Heat Have to Market Their Frustrations

He sat there bouncing a ball behind his knees while answering questions. The image seems almost like an uncomfortable child fielding tough questions, keeping himself vulnerable while at the same time distracted to assert some sort of control. The lifestyle of an NBA athlete, especially a high profile one that jumped into the spotlight, must be tough. The temptations are too great for anyone to overcome and naturally, some of those temptations are coming to bear on Dwyane Wade and his home life.

Admittedly, he has had some problems with his childhood sweetheart, but the tough times off the court seem to be navigable. Those are private matters, of course, and how much that has affected his public life, his role on an NBA team, are being openly examined.

After all, how much did Shaq's divorce affect his life on the court? Did it affect his ability to stay out of foul trouble? To rebound? To hustle? Or was it because the Heat had no jump shooting presence to call off the dogs and keep Shaq from getting crowded?

As usual, the private matters are redundant - yet they become a part of the vital story Miami has to tell to its public in order to sell itself not only for this season, but for next season. Because the private intrigue is the sizzle that makes the players more human, and less like failures in a chemistry process that is the 2007-2008 season.

The picture that will emerge will be one of frustration and near-misses, not bad roster moves and apathetic attitudes.

The reason why is because Miami is vying for the top pick in this year's NBA draft. To do so, some suspect that they will have to engage in a hard core marketing campaign to the NBA - not just to its fans. They will have to sell everyone on the fact that the Heat did not quit, but instead had to scrap the season that was not going anywhere.

That is the reason for all the injuries. Legit or not, it is a murky situation. If you call out a player for not being injured, you risk equally as much as you do playing him in a season spiraling out of control. Yet in playing them, you risk finishing with a decent enough record to land low in the lottery instead of high up where you want to be: you land in no man's land.

The Heat have the difficult task of straddling a losing while trying to get to a point where they can rebuild the team into a champion. A losing season because they did make bad roster moves and, combined with an apathetic attitude, suffered from the effects. Not a bad season because of off the court troubles.

So as much as Miami tries to sell its case to its fans and the NBA, we all need to be mindful of what actions are being taken to ultimately rebuild this franchise. The makeover officially began when Shaq was shipped off for Marcus Banks and Shawn Marion. Despite his methods, or whether or not you agree with them, Riley does have the ability to rebuild this team into a winner and he also, and more importantly, has the desire to do so. Yet, he may view a smaller role for himself in it all, choosing to hang up his clip board for good - now that he is in the hall of fame.

Another aid could be the saga with the Seattle Supersonics and their attempt to move from Seattle to Oklahoma City. Giving them the #1 pick in this offseason, with their attempt to escape from Seattle for a less NBA-friendly city of Oklahoma City, might prove to be too tantalizing for the NBA and their doubters. Perhaps Miami, with the other franchises in the running, emerge as the best candidate to utilize the top pick to rebuilding the team and never coming back into the lottery for a long time. The Grizzlies, the Timberwolves, the Sonics, all seem to be hovering at the bottom these days.

So as much as Miami has to sell its frustration to its fans, it needs to also make sure the NBA execs get the same message. Is Wade shutting it down to play for Miami next season or to play in this summer's Olympics? What about Udonis Haslem? Shawn Marion? Is this team really as snake-bitten as it seems?

Or is it all just a mirage?