On February 6, the Miami Heat traded Shaquille O’Neal to the Phoenix Suns. The Heat had the worst record in the NBA, 9-39, but the Timberwolves, 10-38, were a close second. Today, with the 82 game NBA season almost at an end, the Heat are 13-64, the Wolves 19-57.
Although mathematically possible, no team is going to “catch” the Heat on their way to the worst record in the league. The prize for fewest wins and most losses, of course, is that the Heat will have the greatest likelihood of lucking out in the upcoming NBA draft lottery. That system determines the order of drafting in the annual NBA draft of college and foreign players, and the team with the poorest regular season record has the best odds of securing the No. 1 pick.
While the Wolves have been winning an occasional game (3-7 in their last 10), the Heat have been awful, winning just four games in two months (one in their last 10). Heat president and coach Pat Riley metaphorically posted a “gone fishing” sign when he sent O’Neal to Phoenix and later announced that with 21 games remaining in the season his other superstar, Dwayne Wade, wouldn’t play anymore because of a troublesome left knee.
The Wolves’ Antoine Walker played two seasons for Riley and was part of the 2006 NBA championship team. He told Sports Headliners awhile ago he thinks Riley is trying to “salvage” something from this season by gaining the No. 1 pick. He respects Riley, who has had five NBA championship teams, describing him as a great coach and shrewd evaluator of talent.
What puzzles Walker is why Riley radically changed the roster of the Heat so soon after having a title team. Last summer the Heat moved on without veterans James Posey, Jason Kapono and Walker. Then the trade of O’Neal and sidelining of Wade has left the Heat with a terrible team that includes former Wolves Ricky Davis, Mark Blount and Marcus Banks.
Walker said the Heat have to start from “scratch” beginning with the 2008 draft. “Having the No. 1 pick doesn’t necessarily make it happen, so it’s definitely going to be a rebuilding process,” Walker said.
The Wolves, meanwhile, have both stayed in the lottery race and shown some improvement on the court. Right now the Wolves have the third worst record in the league. They’re likely to be dealt one of the first half dozen picks via the draft lottery. The Wolves, with one star in 23-year-old center Al Jefferson, have been evaluating several other young players who at times show promise and have produced a sporadic surge in better play since early March.
How ironic if the Wolves, already more talented than the Heat, out lucked the Heat in the draft lottery.