Source: YardBarker.com

For basketball geeks the summer can be almost as exciting as the regular season. This particular summer generated more buzz than usual due to the amount of free agents and the amount of teams with large amounts of cap space with which to make changes.

While the Miami Heat can boast about snagging the top three available free agents, we shouldn’t forget they also got themselves another from the top-15 in Mike Miller, and another from the top-30 in Udonis Haslem.

It would be hard to think that anybody could ever top the summer Miami has had. What are the chances that a team not only has the available cap space with which to sign three top free agents but that they could also convince the three to take less than the max so the team could add two more quality players?

However there’s a downside to the Heat having committed all of their cap space to five players.

That’s because what we saw this summer could be the first of an annual summer tradition of Pat Riley being forced to restock his supporting cast with nothing to offer but minimum-salaried contracts, trendy night clubs, Cuban food, the absence of a state income tax, and good weather.

As I write this the Heat have 15 players under contract for next season. However, only LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joel Anthony, Dexter Pittman, Mike Miller, and Udonis Haslem have contracts that extend beyond the upcoming season.

Rich people problems, right? But this is where things get sticky. The rest of the Heat roster is comprised of players with either non-guaranteed deals, one-year veteran minimum deals, or one-year veteran minimum deals with player options for an additional minimum contract for the following season.

Don’t believe me?

• Zydrunas Ilgauskas (1-year deal + player option for 2nd year)
• Jamaal Magloire (1-year deal)
• Juwan Howard (1-year deal)
• James Jones (1-year deal + player option for 2nd year)
• Eddie House (1-year deal + player option for 2nd year)
• Carlos Arroyo (1-year deal)
• Shavlik Randolph (non-guaranteed deal)
• Kenny Hasbrouck (non-guaranteed deal)
• Patrick Beverley (non-guaranteed deal)
• Mario Chalmers (final year of rookie contract)

That’s not the greatest bench in the history of sports but it certainly isn’t the worst either. If you believe the Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman, the Heat actually have too much talent.

But with the league’s current collective bargaining agreement set to expire at the conclusion of this coming season, there’s a chance that this might be the last summer that the Heat can add anyone of substance to their roster.

Two items that the owners have been rumored to try to do away with in the next CBA are the soft cap and the mid-level exception—a provision which allows teams over the salary cap to spend the league’s average salary on one or more players.

Since the Heat were under the salary cap they didn’t have an MLE with which to work with this summer. Instead they got their three superstars to sacrifice a little bit of money so that they could give Miller a five-year deal worth $30 million and Haslem a five-year deal worth $20 million.

I can understand why Miller was willing to turn down more lucrative offers for a chance to win a ring in Miami. He spent the past three seasons playing for a Memphis Grizzlies team that went 22-60, a Minnesota Timberwolves team that went 24-58, and a Washington Wizards team that went 26-56.

But I’m a little curious about what Haslem was thinking. I know that Haslem is from Miami and he didn’t want to leave home. I get that the Heat are the only NBA team he’s ever played a meaningful game for. But he turned down full mid-level offers from both the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks—costing himself about $14 million over the length of the five-year deal.

Haslem turned 30 in June so in all likelihood this is the last multi-year contract he’ll sign. He’s made a little bit more than $30 million through his first seven seasons in the league. I don’t disagree that Haslem should be lauded for being loyal to the franchise that rescued him when he was playing in France. I am in no way doubting the way the Heat has treated Haslem. Heck, just two months ago the team threw a surprise birthday party for him.

What I’m questioning is how loyal he expects the Heat to be from this moment forward. That’s because there isn’t a player on the Heat roster more dispensable or likely to get traded when you take salary and production into account than Haslem.

What happens if the next CBA does away with the MLE? Even if the owners get rid of the MLE, I doubt they get rid of the provision in the current CBA which maintains that the total salaries of players being traded between teams over the cap must be within 115% of each other plus $100,000.

What if the following three things happen?: 1) This Heat team as currently constructed produces less-than-expected results 2) The next CBA does away with the MLE 3) Teams are still required to match up salaries in order to make trades.

Let’s say the Heat finish with a 55-27 record but lose to the Celtics or Magic in the conference semis. How can they expect to get better without cap space or the MLE?

There are three ways teams can acquire players—through the draft, free agency, and via trade. We can pretty much rule out the draft since almost every pick the Heat has over the next 3-5 seasons was either traded away in sign-and-trade deals for James and Bosh or will probably be a late first or second-round pick.

Sure the Heat will still be able to lure free agents with minimum contract offers but it they can’t count on it every summer. Can they really expect to fill out a quality bench every year for the next five or six years with a combination of ring-chasing veterans who get bought out in March, second-round picks, and undrafted free agents?

There are at least 10 players on the Heat’s current roster who can choose to become free agents next summer. What if the season is deemed a failure and there are stories about locker room dissension or questions about whether Erik Spoelstra—who has yet to win a playoff series as a head coach—has what it takes to lead this team to a title.

If that’s the case I can’t imagine they can duplicate the success they had in attracting free agents these last two months. And that would leaves trades as the most logical means by which the Heat can expect to improve.

Forget about LeBron and Wade since neither of them are going anywhere. And Bosh only gets traded if the Heat are a complete disaster (and even that doesn’t happen until 2013 at the earliest).

With three players making near max dollars and eight or nine players getting minimum contracts, Haslem and Miller are the only players on the roster with contracts that can easily be traded. At least that was the case until Miami gave Joel Anthony a five-year, $18 million contract.

Suddenly, Anthony’s deal makes a lot more sense. Consider that he’ll be making $3.3 million next season while Arroyo, Magloire, Howard, and Chalmers will be making $3.4 million combined.

Since the Heat had Anthony’s Bird Rights they were able to go over the salary cap to sign him. It seems as if Riley knew he needed a greater-than-minimum salary for a possible future trade. Otherwise, with nine or 10 players making less than $2 million, the only way Riley could have traded for anyone of substance was by exchanging four or five minimum players for one. That’s an unlikely scenario considering Riley would have to find three or four players to replace those he traded away with nothing but minimum contracts to offer.

It’s no secret that the biggest question marks facing the Heat right now are at point guard, center, and with their bench. Based on low expectations and very little money to offer, Riley did an incredible job. But a closer examination reveals a supporting cast that’s mostly comprised of one-dimensional players like Anthony and House and others whose best days are clearly behind them like Howard, Jones, Ilgauskas, and Magloire.

I joked on twitter that the Heat telling people they had All-Star centers Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamaal Magloire, and Juwan Howard was akin to me telling people, “I went to Harvard,” and then adding, “for lunch.”

Mario Chalmers has had his moments through his first two seasons but suddenly he’s like one of those rich kids on MTV who gets a Bentley on his 16th birthday. And Arroyo? It was only two seasons ago when Arroyo couldn’t get a contract stateside and had to go to Israel to get a job.

Ilgauskas just turned 35-years-old and is coming off a season in which he logged the fewest minutes and points per game of his 12-year career. By comparison, Howard is 37-years-old and coming off a season in which he averaged 22 minutes per game—almost as many minutes as he averaged in the previous three seasons combined.

So while Anthony’s contract can be used to acquire a player the likes of Jeff Foster, the only way the Heat can acquire a top-tier, second-tier, or even third-tier point guard or center without the mid-level exception is by moving Miller or Haslem.

Miller’s made close to $60 million in his career so nobody can blame him for taking a pay cut for the chance to finally play with a contender. But if Haslem gets traded after sacrificing $14 million then he will have made one of the costliest blunders in free agency history and there’s a much greater chance of Haslem being traded than Miller.

It’s much easier to find a 6-8 power forward on the waiver wire or in the D-League who can who average 6 points and 7 rebounds than a shooter like Miller who has made 46.4% of the shots he’s taken in his career—40% on 3-pointers (including an eye-popping 48% last season).

There’s one other big issue involving the Heat and trades that needs to be mentioned. Teams aren’t exactly lining up to make trades that make contenders better. There isn’t a GM chomping at the bit to trade for Mario Chalmers and the right to pay Joel Anthony for four years.

Since the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol in February of 2008, they’ve made only one trade that wasn’t just the selling of draft picks or an attempt to reduce their luxury tax bill.

That was when they traded Vladimir Radmanovic for Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown—a move the Bobcats made to save money by getting out of the final year and a half of Morrison’s contract.

The Celtics haven’t been any more active. Since they acquired Kevin Garnett on July 31, 2007, they’ve made three trades. Two were moves that were made to create roster space when they sent Sam Cassell and Patrick O’Bryant and cash in separate deals for conditional picks. The third was the trade that sent Eddie House, Bill Walker, J.R. Giddens, and a conditional second-round pick to the Knicks for Nate Robinson and Marcus Landry.

You can make  the case that the only reason the Knicks traded Robinson to Boston was because he asked the Knicks for a trade. Since the Knicks weren’t going to re-sign the impending free agent they did him a favor by sending him to a playoff team so he could showcase himself on a larger stage.

I understand that championship contenders don’t really have to make trades. However, it was no secret the Lakers were trying to move Sasha Vujacic at the deadline last year and teams weren’t exactly begging to help the defending champs out.

So while Winderman likes to speculate as to what it would take for the Heat to acquire every player rumored to be on the trading block, he must remember that it takes two to tango.

For the Heat to pull off a trade they must provide something that  another team actually wants in return. And since they don’t have a future draft pick worth acquiring, they need to entice teams with either a somewhat sizable expiring contract or with talent—two things the Heat either don’t have (the sizable expiring contract) or aren’t quite in a hurry to trade (talent).

There is one other school of thought. If the NBA’s next CBA does away with the luxury tax and the NBA institutes a hard cap then there are a few different scenarios that could either help or hurt the Heat.

Last month, Sam Amick of Fanhouse wondered what would happen to the Heat if the owners insisted on a hard cap.

He writes:

With the league’s collective bargaining agreement set to expire after next season, the owners are poised to go the way of the NHL and insist on a hard salary cap in the next deal that could be in the neighborhood of $45 million. If they are successful in that attempt — likely after a lockout like the one endured by the NHL in 2004-05 — the Heat and a number of other teams could be forced to release key players if their salaries surpassed the cap.

No doubt that’s a scary scenario for any large market or contending team. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles, “The Lakers have approximately $95.7 million committed in roster salary next season.”

On the flip side, a hard cap could also work to the Heat’s advantage. If every team is at or near the cap limit and all are offering the same amount of money to the same free agents, the Heat can always tout the absence of a state income tax in Florida as well as a chance to win a championship as a deciding factor.

Any way you slice it, all eyes will be on the Miami Heat next season. Rarely have The Basketball Gods been poked and prodded like they have been by Pat Riley and his triumvirate of stars. I can’t imagine many will be watching the Heat without a rooting interest.

If Heat fans could best describe this offseason as crazy then just wait until next summer. A looming work stoppage and another premature playoff exit for LeBron—especially one with controversy—could make this summer look tame by comparison.

Andrew Ungvari is a co-lead blogger for SirCharlesInCharge. Follow him on twitter.

This has been the greatest off-season in NBA history. That’s because when it’s all said and done, it will be remembered as the shortest. You could count the number of days when there wasn’t anything NBA-related worth talking about on one hand. Free agency news, coaching hires, Team USA, endorsement deals, the draft, Summer Pro League, trade rumors, etc. There were plenty of obvious winners this summer. Joe Johnson, Wesley Matthews, Drew Gooden, and Travis Outlaw come first to mind. Nobody should be surprised those guys were winners but the extent to which they won has to come as a bit of a surprise. There were some other big winners this off-season that went under the radar. Some you probably didn’t think about. And it’s because of them that I present my first annual Unexpected Winners of the NBA Off-Season:

Jim Gray – Broadcaster/Independent Contractor For Hire

Has there ever been an announcer who has been involved in more memorable-yet-awkward moments in sports than Jim Gray? When Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear it was Gray who interviewed Iron Mike post-fight. When Pete Rose was finally allowed back on a Major League Baseball field, it was Gray who was there to ruin the evening by asking Charlie Hustle to come clean about whether or not he bet on baseball. That led to an even more awkward exchange with Gray and Chad Curtis during the 1999 World Series when Curtis snubbed Gray after hitting a game-winning home run.

Gray was also the reporter who helped fan the flames of the Shaq/Kobe feud by trying to service Kobe the way Ahmad Rashad serviced Michael Jordan in the 90s.

Just when we thought we’d seen the last of Gray as a relevant announcer he managed to become relevant again by being a major part of three different stories in three different major sports this summer.

First it was Gray who was hired to “interview” LeBron James during “The Decision”.

Gray popped up again just a couple of weeks ago in Canton, Ohio. This time he was being thanked by Floyd Little during Little’s induction speech for the work he’d done lobbying to get his childhood hero into the Hall of Fame (Gray grew up in Denver).

Most recently, there was Gray, while working for The Golf Channel, stirring it up with US Ryder Cup captain, Cory Pavin. Gray reported that Pavin had told him that he would be adding Tiger Woods to the US team. When Pavin denied it, Gray reportedly called him a liar and told Pavin he was “going down.”

Welcome back, Jim! I guess it’s better to be despised than irrelevant. Or even worse, forgotten.

Kevin O’Connor – General Manager, Utah Jazz

The best GMs in sports are usually the guys that even die-hard fans would have a hard time picking out of a police lineup. This was a summer filled with question marks for O’Connor and his small-market Jazz.

Three of the Jazz’s top six players were free agents this summer, including the team’s top scorer and rebounder, Carlos Boozer, their best three-point shooter, Kyle Korver, and undrafted rookie, Wesley Matthews.

O’Connor allowed all three guys to leave via free agency and replaced them with what could be better pieces and at a lower cost for next season.

First he used the 9th pick in the draft to select Butler’s Gordon Hayward to replace Korver — a pick he acquired from the Knicks back in 2004.

Next he acquired Al Jefferson from the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kosta Koufos and two future first-round picks. A small price to pay for someone who averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds per game just two seasons ago.

Two days later he reacquired Raja Bell by signing the free agent swingman before he was scheduled to have dinner with Kobe Bryant. And he might not be done making moves. He still has Andrei Kirilenko’s giant expiring $17.8 million contract that he can use to play with.

It’s about time O’Connor got recognized as one of the league’s best GMs. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the 2nd round picks O’Connor has made since he began making personnel decisions for the Jazz.

Tom Izzo – Head Coach, Michigan State Spartans/Brian Shaw – Asst. Coach, Los Angeles Lakers

No disrespect to new Cavs head coach, Byron Scott, but you have to give credit to Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Lakers assistant coach, Brian Shaw. Both men were interviewed and believed to be the next head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and both backed out of the running.

Turns out these two probably saw the writing on the wall when LeBron wouldn’t take their respective phone calls.

In the past three weeks, Izzo has done enough recruiting to fill out Spartan rosters for the next two seasons and Shaw will probably have his choice at coaching either the Lakers or his hometown Golden St. Warriors next season.

Meanwhile, Scott is left picking up the pieces in Cleveland with just Ramon Sessions, Ryan Hollins, and a couple of rookies to replace James with.

Stephen A. Smith – Journalist and Talk-Show Host, Philadelphia Sports Daily and Fox Sports Radio

If you thought Jim Gray saved his career this summer then what could you say about Stephen A. Smith? Up until this summer, Smith was considered a blowhard and a clown who just pretended he knew what he was talking about by using eye-rolls and yelling to make himself  sound credible.

But it was Smith who tweeted and told Dan Patrick on June 28 that LeBron and Chris Bosh were both headed to Miami to team up with Dwyane Wade.

Smith has since made the rounds on various talk show to gloat and say “I told you so.” He’s even had the chance to guest co-host on The View.

Smith’s scoop has definitely bought him some shine and credibility. That is, until the next time he says something ridiculous or reports something erroneously.

Shaquille O’Neal, Boston Celtics/Tracy McGrady, Detroit Pistons

I know what you’re thinking. How could two guys who’ve taken $20 million pay cuts be considered winners this off-season? That’s easy. It’s because they found homes for next season. I’m sure they both would have preferred to get larger contracts but they’ve both made enough money that they’re great-great-great-great-great grandchildren might not have to ever get jobs.

The truth is that they should both be considered winners because neither Shaq nor T-Mac had to suffer the embarrassment of having to retire due to league-wide rejection.

O’Neal got a two-year deal from the Celtics that will give him the chance to compete for a fifth championship and allow him to ride off into the sunset on his own terms while McGrady, who is younger than Kobe Bryant, will get an opportunity to prove that he can stay healthy and still be an effective player.

Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

Durant signed a five-year, $85 million extension with the Thunder this summer. But that’s not why he’s on this list. At least not the only reason. Durant made this list for a number of reasons.

For starters, he was the anti-LeBron. He didn’t need a one-hour special to announce his decision to sign his extension. He used Twitter to announce it and then thanked God, and his family for the support they gave him to put him in the position to sign the extension and succeed in life.

Second, he became the face of USA Basketball as it prepares for the World Basketball Championships in Istanbul later this month.

Third, Durant has been brought into the discussion of who the three best players in the NBA are. Two well-respected analysts, TNT’s Kenny Smith and Steve Kerr, both stated that Durant is neck-and-neck with Dwyane Wade for the title of the league’s third-best player behind Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

At 21 years old, the future couldn’t be brighter for Durant and his brand—one that now brings to mind keywords like teamwork, leadership, humility, faith, and pride.

Brian Cook, Los Angeles Clippers/Shaun Livingston, Charlotte Bobcats

These two guys made the list together because they both managed to prolong careers that were once considered dead.

But there’s a big difference between them.

Livingston deserves recognition for battling back from a career-threatening knee injury to get himself a two-year, $7 million deal with the Bobcats. I don’t even want to link to the play in which Livingston injured himself for fear that I might see it again.

Livingston finished last season with the Wizards and became expendable when they won the Draft Lottery and the chance to select John Wall with the first overall pick. But his stint with the Wizards, including three games in which he scored 18 points and two others in which he scored 21 and 25 points, was enough to convince Michael Jordan and the Bobcats that he was worth giving a shot to.

Cook was released by the Houston Rockets at the trade deadline last season. For some reason the Clippers not only offered him a contract for more than the minimum but they gave him a two-year, $2.3 million deal—despite averaging 1.4 points per game last season and 2.5 ppg the season before.

The good news is that Cook has joined a long list of one-time Lakers who became Clippers long after it was apparent their best days were behind them—a list that includes Smush Parker, Sean Rooks, Norm Nixon, Jamaal Wilkes, David Rivers, Mike Smrek, Antonio Harvey, Mario Bennett, Derek Strong, and Glen Rice.

Jordan Bratman – Music Executive

I know what you’re thinking. What the hell is Christina Aguilera’s husband doing on an NBA-related list? It’s simple.

The Lakers were down 3-2 heading back to Los Angeles for Game 6 of their series with the Celtics. The Boston crowd was pumped for Game 5 thanks to an incredible rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, performed by The Boston Pops.

The Lakers needed someone who could give the Staples Center the same type of  juice. So they brought in Aguilera. The result was a Game 6 victory and a forced Game 7. So the Lakers brought her back for Game 7 and the result was another victory and title number 16—one short of the Celtics’ 17.

So why does Bratman make the list?

Bratman came up on courtside seats to the NBA Finals by virtue of being married to the woman who sang the anthem and, in all likelihood, will probably find himself sitting in the front row of many more games to come. Since Aguilera’s is a spotless 2-0 in the NBA Finals she’ll probably be invited back until they lose she performs at. If you don’t believe me just ask Jeffrey Osborne. The “On The Wings of Love” guy has been singing the anthem at important Lakers playoff games for close to 30 years now.

Twitter

How could you leave Twitter off the list of the summer’s biggest winners? The moment the clock hit midnight on July 1, Twitter became the go-to spot for basketball lovers and writers to get the latest on free agency news, player movement, and coaching changes. As mentioned above, Twitter was used by Stephen A. Smith before July 1 to break free agency news and was also the forum with which Kevin Durant chose to announce he had reached an agreement with the Thunder on a contract extension.

Twitter served a similar purpose in 2009 except that the Free Agent Class of ‘09 wasn’t nearly as glamorous. Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, and Marcin Gortat aren’t exactly LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade. Even though 90 percent of what we read on Twitter turned out to be nothing more than rumor and innuendo, it was still the best forum to get the 10 percent that turned out to be true.

The truth is that Twitter isn’t going anywhere. There might be a better site that one day replaces it but the concept of a networking site that provides people the opportunity to get instant information from writers is here to stay. Consider that every sportswriter wants to be the one to break a story and Twitter provides a day-and-time stamp with which to prove it.

Jews

Pardon me for being proud of the unexpected attention that my people have received this off-season but it’s hard to ignore it. After winning his second championship ring in June, Jordan Farmar earned himself a three-year, $12 million contract. The Nets are anticipating a move to Brooklyn in two years—home to approximately 500,000 Jews (out of about $5 million in the entire United States). Smart move by Farmar.

That came on the heels of Irene Pollin, the widow of late Wizards’ owner and great friend to Israel, Abe Pollin, winning the draft lottery and gave the team’s Jewish GM, Ernie Grunfeld, to chance to draft John Wall (not Jewish). Pollin has since sold the team to minority partner, Ted Leonsis (also not Jewish).

But all of that paled in comparison to Amar’e Stoudemire proclaiming that he had Jewish ancestry, even going so far as to  travel to Israel to explore his roots. Even though it turned out that Stoudemire doesn’t have any Jewish roots he did bring attention to the beauty of a country that is nothing like how it’s portrayed in the news.

And how can I forget LeBron James’ “Séance At Sea” with Rabbi Yishayahu Yosef Pinto—”The Rabbi  to the Business Stars”? According to TMZ, LeBron hired the non-English speaking Rabbi Pinto for “spiritual guidance”. Sounds to me like a bunch of BS but still more Kosher basketball news.

Honorable Mention: The Basketball Jones on TheScore.com

If you’re not checking out their site, following @JESkeets and @TasMelas on Twitter, or subscribing to their podcast on iTunes, then you’re losing.

The Jones boys deserve to be recognized for the videos they’ve put out this summer.

First they gave us this classic where Tas, as Hedo Turkoglu, finds out he’s been traded to the Phoenix Suns. That was followed by their Multiple Sources vid where they openly mocked writers who like to quote anonymous sources.

Then came their two-part masterpiece in which they dramatized scenes from Arash Markazi’s piece on LeBron’s party night in Vegas that ESPN pulled off their site (Part I and Part II).

If you haven’t seen any of the videos I suggest checking them out, especially the Turkoglu one.

Andrew Ungvari is a co-lead blogger for SirCharlesInCharge.com. Follow him on twitter.