Only one thing can draw my attention away from the fact that the 2006 NBA Finalist Dallas Mavericks have been pushed to the brink of playoff destruction by the Warriors here in the first round: The Bulls already pushed the 2006 NBA Finalist Miami Heat over that brink. This already has been one of the most turbulent postseasons in memory, and we're barely a week in. This spring definitely has an anything-can-happen feel to it.
A Warriors-Bulls Finals, anyone? Ahem, back to the matter at hand. I come to bury the Heat, not to praise them.
This bunch was one of the greatest examples of instant-gratification team-building in NBA history. The Heat won the title last year, and now, the players look old and battered, having played against the Bulls like they were wearing shoes of concrete. No matter what the Heat did well, Chicago could count on the fact that Miami would soon tire.
All the Bulls really needed to do was this: keep it close and wait for the Heat to run out of air. In the four-game sweep, Chicago outscored Miami in each game's second half -- in all, the Bulls won the second halves by a 206-156 margin. This brings forth the gravest of questions for the Heat: What now?
Eight players are over 30. With a payroll well over $60 million, Miami is already way over the salary cap for next season, and pushing the luxury tax. It could have as many as six free agents.
There's only one pick in the draft, No. 20 overall, having moved along their second-rounder this year in the deal to get Shaquille O'Neal. In other words, the Heat need some serious roster turnover.
But how? Coach Pat Riley -- whose future on the sidelines is one of Miami's questions -- spoke of getting younger and more athletic. That's nice.
Every general manager in the league would like to know how a team can get younger and more athletic with only one draft pick, no money to spend on free agents and no trade-worthy assets. Riley could mean that he's finally ready to give consistent playing time to 21-year-old swingman Dorrell Wright, and maybe more floor time for the likes of Wayne Simien and Earl Barron. That's not exactly a sure-shot formula to return to the Finals.
Look, the Heat sold its long-term future for short-term glory. Load your roster with Alonzo Mourning, Gary Payton, Antoine Walker and Eddie Jones, and you are making it clear that you are not exactly building for a better tomorrow. That's what the Heat did.
And it worked. It paid off with a championship, and the Heat will forever be able hold that trophy high, forever be able to admire those big honkin' rings, forever be able to pop in that '05-'06 DVD and remember better times. There's nothing wrong with that.
It takes guts to go all out to win a title, knowing that if you lose, the future is bleak. Now, it's pay-up time for the Heat. The team needs to rebuild, without any of the tools (cap space and draft picks) required for rebuilding.
Miami can't slap together a roster of free-agent veterans willing to take minimum-pay discounts for the chance to win a championship, because everyone knows this team's championship chance has come and gone. Teammates love playing with Shaq, but Shaq missed 42 games this year. He missed 23 last year.
If you're a free agent, you'd have to understand, you'll spend much of the season playing near Shaq, but only some of it playing with him. That diminishes the free-agent draw of O'Neal. But Miami's biggest question mark is Dwyane Wade.
Chances are, his shoulder will be fine. His chances of winning another title in Miami are not so fine. In fact, it looks darn-near impossible.
He might not even be in Miami more than three years. The motives behind Wade's contract extension last summer seem much clearer now. Remember, last offseason, Wade went the way of LeBron James and agreed to a three-year extension through 2009-10, with a player option for the fourth year.
Some claimed that was because it would allow Wade to squeeze an extra million dollars or so out of his next contract. I made no such claim, though, because here's the truth: Wade did it because he could see that this team might well be awful by 2010. He might be dying to get out.
This is not to say the Heat's headed to the toilet next season. To be fair, the team was not even healthy in the playoffs, and though it might not have beaten the Bulls even if the group was at 100 percent, the Heat would not have gotten swept. Next year, Wade should be healthy and, if you're a Heat fan, you've got to hope O'Neal comes back with added determination.
Power forward Udonis Haslem will be back, point guard Jason Williams will be healthy, and it might not be a bad idea to develop Wright's versatility. Miami will be back in the playoffs next year. But a championship?
Those days are gone. Already.
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