The Miami Heat made a big trade yesterday to bolster their lineup for the playoff stretch. Essentially they traded Shawn Marion for Jermaine O'Neal.

O'Neal is a 6'11" center / power forward who can play in the low block or face the basket. He has been a proven scorer, rebounder, and defender. His weakness has been his health (specifically his knees) and being able to stay in the lineup.

I like Marion's game but his offensive skills were not a good fit in Miami. He needs to be in an up-tempo offense where he can get the ball in space and in transition. His defense and rebounding really helped the Heat to have a good first half of the season. Plus he was playing a similar role as Beasley plays.

This trade may not be a repeat of the last O'Neal trade (remember Shaq) to bring a championship to Miami, but it does help the team in many ways:

• Low Post Scoring - Haslem is a great role player, but he is not the low post scoring option needed to run an effective half court offensive. O'Neal can play with his back to the basket and be a threat that other teams must respect. The Heat need this in the playoffs. O'Neal has proven to be a legitimate scorer through his career, but he will not be asked to carry the offense in Miami.
• Beasley can move into the starting lineup - He is better fit in the offense than Marion and can provide that secondary scoring threat behind Wade. This will allow him more opportunities to show why he was the second overall pick in the draft.
• Salary Cap Space in 2010 - O'Neal's contract expires after the 09-10 season and the Heat could have over $30M in cap space available. This will be important in re-signing Wade and possibly attracting one of the potential big name free agents that could be available.
• More Big Men off of the Bench - Magloire, Blount, and Anthony will now be coming off the bench to provide defense and rebounding. It also means that the Heat has 20 fouls to give against all-star caliber centers like Dwight Howard.

Overall, I really like the trade for the Heat. I am glad they did not trade for Amare Stoudemire of Phoenix. That would have cost them Marion, Beasley and something else. This should allow the Heat to grab the #4 seed and to be a threat deep into the playoffs.