Draft Leaves Questions, Not Answers

Miami Heat President Pat Riley spent most of the Draft merely looking at the trade bonanza that ensued after the Los Angeles Clippers took Blake Griffin with the No. 1 pick. Apparently, Riley was not kidding when he said that there were going to be no major moves until he knows what direction Dwyane Wade wants to take with regard to his contract. Miami selected Marcus Thornton with the No. 43 pick, but traded him to New Orleans for a 2010 second-round pick and a 2012 second-round pick minutes later. The Heat front office has its eyes set on Patrick Beverley, though, a point guard who spent two seasons at Arkansas and last season in Ukraine. Beverley heard his name called at No. 42 to the Los Angeles Lakers. Riley quickly made his move, trading a 2011 second-round pick and cash considerations for the 6-foot-1 player. So who is Beverley? The Chicago native seemed to have a bright future when he made a name for himself at Arkansas. He could hit the occasional three, defend well and rebound at a high rate for a point guard. Beverley was suspended for the 2008-09 season because of turning in a paper that wasn't his work, however. He decided to play professionally in Ukraine to develop his game as a point guard. Riley didn't seem to have any qualms about trading up one spot in the Draft to get the long-armed 175-pounder, though. He said that he was enamored with Beverley after his workouts in Miami. With Mario Chalmers and Chris Quinn already under contract, it appears to be a little strange that the Heat would take yet another inexperienced point guard. It has been well-documented that Miami's biggest need is a veteran point guard. The Heat may send Beverley overseas for a season and acquire a starting-caliber guard through a trade. Another course of action may be to include Quinn's expiring contract in a package to acquire a veteran point guard. Then, Chalmers and Beverley can compete for minutes behind the starter. Quite frankly, I just don't see Chalmers, Beverley and Quinn as the answers for Miami's point guard problems. To finish up the Draft, the Heat picked Robert Dozier out of Memphis with No. 60. Dozier is an athletic, long combo forward who has drawn comparisons to Tyrus Thomas. He also has a nice jump-shot, as Dozier occasionally even stepped out to the college three-point line. Riley said that he expects to develop Dozier as an athletic three as opposed to the four, where he spent most of his time at in Memphis.Hmm, it sounds that Riley is trying to do to Dozier what he couldn't do for Dorell Wright. It seems as if Wright's days in Miami could be numbered with the Heat bringing in an athletic player who Riley envisions to be on the wing. Miami already has a logjam of small forwards with James Jones, Yakhouba Diawara, Wright and Jamario Moon, a restricted free agent. Why bring in another three if a trade isn't going to be made? Miami's two biggest areas of need are the starting point guard and starting small forward spots. The Heat picked up a point guard and a small forward, but not one that has the pedigree of a starter. Don't expect anything to be done until Wade responds to Riley's sales pitch for signing a contract extension, though. In the end, this Draft provided more questions than answers for the Heat.Is East Shooting Ahead of Heat? The Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic both made blockbuster trades Thursday, acquiring Shaquille O'Neal and Vince Carter, respectively. It is important not to overstate what these teams did because they were already better than Miami. What matters is what the second-tier East teams did, such as Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago and Detroit. Atlanta already improved with the trade for Jamal Crawford, but added depth to the point guard spot with the selection of point guard Jeff Teague at No. 19. It's doubtful that the Hawks will bring back Mike Bibby, but Crawford and Teague are solid acquisitions for Atlanta. Philadelphia -- a team Miami fought with for the No. 5 seed down the stretch of the regular season -- picked Jrue Holiday, a point guard with a lot of upside. Holiday didn't have a good statistical freshman season at UCLA, but may be a replacement for free agent Andre Miller in Philly down the road. Chicago picked James Johnson, who some view as an athletic small forward with a lot of potential, but not the best decision-making. The Bulls still have to sort out what to do with its small forward depth chart. Will Luol Deng stay or has John Salmons earned the spot?Detroit selected Austin Daye with the No. 15 pick, a skinny, 6-foot-11 forward from Gonzaga. Daye will probably back up Tayshaun Prince in his rookie year, but the Pistons have a lot of cap space. They may look to go after Carlos Boozer and Hedo Turkoglu, which would not be good for the Heat.