Post#1031 » by RJM » Wed Jan 28, 2015 2:12 am
It's alternate universe time!
Michael Beasley is drafted #2 overall by the Miami HEAT. That summer, Beasley experiences a solid Rookie Transition Program and emerges among one of the more popular players in the camp. Miami, equipped with a complete understanding of Beasley’s strengths and weaknesses, put him through an intensive camp focusing primarily on defense. Entering the season with the trust of rookie coach Erik Spoelstra and the rest of the staff, Michael Beasley is named a starter alongside Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers, Shawn Marion, and Udonis Haslem, and registers 21 points and 11 rebounds in a 124-113 victory over the New York Knicks.
Strengthened by the opening night performance, Beasley rides the momentum and helps Miami to an impressive 52-30 record, bolstered by a midseason trade in which Shawn Marion is eventually traded to Toronto for center Jermaine O’Neal.
Beasley, after finishing the regular season as a resurgent Dwyane Wade’s protege and running mate, wins Rookie of the Year honors after averaging 17 points and 8 rebounds a game.
The HEAT earn the 4th seed and defeat the Atlanta Hawks 4-2 led by the new HEAT trio of Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley, and Jermaine O’Neal but are defeated 4-3 by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nevertheless, Dwyane Wade wins the league’s MVP award. Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers win their first NBA Championship in seven years over LeBron James, defeating the Cavaliers in a hard-fought seven-game series. Pat Riley, emboldened by Miami’s performance the previous season, signs James Jones, Rafer Alston, Carlos Arroyo, Juwan Howard, Rodney Carney, and Yakhouba Diawara to one-year deals with the 2010 free agent sweepstakes in mind.
PG: Mario Chalmers - Rafer Alston - Carlos Arroyo
SG: Dwyane Wade - Daequan Cook - Wesley Matthews
SF: Michael Beasley - Dorell Wright - James Jones
PF: Udonis Haslem - Juwan Howard - Shavlik Randolph
C: Jermaine O’Neal - Joel Anthony - Jamaal Magloire
Miami, building upon the successes of the season before, continue to compete hard in the Eastern Conference; unfortunately, the team is marred by injuries to Jermaine O’Neal throughout the season, but the team still manages to salvage a solid 49-33 record, good for 5th in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland, Boston, Atlanta, and Orlando. LeBron James wins his first regular season MVP award in response to leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to an impressive 67-15 record.
Cleveland manages to acquire Amare Stoudemire at the deadline, essentially guaranteeing that LeBron James remains in Cleveland. Despite the fantastic regular season performance, the Cleveland Cavaliers are upset in seven-games by the Boston Celtics, who go on to the NBA Finals where the Lakers are able to exact revenge for their 2008 loss, defeating Boston in a classic seven-game series rematch of their own. Miami loses a tough seven-game first round series to the Boston Celtics, after which Dwyane Wade vows "never to lose in the first round again."
Michael Beasley improves on last season’s performance, registering 21.3 points and 9.4 rebounds a game as one of the league’s best young small forwards. In the summer of 2010, Pat Riley successfully pulls off an impressive free agency haul, selling players on a core of Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley to build around. Miami drafts Hassan Whiteside as a young project to develop in the coming seasons, and then allows Jermaine O’Neal to leave in free agency without making a contract offer.
Miami is then able to lure Chris Bosh away from Toronto, securing the most coveted power forward on the market with a maximum deal. With a core of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Michael Beasley established, Miami then re-signs Dorell Wright, Udonis Haslem, Jamaal Maggiore, Joel Anthony, Juwan Howard, James Jones, and Carlos Arroyo.
With Wade, Bosh, and Beasley in tow, Pat Riley then has a private meeting with disgruntled former center Shaquille O’Neal, and the two mend fences over past disputes—O’Neal then signs with the Miami HEAT and becomes their starting center, undergoing an intensive summer training regimen for one last run at an NBA championship. With O’Neal in Miami and the roster rounding into form as a formidable one, Pat Riley is able to bring in Tracy McGrady as a backup swingman.
PG: Mario Chalmers - Steve Blake - Carlos Arroyo
SG: Dwyane Wade - Tracy McGrady - Wesley Matthews
SF: Michael Beasley - Dorell Wright - James Jones
PF: Chris Bosh - Udonis Haslem - Juwan Howard
C: Shaquille O’Neal - Jamaal Magloire - Hassan Whiteside
Completely retooled, Miami explodes out of the gate and establishes a season-long rivalry with the Cleveland Cavaliers, each of them winning more than 60 games (Miami 64, Cleveland 61) in the regular season. Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Michael Beasley form a potent Big Three in the Eastern Conference, bolstered by the steady resurgence of a healthy Shaquille O’Neal, solid PG in Mario Chalmers, and what would eventually be known as the Miami Mafia in Steve Blake, Tracy McGrady, Dorell Wright, Udonis Haslem, and Jamaal Magloire. T-Mac wins Sixth Man of the Year honors and often finishes games alongside Wade, Beasley, Bosh, and O'Neal.
With Miami atop the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2005, Dwyane Wade would win his second Most Valuable Player award with averages of 27.5 points, 8.2 assists, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.2 steals. Chris Bosh would turn in a solid campaign, averaging 22.1 points and 11.5 rebounds, and Michael Beasley would average 17.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. Shaquille O’Neal would turn in a solid season, averaging 13.7 points and 11.3 rebounds, averaging a double-double for the first time since his first season with the HEAT. Mario Chalmers would average 11.1 points, 5.7 assists, and 2.7 steals a game.
In what would go down as one of the greatest series of all time, the Miami HEAT would defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James in a closely-contested seven-game series, with Wade and James guarding each other down the stretch and exchanging baskets before a key Michael Beasley steal and score widened the gap with under 20 seconds remaining.
Miami would then take on a surging Dallas Mavericks team fresh off an upset 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers; undeterred, Dwyane Wade would turn in another NBA Finals series for the ages, averaging 33.7 points, 8.5 assists, and 7.7 rebounds.
Even with Chris Bosh’s performance pacing the team throughout the six-game series, Michael Beasley would become a superstar in his own right after helping Miami come back from a 12-point deficit in the 4th quarter of Game 6, finishing the game with 29 points and 15 rebounds. Dwyane Wade would win his second NBA Finals MVP.
This is through 2011. LeBron and Dwyane would then exchange titles in the next few years before Wade's would start to break down and Michael Beasley would eventually become a superstar. A man can dream, right?
Huge fan of Homeland too, I thought after 
. If we end up signing James shields we should be the favorites in the NL East, either way I feel like we should compete for at least a wildcard spot and I'll take my chances in a 1 game playoff with Jose(if he's returns the same he left).
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