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After three offseasons of Mike Miller, Ray Allen and Shane Battier and mid-seasons of Mike Bibby, Erik Dampier and Eddy Curry, the Miami Heat’s summer of 2013 has looked sort of like a youth movement.
Fans had a chance to watch as the team moved, slightly, away from their win-now, forget about the future scheme. The offseason was no longer about their usual trading draft picks — which makes one think that signing Greg Oden and Michael Beasley was more than just a reclamation project for Pat Riley.
Could the mastermind have been up to something a little more cynical? And if so, what?
With an aging Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Battier and Allen, management finally decided that it didn’t make much sense worrying about stashing picks that head overseas because they’ll probably never even make the team. So the team got a little tricky.
LeBron James’ Instagram
Riley tried to show LeBron James that the Heat could make youthful additions to their 2014 reboot — with the assumption that their pickups could live up to their pre-draft expectations. But that’s putting hope in a guy who has chronic knee problems and another with drug policy issues.
However, they may be the fastest way to show that the Heat could have a young future.
Now it won’t be a future that rivals the injury-prone Cleveland Cavaliers’ youngsters (Kyrie Irving and Andrew Bynum), but the mix of a few youthful weapons combined with proven vets could be enough to keep James away from an epic Ohio welcoming home party.
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Richard Nurse is a Miami Heat columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @blackirishpr or add him to your network on Google.
