At the beginning of the season, most NBA fans realized that the Miami Heat are not the same team that one the NBA championship a couple seasons ago. The team would sneak into the playoffs, but nobody expected the team to dominate the competition.

And they didn’t. After starting 0-5, it was apparent that things could get ugly. In December, the team managed to win two games in a row — the only time it happened throughout the season. During the month of January, the team won one game. Uno, un, ein, 一個. Just enough to end a 15-game losing streak.

The team finished 15-67. Sure, the team was severely bogged down by injuries, but this is the Eastern Conference! Every team has years when it needs to “replenish” its team, but it’s a really bad sign when you’re head coach decides to “take leave” to scout some new players.

Dwyane Wade needs a new team. That could include trading him out of Miami, or the Heat acquiring several new role players. D-Leaguers don’t cut it. Wade was the first member of the “Class of 2003 All-Stars” to win a championship, and he made it happen by carrying his team through the NBA Finals. LeBron James aside, Wade may be the most skilled player in his draft class.

How can Miami Heat rebuild this team?

The first area to look at is free agency. They’ve already got the 7th-highest payroll in the NBA, and between Wade and Shawn Marion, most of of next season’s cap space is taken — with only 2/3 of a roster to show for it. The big kicker here is that Marion has a player option for next season. You can make a case for both keeping him, and asking him to leave. The team desperately needs cap space to acquire some solid players, but Marion is likely as talented as the Heat can get.

One “benefit” of this horrible season is that the Heat will have a top-four draft pick. For now, they’ve hypothetically got #1 and #52. Assuming that the #52 isn’t ready to play, the Heat need to find one player that can make all of the difference. This year has a solid group of talent at the top. However, most of the popular votes for the #1 pick are guards (O.J. Mayo and Derrick Rose) and forwards (Michael Beasley).

The only other option is the trade market. Wade needs to demand a trade. Not for him, but to bring in new talent to play alongside him. Because they lack any big commodities besides Wade and Marion, they need to either trade the #1 pick or hope to sign-and-trade away a few of their upcoming free agents (Jason Williams and Ricky Davis).

Free Dwyane! I don’t know how you can do it, but Pat Riley, make it happen.