Finding big man not easy

 

By Chris Perkins, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, May 30, 2004

 

 

 

MIAMI -- Heat President Pat Riley knows exactly what he needs to pursue this off-season to develop a championship-caliber team.

 

"Size," he said.

 

But the Heat's needs are more diverse than just a big body at a bargain-basement price, and this is where the complications arise.

 

The Heat has specific needs from a power forward or center.

 

He has to be rugged to take on physical power forwards and centers. He has to be able to take defensive minutes from undersized center Brian Grant, lanky power forward Lamar Odom and smallish power forward Udonis Halsem. And he has to play good low-post minutes the way reserve forward Malik Allen did in the playoffs.

 

He needs to have wide shoulders, long arms, decent overall skills and be able to complement the team's athletic core of guard Dwyane Wade and forwards Odom and Caron Butler.

 

And whether he's a starter or a reserve, he has to contribute to the Heat's pursuit of a NBA title.

 

Oh, yeah, and he has to be attainable either through the draft at pick Nos. 19 (first round), 47 or 53 (second round), through the $5.1 million mid-level exception, the $1.6 million exception or trade.

 

Riley knows finding the right player won't be easy: "In order to get this foundation of players, talented players, to a level in which they can compete for a championship and you're looking directly down the throats of Tim Duncans and Shaquille O'Neals and the Ben Wallaces of the world and the Jermaine O'Neals of the world, then you know that while we're good enough with the warrior-ness of (center) Brian (Grant) and what he brings to the whole thing, to find a package like those guys it's not out there."

 

The Heat needs someone with the feet of New Orleans forward P.J. Brown or Indiana center Jeff Foster, a big guy who is agile with good feet to effectively defend Duncan, Wallace and the O'Neals for maybe 16 minutes a game.

 

Or Miami could take a shot-blocker and defender in the mold of Portland's Theo Ratliff.

 

It needs someone who can rebound, throw the outlet pass and then get downcourt to perhaps hit the 14-foot jumper.

 

(Interestingly enough, Portland's Vladimir Stepania, a productive former Heat backup center, can opt out of his contract.)

 

Excluding trades, that leaves the Heat with a fairly thin group.

 

 

A lot of names, but few answers

 

Among fairly affordable veterans there are unrestricted free agents such as Boston's Mark Blount, New York's Vin Baker, Denver's Michael Doleac, Golden State's Adonal Foyle, the Lakers' Slava Medvedenko and Milwaukee's Brian Skinner (if he opts out of his contract).

 

Among fairly affordable restricted free agents there's Washington's Etan Thomas, Detroit's Mehmet Okur, Boston's Chris Mihm, Atlanta's Joel Przybilla and Utah's Jarron Collins.

 

There's been some speculation the Heat could trade Butler to attain such a big man, but Riley and an Eastern Conference scout said that's not an option.

 

"Heck no, I wouldn't trade him," the scout said. "I think they've got a pretty good team to build off of."

 

Blount, who lives in South Florida, expressed interest in the Heat during the season and could be a good fit. Blount, who will be 29 in November, earned $1 million last season while averaging 10.3 points and 7.2 rebounds.

 

"At 7 feet, he has the ability to step out and hit the corner jumper," the scout said. "And as we've seen, he has the ability to get 20 rebounds in a game. The thing with him is concentration."

 

Thomas, a physical player who will be tough to pry from the Wizards, also would be a good fit. "In Etan, you have Brian Grant," the scout said.

 

Skinner is thin, but talented. The scout said he wouldn't be a good fit in Miami.

 

And as far as guys who are available, but likely affordable for the Heat only through a sign-and-trade deal (New Jersey's Kenyon Martin or Sacramento's Vlade Divac, who might retire) there's Golden State's Erick Dampier.

 

He's another no-no, the scout said, because of his consistency.

 

"Erick's not bad," the scout said. "He gets very keyed up for anybody he thinks is better."

 

A rookie who could be around at No. 19 is former Colorado center David Harrison, a 7-footer.

 

"The guy's got loads of potential," said Ryan Blake, an assistant director with NBA scouting service Marty Blake and Associates. "We don't know how much work ethic is going to be there, but he does have a good upside."

 

There's also former BYU center Rafael Araujo, who doesn't seem to fit the Heat's requirement of an athletic player. "But he's a good player that's always going to work for you," Blake said.

 

There's also Russian center Pavel Podkolzine, who withdrew from the draft last year. "The guy can run," Blake said. "He's not a gazelle at 7-4 or 7-3, but he can run down the court."

 

The Heat, as is the case with other NBA teams, is bringing players in for interviews and tryouts. Many of the players are international, and Riley, going through his first off-season as an executive, said there's a fairly good crop.

 

"I've never been in the position of seeing all the draft-eligible college players, seeing all the high school players, seeing some of the international players," Riley said. "There's a ton of talent out there, so I think we might be able to get somebody who's good."

 

chris_perkins@pbpost.com

 

Mark Blount looks like his our best option and a pretty good one too if he can perform like he did the 2nd half of the year with the Celtics.

 

 

Article

Yeah, I like Mark Blount as well.

 

He already lives here and has interest so that's a good start. He's not gonna be a burden money-wise either. He's young, tall and has potential.

 

And since Riley doesn't plan on trading EJ and Grant, we'll have Grant as a valuable backup.

 

Looks good but we'll see, still a long off-season.

i read in the sentinel that Rivers got in his car and drove to Boca and spent a few hours with him and ate lunch with him. lets see what happens.

Yeah I just read that article too, apparently Rivers doesn't exactly wanna get rid oft his guy but since he's not a restricted free agent (thank god), it's Blount's decision.

 

Should be interesting.

 

I mean there's more choices than Blount but he would look like the best as of right now.

gimme a sign and trade sending grant and the 19th pick for kenyon martin *drools*

gimme a sign and trade sending grant and the 19th pick for kenyon martin *drools*

Would never happen but I'm guessing your being saracstic.

i Read that Article.

 

They Also Mentioned Etan Thomas as a possible great Fit.

 

They even mentioned good ol' Karl Malone.

NO! to Karl Malone

gimme a sign and trade sending grant and the 19th pick for kenyon martin *drools*

Would never happen but I'm guessing your being saracstic. Actually that isn't that dumb of a post.

 

There has been rumors that Martin will be unloaded if the Nets didnt reach the finals....

Sign and Trade? We have Grant locked up for a while. Who exactly are we signing? And New Jersey isn't that stupid. They actually would actually want something in return.

Sign and Trade? We have Grant locked up for a while. Who exactly are we signing? And New Jersey isn't that stupid. They actually would actually want something in return.

Like more cap room? Yes they would take that.

 

Its the end of a semi-championship run in New Jersey, changes are coming.

Sign and Trade? We have Grant locked up for a while. Who exactly are we signing? And New Jersey isn't that stupid. They actually would actually want something in return.

Like more cap room? Yes they would take that.

 

Its the end of a semi-championship run in New Jersey, changes are coming. How does Brian Grant give them more cap room?

Sign and Trade? We have Grant locked up for a while. Who exactly are we signing? And New Jersey isn't that stupid. They actually would actually want something in return.

Like more cap room? Yes they would take that.

 

Its the end of a semi-championship run in New Jersey, changes are coming. How does Brian Grant give them more cap room? hes less than martin would make and his contract is up in after next year.

Wait a second, Kenyon Martin makes more than Grant? I'd like to see something to back it up.

 

And we're not really in the best financial spot either. We're not getting Martin, sorry.

I don't see this happening at all.

 

Nobody wants Grant, even if it's only for a year or 2, the guy probably couldn't even pass a physical these days and plus, Riley's not too keen on trading him or EJ for that matter.

Sign and Trade? We have Grant locked up for a while. Who exactly are we signing? And New Jersey isn't that stupid. They actually would actually want something in return.

Like more cap room? Yes they would take that.

 

Its the end of a semi-championship run in New Jersey, changes are coming. How does Brian Grant give them more cap room? hes less than martin would make and his contract is up in after next year. Doesnt matter hes a free agent they dont need to pay him.

 

Getting Grants contract in return is not something any team would want without getting something else.

When did I say anything about Brian Grant for Martin? Never.

a big man is the ?........ this ? can be answered... there is a dude for teh hawks named narizr Mhomhmed....... dude is RAW..... i remeber when he started like 2 years man who would average 10-15 points a game and 10-20 boards a game...... than a few injurys and no P.T... and he's a nobody......

 

than u have okur the kid is RAW...... signing wallace they gonna have to let this guy...... or we can go after Theo Ratliff......

 

i think our need will be adressed......

 

Next Season the 2 best teams in the east will be us and the champs aka Pistons.....

Mohammed plays for the Knicks now. They'll probably resign him becaue he was solid for them.

f*** i didnt know the leauge knew about him!!!!!

 

damn knicks aint givin em up he's a super star in the making..... most def if the knicks give em P.T next year.......

I would love to see the heat pick up Peter John Ramos from Puerto Rico.

 

18 years old, 7.3 feet that moves great. Pat/Stan should be able to shape him into a good ball player. With a very young team, I rather see the heat get a young player like this in order to get to the big show in a couple of years.

Let's face it, we are screwed with the cap and there aren't any decent big mans available.

 

c/o Yahoo.sports

 

Puerto Rico teen giant Ramos declares for NBA draft

 

 

April 7, 2004

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Ticker) - Teenage giant Peter John Ramos is set to become the first Latin player to jump from high school to the NBA after declaring himself eligible for the draft Wednesday.

 

The 7-3 Ramos, 18, is widely expected to be chosen in the first round. He is in his senior year in high school.

 

"I worked hard and I believe I deserve this," said Ramos, who plays for Criollos de Caguas in the Puerto Rican League. He is averaging 18.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 12 games.

 

His mentor, Criollos owner Felix Rivera, said Ramos will participate in many scouting sessions before the draft.

 

"If one week before the draft we believe he's not in good condition to be a first-round pick, then we can withdraw his name," Rivera said. "If this happens, there are many European teams who have already shown interest in signing Peter John." One indication of Ramos' potential is that Puerto Rico coach Julio Toro already has decided to include him on his Olympic roster.

 

"He is 2.17 meters tall and we know that he is still growing," Toro said earlier this week. "He has played two games for the national team and he will be included in the 12 great Puerto Rican players that I'll be taking to the Olympics."

 

In high school, Ramos led Academia Bautista de Caguas to an 86-6 record and consecutive national championships. He will graduate next month.

 

"I want to thank all who helped me to be here now. To my family, my Bautista school fellows and every coach who helped me to improve,'' Ramos said at a news conference.

 

Ramos was born in Puerto Rico but moved with his family to New York when he was 5. When he was 14, Rivera spotted him in a shop and convinced him to return to his country to play basketball.

 

If Ramos makes it to the NBA, he will join compatriots Carlos Arroyo of Utah and Daniel Santiago of Milwaukee, both Olympic team members.

 

Only two Puerto Ricans have been first-round picks - Butch Lee, who was taken 10th by Atlanta in 1978, and Jose Ortiz, who was taken 15th by Utah in 1987.

Daneil Santiago is Puerto Rican?

 

@_@

When did I say anything about Brian Grant for Martin? Never.

Misunderstanding.