O'Neal

Shaq will spend the rest of his career trying to collect rings, and make the Lakers rue the day they elected not to include him in their future. His personal mission begins on opening night at New Jersey and reaches its apex on Christmas Day, when he makes his return trip to Los Angeles in front of a national television audience.

There's additional motivation, unless he wants to be known as the Big Promise Breaker.

"I'm going to bring a championship to Miami," O'Neal said at his introductory press conference. "I promise that."

It's hard to bet against a man who has played in The Finals five times in 12 years.

Wade

The price was high – starters Caron Butler, Brian Grant, Lamar Odom and a future No. 1 pick – but with one move, the Heat became a championship contender and the hottest ticket in town.

It's hard to imagine a player being underrated when he has averaged better than 27 points and 12 rebounds for 12 years, but it often seems that O'Neal's dominance was taken for granted. At age 32, there's still a lot of punishment to dole out.

"I'm like toilet paper, toothpaste and certain amenities -- I'm proven to be good," joked O'Neal at his press conference. "I've still got five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10 years left."

O'Neal's charisma and selflessness have made him popular among his teammates (with one notable exception). Defensively, nobody takes up more space or changes more shots, and he is simply unstoppable when his mates simply give him the ball.

That's where Dwyane Wade enters the picture. Wade turned Rookie of the Year into a three-man race and got something his rookie colleagues didn't -- 13 games of playoff experience and a first-round series win.

Eddie Jones, the team's leading scorer, also returns. The 10-year vet can still play both ends of the floor and is a good distributor. Promising young forwards Rasual Butler and Udonis Haslem are a year wiser and will contribute.

Given the climate and the arrival of the Big Beach Bum, the free agent recruiting process has landed Christian Laettner, Damon Jones, Keyon Dooling, Michael Doleac and Wesley Person.

The Heat made the East's final four without the Diesel. With him, Miami joins Indiana as the best bets to derail Detroit's bid at a repeat.