Mourning_Heat_33 wrote:Get real. Pat Riley is not trading for Curry, let alone making any trade with the dreadful Knicks. Miami already has Mark Blount who is averaging 15 ppg and 5.5 rpg as a starter. Curry is averaging 13.5 ppg and 4.5 rpg.
Plus the rumor was started by Sam Smith, who is a proven liar.
Miami didn't trade away Shaq to just start taking a bunch of risks on crap players like Eddy Freaking Curry. Sorry New York, but you are stuck with him. You have not one good player outside of that University of Florida guy (Lee?). Please stop trying to spread your problems to us. We are, thankfully, smarter than that.
As I said before, Blount is doing better than Curry and has a contract that is one year shorter and $11+ million cheaper. Blount is better than Curry in every foreseeable way. Even if terms of their styles, Blount (more finesse) is a much better fit with the Heat than Curry (more power). The center, although it is my favorite position, is a dying position. Shaq and Mourning are the only two true centers left*, and you can count how many seasons they have left on one hand.
You see, there's a difference between Pre-2006 (Shaq's last prime season) and Post-2006 (no centers left*). The 2006 playoffs was the last time we saw a true center* show consistent flashes of his prime (Shaq).
Just because Riley is regarded as someone who always made sure to have one of the great centers for whichever team he was coaching in whatever era he was coaching in, doesn't mean that holds true anymore. By trading Shaq for Marion, a 6'7 rebounding PF, that epitomizes the direction the NBA is heading in and it proves Riley is adapting.
*Note: Yes, Ming is, I suppose a center. And now we have Greg Oden coming in. Even if the bodies are there, the game has changed, and so has the position. Since about 2002 or so, rule changes and overarching changes in style have made the center position one that is almost impossible to have a player playing there who can lead a team or be a difference maker. The direction I think it is going in will be centers as role players. Marcus Camby, who as far as I remember was power forward in the 90s, is the epitome of a 21st century center: A glorified role player who rebounds, blocks a couple shots (if they are lucky), and has to defend the other team's star PF so the star PF of his team doesn't have to. He doesn't really have a star PF, but despite being a C now, he guards the other team's star PF usually. Also, notice how Yao Ming, despite being regarded as the best center, can't seem to escape the first round. Shouldn't being the best center (by far) at least get you to the conference finals? I'm interested to see how Oden does. I do not have high hopes unless he adjusts his game to the NBA pretty drastically.
PS- Why the hell did the Knicks beat us in 1999? That was supposed to be our year. Imagine PJ Brown and Zo, at the peaks of their primes, going against Robinson and Duncan. Damn that would have been fun and we could have given them a much better run for their money than the Knicks.
/rant
oh just to refresh your memory the knicks beat you with Allan Houstons "RUNNING JUMPERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...GOOD!" And also when Ewing had that nice spin move and dunk over 'Zo.
Famous 