Wesley Person Press conference

Van Gundy: All real priority since we brought Shaquille O’Neal in on the trade has been to put the people around him that will compliment him the best, knowing full well how people will play us now. One of the real priorities we have put on ourselves personnel wise has been to get as much shooting as we could on the floor. In signing Wesley Person, we have signed one of the best, one of the most reliable shooters in the league. If you really follow guys in the league you will see their percentages go up and down but this is a guy who shot 41% for three for his career and its doesn’t vary much. I know playing against him that when he rises up to take a shot, you’re upset we gave up the shot. We are still a pretty young team other than Eddie and Shaquille we wanted to get some veterans on the team who sort of understand what it’s all about, bring experience and intelligence to the game. Wesley does that and he is an outstanding passer, which I think will help us a great deal also. We see him playing at both the two and three spot and we are extremely happy to have him. I used to say last year that there were some things that made the game easier offensively and one of them was being able to shoot the ball. I think now with the addition of Wesley with Eddie Jones, Rasual Butler, Mike Dolaec and Damon Jones we are pointed in that direction as having a very good shooting team around O’Neal and Dwyane Wade.

How big of a factor was Shaquille’s presence here?

Person: I just thought after going through the last six years of my career being a rebuilding team and not being on a team that actually has a chance of winning a championship, that made my decision easier. Being on a team that is more stable, a team that is looking at the big picture of winning it all and just being a part of that.

How do you see the rotation of small forward?

VG: If you look at our roster, we have a couple of point guards, we got Wade who can play either guard spot and then with Wesley, Rasual and Eddie we’ve got three guys who are primarily two guards but who have the size and length to play the three spot. With our priority being on getting as much shooting at that position as we could we are pretty comfortable being able to take our two and three spots with those guys and with Dwayne playing some at the two, I think we got it pretty well covered. But other teams are going to have to keep up with us on the other end of the court offensively, putting that much shooting on the floor with Shaquille.

Are you done with bringing in new players?

VG: I don’t think we are done, we are basically now at the level were all we can get is veteran minimums. But I still think that at the end of the day there are some quality players interested in the Miami HEAT and if it fills a need that we have we will still be interested. So we are more at a stage of just looking, we don’t need any more bodies but if there are people who can fill a need we will still be looking.

From a defensive standpoint, how do you feel at a small forward?

WP: I have played it off and on in my career, but I think I’ve got to concentrate more on rebounding the basketball and reposition, I mean that’s the biggest adjustment. Keeping a body on the guys, but I think one of the things I’ve got is I can outrun them, but the main thing I’ve come here to do is space the floor and make open shots. That is one key that playing in this league that can change a lot, by playing with Shaquille it makes a big difference. Teams try to match up with him instead of you matching up with them because Shaquille is going to be a presence. They’re got to put guys on the floor to keep him off the glass and keep him off the middle.

Do you want to be a starter?

WP: I just want to be a part of the team. I have been on the rollercoaster up and down, in and out of the lineups last two or three years and now I feel more confident accepting my role. I came here to be on a team to win, losing is not fun. Just having the opportunity to be a on a team that is stable and having a goal that is what I am looking forward to playing with.

Who are the starters?

VG: Dwyane is going to start more than likely, Eddie is going to start and Shaquille is going to start. To be honest there is a lot of other guys I would be comfortable starting. I like the depth on our roster right now, and I think that one thing that people never really think as much about, its not just of getting your five best guys in the starting lineup, your second unit has got to work also. We have so many new guys, I haven’t been on the floor with Shaquille, Mike Doleac, Damon Jones or Wesley so until we see the whole thing put together, who’s going to start and who is going to come off the bench and in what situation, I don’t know. I know that we expect Wesley to be on the floor in crucial moments in the game, again its one thing for a guy to make shots, but it’s another for a guy who makes them as consistently as Wes has throughout his career. There is not one team in the league that is going to feel comfortable leaving him open on the weak side of coming down on Shaquille. I know that because I’ve been on the other side of it, yelling and screaming at guys because they left him some room to shoot the ball.

You got Shaquille and other guys to compliment him, how do you feel about it, are you excited?

VG: There is no question, you want to get going but I think we still have our work cut out for us in the next seven or eight weeks going into training camp. We have got to make strides in making everyone in the shape we need them, coming into camp. As excited as we all are, with the opportunity comes a lot of responsibility. I know I feel it and hopefully the players do, and part of that responsibility is coming in here October 5th in the absolute best condition you can be in. We can’t take things for granted. We are a brand new team, we’ve got a lot of work to do in a hurry to bring this together.

Do you need a veteran player at the 4 spot?

VG: Again I don’t look at our roster and see any real holes, I think signing Wes really took care of the last hole we would have had. Randy and Pat have done a great, great job in this off-season and they are always looking and if there is somebody that can fill a need and bring an element to our team at this point then. We are probably looking to do that we are comfortable going into the season with the roster we have.

Did you consider other teams?

WP: Just Portland because I was out there last season and they made me an offer, but I thought here would be a better opportunity for me. I would have a chance to get back in the rotation, play with a team with the Big Guy, we complement each other, a guy in the inside, that helps my game. And I want to do that for him, keep guys on his left and go out and play the game we are supposed to play.

Do you have a Shaquille memory from your past?

WP: Yes, in college, we go way back. We were playing a game in Auburn where he blocked my shot. I went to the locker room and I will never forget that one.

You have a situation with a game winning shot who is it going to be?

VG: I think we are now in a situation were we can put a lot of shooting on the floor. We can put a lot of shooting on the floor to make the defense make some decisions on how they want to cover things. I think everyone knows you can’t play Shaquille one-on-one in the post so you are going to have to come off somebody, and I think we are going to have to make it a little tougher to make those decisions.

In making your team, have you looked at past team rosters to make a blue print for who would work well with Shaquille and who wouldn’t?

VG: I remember walking soon after they made the deal for Shaquille and Randy (Pfund) had on his board in his office, I don’t know how many years back five or six years of the lineups and the guys coming off the bench of all the championship teams. You can’t strictly follow anyone’s blue print because you have different players but to just to get an idea. I think what you have seen in San Antonio is they have tried to put guys who can shoot the ball around Shaquille, they went out and got Robert Horry who could shoot the ball, Turkoglu, Bruce Bowen a great defender who could also make a three, led the league one year. They had Steve Smith on their roster a couple years ago, they had Steve Kerr. They saw the Lakers with Derek Fisher. I think certainly when you have a low post player who is going draw a lot of attention, shooting on the perimeter is a prime need what your team has. We have addressed that. I look at our team now, where we have really got to get to work during training camp is on the defensive end of the floor, where we will have some situations there, that we are going to have to work on and do a better job defending. We are going to make it tough on some other people I think.

Other teams have brought in a few foreign players, how do you look at players?

VG: I think you look for the best players anywhere you can find them. You find them in your backyard, you find them in college, you find them in the NBA, you find them in Europe. We drafted in the second round Albert Miralles. No, we will look anywhere for a player and we certainly had a type of player we wanted and I think Damon Jones was the same type of situation. We were looking for a little more experience and obviously Wesley brings a lot of that and we were looking for guys who can shoot the ball. It doesn’t mean that you don’t want them to do other things. Nobody is going to come into Miami and say ‘My job is to shoot and I don’t defend and I don’t rebound.’ That just doesn’t fly here I think everyone knows that. We were looking for specific things, and not just Wesley’s shooting, again I think it’s his experience. What I told him, what jumped out sitting down analyzing guys on film is that he can really pass the ball and I think obviously we are going to have to get the ball into the post and that helps us a great deal also.

Have you followed Wade this summer?

VG: I was in Vermont, so far up in the mountains that where we were staying didn’t get cable TV. So yesterday’s broadcast was the first one that I saw. I thought he played great in the stretch and I think he was a big element taking that game and opening it up, he made some great plays. As I said to him on my message to him today because, as a coach, you can’t just say congratulations, I though he could of work on some of his close outs, but other than that I thought he made some good plays.