The Open J: Trade Udonis Haslem

Look it is nothing personal. I love Udonis Haslem - his hustle, his grit, even his cornrows. You can keep the Gator history though (sorry, I'm a Nole). But right now, the way the market is and with the Heat trying to retool towards another championship, the time is nigh and every option needs to be explored.

Udonis Haslem is a valuable asset that is not irreplaceable. That means trade him.

It was nice for Udonis to come out in the papers yesterday and talk about how much he wants to stay in Miami and finish out his career, and also that he understands that this is a business. We would all like to keep you, if it wasn't for this darned lousy offense we have.

Udonis Haslem has a three year deal that will see him get paid 6M, 6.5M and 7.1M over that span. It's a solid deal that most teams would like to have on their rosters and he is only 27 years old. He can rebound, play defense both in the post and out on the wing, and can stick both the midrange jumper and his free throws. And he's a champion.

Irreplaceable? No.

Right now there are options on the open market that could fill in - Alexander Johnson, Melvin Ely and even Lawrence Roberts. Neither one of those options would create a hole, and even could upgrade the offense from the 4 position. Haslem is limited into a complementary role despite Riley's best efforts to try and free up Udonis - according to Riley, at least.

More pressing needs at the guard and small forward positions require the Heat to account for those needs as they are a higher priority. With limited salary options due to the cap and luxury tax cap, the Heat are faced with making a trade or two to fill those needs. Of all the assets on this roster, Udonis Haslem makes a lot of sense to deal because the market has similar talent available and at a fraction of the cost. Not to mention that dealing Jason Williams doesn't make sense because it would create a hole at PG and create more of a problem for Miami's goal of retooling the roster.

You never want to deal out of desperation.

Also, the Heat have options on the current roster that could fill-in for Haslem: Wayne Simien, Earl Barron and Antoine Walker. Sure Walker is streaky, but he can man the PF if you decided not to sign anyone and he could create matchup problems - however, he is best suited to coming off the bench. Wayne Simien has a similar skill set to Udonis, but is bigger (6'9"), longer (wingspan 7') and has better offensive moves - he just has to stay healthy. Then there is also Earl Barron, who has plenty of offense but questions remain whether or not he would be a good defender - for a center. Move him to PF and it could click as he would be able to guard PFs more easily as well as take them outside with his midrange game and outside shot.

The free agent market has options and the Heat have options on their current roster that they could use to replace Udonis Haslem. He is not irreplaceable and the Heat have more pressing needs elsewhere. Unfortunately, if the Heat are going to win again, they are going to have to be willing to surrender everything, even their own heart.