2008–2009 Record

• 43-39, lost in first round

Offensive

• 109.4 (19th)

Defensive

• 109.1 (14th)

Under Contract:

• F: Michael Beasley
• C: Mark Blount
• G: Mario Chalmers
• G: Daequan Cook
• F: Udonis Haslem
• G: James Jones
• F: Dorrell Wright

Free Agents:

• G: Luther Head, (Unrestricted)
• C: Jamaal Magloire, (Unrestricted)
• G: Chris Quinn, (Unrestricted)
• C: Joel Anthony, (Restricted)
• F: Jamario Moon, (Restricted)
• C: Jermaine O'Neal, (Player option)
• F: Diawara Yakhouba, (Player option)

Areas of Strength:

Dwyane Wade. What, you're waiting for more? Wade was a veritable one-man wrecking crew for the Heat during his transcendent, resurgent 2008-09. Few, if any (LeBron, Kobe, CP3) players in the NBA can take over a game like Wade. Unfortunately for the Heat, Wade's teammates are either too young (Beasley, Chalmers and Cook) or too beat up (Jones and O'Neal) to help carry the load.

Needs Work:

Everywhere else. With the exception of Jermaine O'Neal, who will be in his 14th NBA season next year, the Heat are short on experience across the board. Wade, Haslem and Jones each have six seasons of NBA experience, but many of the other regular rotation players such as Beasley, Chalmers and Cook are very green.

Unless they make a trade before Draft day, the Heat only have two second-round picks (one acquired from Indiana and the other from Cleveland) as they have sent their first- and second-round picks to Minnesota.

Two Stats That Matter:

• 28 -- Record improvement from 2007-08 (15 wins) to 2008-09 (43) for a team led by a rookie coach (Erik Spoelstra)
  
• 3,650 -- In just six seasons, career free-throw attempts by Wade, second in Heat history. Wade needs 247 attempts to pass Alonzo Mourning, who played 10 seasons with Miami

The Way To Go:

With only two second-round picks, the Heat will need to be smart heading into Draft night. You can find decent depth in the second round, but it's a rare team that finds a game changer that late into the night.

The Heat need depth and players to complement Wade. If they do their homework, they can find it in this Draft, though the only second-round pick the Heat have had of consequence in the past decade is Rasual Butler, who has averaged 8.3 points per game in 475 NBA games. Butler, however, now plies his trade with the Hornets.

Fan Predictions

Expert Predictions