NBA Miami Heat

Miami Heat Loyalty Takes Another Hit With Michael Beasley Signing Elsewhere

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By @blackirishpr

Miami Heat

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Before the beginning of last year’s training camp, Erik Spoelstra spoke about the Miami Heat bringing Michael Beasley back because he was part of the “family.” Then he crowed all season about the former first-round pick’s growth and maturity. Yet if you hopscotched to a few months after the 2014 NBA Finals loss, you would have noticed very little talk of praise.

Instead you heard about Beasley working out for the Los Angeles Lakers — twice — followed by the San Antonio Spurs, only to sign with the Memphis Grizzles. And the only thing that you heard out of Miami was Pat Riley’s assertion that he was “still a consideration.” Which makes you wonder why.

Earlier today the South Beach Sun-Sentinel’s Ira Winderman tried to answer that exact question:

“I don’t think there is any deep mystery, nor has any specific incident come to light. I think it was part of a bigger picture of remodeling the outskirts of the roster with those with a fresher outlook.”

Keep in mind that this is a fresher outlook without one of the few players that would be able to create offense for himself. That’s what makes the entire thing sketchy, especially with an organization that prides itself on sustaining from within — as was the case with Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade’s constant contract sacrifices.

However, over the last calendar year, the team’s loyalty has taken hit after hit.

Way before this recent Beasley incident, the Heat cut ties with mainstays like Mike Miller and Joel Anthony. And money was the motivation. Unfortunately the decision to be cheap was, allegedly, one of the main dominoes to fall in regards to pushing LeBron James towards Cleveland.

Couple that with the departure of Tim Hardaway to Detroit’s coaching staff — due to a lack of promotion — and the distance that they put between themselves and Greg Oden — prior to his domestic violence arrest — and you see that reversing their reliability is not a simple hiccup.

It’s a far cry from the two guys (Spoelstra and Riley) notorious for sticking with players for too long in the Finals. But with that said, the team’s new approach may be the best move to avoid constant stagnation.

Richard Nurse is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @blackirishpr or add him to your network on Google.

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