Miami
Wesley Person is the Heat's last non-minimum acquisition. They have used their final exception and can now only sign players to the veteran minimum. The idea for next season seems to be: let Shaq post up, let Wade slash, and let everyone else spot up for open jumpers. What is the team missing? Defense and rebounding.
Head coach Stan Van Gundy says those two are now his main area of concern. He doesn't feel they are missing any players, rather that those are the two areas he wants to focus this group on in training camp. He doesn't want players that will just wait on the floor for an open shot without playing defense or boxing out.
The strategy of surrounding Shaq with long-range shooters seems to be the right one. Both Person and Rasual Butler are terrific three-point shooters, to say nothing of marksman Eddie Jones. Van Gundy also pointed out that Person is a terrific passer, another key attribute that players surrounding Shaq must have.
It looks like the team is ready to go.
TEAM NOTES
The Heat have released the complete 2004-2005 regular season schedule.
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Barry Jackson ofThe Miami Heraldwrites: Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said Person will play small forward and shooting guard.Person, 6-6, and Rasual Butler, 6-7, likely will compete for the starting small forward job in training camp. Both are premier shooters who need work on ball-handling and defense. ''We expect Wes to be on the floor in crucial moments of the game,'' Van Gundy said. ``There's not one team that's going to be comfortable leaving him open on the weak side. We have signed one of the absolute best and most reliable shooters in the league. He's an outstanding passer.''
Michael Cunningham ofThe South Florida Sun-Sentinelwrites: It appears the Heat essentially will send out Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade and a large collection of smallish shooters for 2004-05.The Heat used its final salary-cap exception Wednesday on veteran guard/forward Wesley Person, so the team now can offer only minimum salaries to free agents. Coach Stan Van Gundy said Person, along with Rasual Butler and Eddie Jones, could play both shooting guard and small forward.