Payton returns, but what next?

14 of 15 of the Heat players have returned to the roster, something that Pat Riley himself had called "pollyana-ish" after the championship run itself, with Gary Payton inking a one year deal with the Heat. The only player yet to re-up is Shandon Anderson, who may retire.

Although it is fun to see the fellas come back for a reunion tour, it may prove much more difficult for success the second time around. Their biggest concern? The Heat have very little room for growth on their roster.

It is vital that every year a team improves its talent pool in order to keep up with the rest of the league as the jockeying for superiority becomes the yearly ritual. The Heat have seen several teams tinker, but fortunately nothing major. Indiana has re-obtained Al Harrington in a strange and lucky series of moves, while the Pistons have let Ben Wallace go to Chicago (which immensely improves the Bulls already tough defense) and make some minor moves to change their identity (Flip Murray) to a more offensive one in the process.

The Heat? Stood pat. The question is not only can they repeat what they did last season, under a full season of Pat Riley and his playbook, but what can they do to shore up the weaknesses that will continue to exist and improve?

The Heat were criticised for not having a great perimeter defender, although they seemingly silenced the critiques on their championship run last season when facing the Bulls, Nets and Pistons. The one glaring weakness that does seem to crop up is their need for a backup PG.

Some would think that signing Gary Payton addressed that need, but at 38 and turning 39, nothing from Gary is guranteed at this point. Not to mention, Jason Williams is undergoing rehab for his knee surgery to alleviate the tendonitis that drastically affected him last season.

A need for a younger point guard to alleviate the situation is present.

The other problem is, how do the Heat find this player? There are currently rumors about Micheal Doleac being on the block, with his contract and his ability to serve a team's size needs both being very valuable. The Heat's depth at C, with Shaq, Zo and Earl Barron, even makes Doleac almost redundant. This also grants an opportunity for Barron to play, while a rumor such as this only validates Barron's ability as well. The Heat also have other expiring contracts available in Jason Kapono and Derek Anderson to throw into any deal to get what they are looking for.

Then there are the contract and cap issues. Arison has determined that he doesn't want to spend for the luxury tax and Riley has been very adamant about keeping his team at or under the cap as much as is possible. To send away a couple of expiring contracts, in say Doleac and Anderson, is to also invite one back that could have a longer term attached to it. Which means that the plan to shed some financial weight may not prove to be possible and Arison is going to have to re-think his stance in order to free up Riley to improve his team by addressing the need. There is hope in that Arison approved Zo's new contract, which does cause the Heat to spend some of their minimum level exception and push them over the threshold some.

The Heat could continue to stand pat, and sign a vet to round out the roster (Anderson) or keep one of the young undrafted players they have in camp (Gansey, Quinn, Horton, Grier). After all, three of these young players are being looked at for playing PG - both Quinn and Horton played there in college while Gansey has to quickly learn the position. Yet, neither of those options seem optimal at this point.

Forcing Dorrell Wright to play point guard is an option, but an unattractive option as well. Let alone getting him playing time in the first place with Pat Riley coaching this team.

The Heat also need more three point shooting accuracy on this team. Kapono is a one dimensional player that wont see floor time until he plays better defense. An idea to trade back for Damon Jones from the Cleveland Cavaliers has been discussed, but nothing serious seems to be cropping up.

The Heat need to improve their three point shooting and they need to acquire a young, veteran point guard that could step in and run the offense should the Heat have another injury at the PG position. They could acquire this player via a trade that has several options starting with Micheal Doleac, but until the Heat do make this move their offseason won't be complete.