DWadeno3 wrote:WD wrote:ASK IRA: Should Heat shop now, buy later?
Q: If you think back to some of the past few championships, the winner has picked up a player midseason to help put them over the edge, Rasheed Wallace with the Pistons, P.J. Brown with the Celtics, and now Birdman with the Heat. So wouldn't it be wise to play the waiting game on filling out our roster? -- Scott, Los Angeles.
A: Ding. Ding. Ding. We have a winner. You'd be surprised how much further a mid-level exception might go in February than the dog days of free agency. And Pat Riley has a habit of energizing his product with such mid- or late-season moves. The buyout deadline should not be understated. What you pick up in free agency in August, should not be overstated.
The problem is, you have to rely on such a player becoming available. Neither Turiaf nor Dampier or Bibby have been that productive for us, at least not to the degree a guy like Birdman, PJ Brown or Rasheed Wallace for their respective teams.
Including Sheed in that group makes little sense anyway considering he was acquired in a trade. Why would we need a MLE to sign somebody released midseason anyway?
