By Paul Gartlan

Pat Riley’s desire to get a point guard did not stop with the acquisition of Mario Chalmers, as trade/free agent talks begin to soar down in South Florida. As far as trade talk is concerned, Shawn Marion and Udonis Haslem seem like the players most likely to be on the move. All reports of the Heat still wanting to negotiate a deal including Michael Beasley seem to be moot. Riley appears to be in the market for an experienced center along with another point guard.

As far as unrestricted free agents at the point guard position go, Carlos Arroyo, Jannero Pargo, Chris Duhon, Beno Udrih, and Sebastian Telfair are all on the Heat’s radar. It would not be rare of Riley however to negotiate a blockbuster deal, possibly involving Chauncey Billups, Baron Davis, or Raymond Felton. Both the Pistons and the Warriors made it clear before the draft that Chauncey Billups and Baron Davis were available for trade, since they nearly swapped point guards in a deal that also included Rasheed Wallace and a few draft picks. Joe Dumars has made it clear that he wants to shake up his Detroit Pistons to get them back into the NBA finals. Raymond Felton is an interesting option for the Heat as well, as he is a young, experienced point guard that the Bobcats can seemingly do without as they drafted D.J. Augustin. Even Gilbert Arenas’s name is starting to float around, as his resigning in Washington is contingent on whether or not the Wizards resign Antawn Jamison. Despite the weak class of free agents this year, there are opportunities elsewhere.

At center, there is not much available. Everyone BUT the Heat like Desagna Diop to fill the slot, but Riley does not seem to impressed. Lorenzen Wright of the Sacramento Kings seems like the better fit, or even Francisco Elson of the Seattle Sonics. A trade for a center seems unlikely, as good centers seem hard to come by these days. The only ones available seem to be from international countries, much to Pat Riley’s dismay. Riley has never been fond of international players, always questioning their toughness (see NBA Finals 2008 – Lakers).

The main issue preventing any of these scenarios from happening right now is cap space. Mark Blount and Shawn Marion both have hefty contracts, so unloading one of them somewhere would allow Riley to work his magic. The only thing that is for certain regarding that Heat’s future is that Pat Riley wants to be good NEXT year. For Riley, rebuilding is simply not an option (ever).