History of the Miami Heat
[2] The Miami group was led by NBA Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham and former sports agent Lewis Schaffel, who received their financial backing from Carnival Cruise Lines founder Ted Arison, who became majority owner.
Among the players on the inaugural roster were first-round picks Rony Seikaly and Kevin Edwards, fellow rookies Grant Long and Sylvester Gray,[11] as well as NBA vets Rory Sparrow, Jon Sundvold, Pat Cummings, Scott Hastings, Dwayne "Pearl" Washington and Billy Thompson.
[31] With the help of rookie Smith, Rony Seikaly, and a more experienced Glen Rice, the Heat finished in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a 38–44 record,[32] including a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers 148–80,[33] and made the playoffs for the first time in their history.
[37] The 1992–93 NBA season included the additions of draft choice Harold Miner of the University of Southern California,[38] as well as trading a 1st round pick for Detroit Pistons forward/center John Salley.
Determined to bring a championship to Miami, Riley dropped a bombshell two nights before the season began, sending Glen Rice, Matt Geiger and four other players to the Hornets in exchange for All-Star center Alonzo Mourning.
With only eight players available on the roster, the Heat hustled to get their ninth teammate, in order to accommodate league rules; had Tony Smith not arrived in time for the team, Riley would have literally "signed someone off the street".
In the summer of 1996, the Miami Heat continued revamping their roster, trading Tyrone Corbin, Terrence Rencher, Tony Smith, Gatling, Williams and Chapman.
After losing out to the Orlando Magic to get Toronto Raptors swingman Tracy McGrady, Miami decided to trade Brown and Mashburn to the Charlotte Hornets (among others) in exchange for Eddie Jones, Anthony Mason and Ricky Davis.
Riley missed the playoffs for the first time in his coaching career, and much of the remaining core from the division-title winning Heat teams of the late 1990s departed (Tim Hardaway, Bruce Bowen and Dan Majerle).
Miami rounded out its 2001–02 season roster with players well past their prime such as Rod Strickland, Chris Gatling, Jim Jackson, LaPhonso Ellis and Kendall Gill along with Mourning, Jones, Grant and Carter, whom the Heat signed to a controversial three-year deal that many said was far too much for the young guard.
They acquired superstar center Shaquille O'Neal on July 14, 2004, in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant.
Miami also signed former All-Star guard Gary Payton, former UCLA star Jason Kapono and first-round pick and NCAA All American Wayne Simien.
Critics were quick to debate whether a reformed Heat team would have chemistry issues, were too old (O'Neal, Mourning and Payton were all in their mid-thirties), or had too many underachievers (Walker had a reputation of miserable shot selection; Williams, one of turnover-prone playmaking).
[citation needed] After an 11–10 start, with O'Neal already hurt, these critics seemed to have been proven right, ultimately in leading to Van Gundy stepping down from his coaching position.
However, those five losses came to the defending champion San Antonio Spurs twice, the Phoenix Suns twice and the Dallas Mavericks once by a 36-point blowout, raising doubts over whether or not they could compete against the top teams.
The months of February and March were very successful for the Heat, including a stretch of 15 wins in 16 games, which began with a comeback victory over the perennial Eastern Conference powerhouse Detroit Pistons.
However, Dallas would be put to rest after Wade captured the rebound, fittingly ending the game by tossing the ball in the air after a missed three-point shot attempt by Jason Terry.
Coach Riley took an indefinite leave, Wade briefly injured his right wrist, while James Posey and Walker were delisted after failing a body mass exam.
It was announced on March 10, 2008, that Heat guard Dwyane Wade would be inactive for the rest of the season to help him rehabilitate his ailing knee and shoulder that he had re-aggravated, in hopes of playing in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
In early July, the free agent period began and with limited cap space the Heat signed local James Jones as the team's three-point specialist.
On January 5, 2010, the Heat traded Chris Quinn to the New Jersey Nets for a 2012 second draft pick which allowed the team to sign recently released guard Rafer Alston.
On July 9, the Heat completed sign-and-trade deals, sending a total of four future first-round and two second-round picks to the Raptors for Bosh and to the Cavs for James (signing 6 years and $110.1 million contracts each).
[59][60] Howard Beck of The New York Times described the national fan reaction to the party: "Everyone saw something: greatness, arrogance, self-indulgence, boldness, cowardice, pride, friendship, collusion, joy, cynicism, heroes, mercenaries.
Fueled by a late-season steamroll, the Heat finished with a 58–24 record, third best in team history putting them up to the second seed, behind the top-seeded, 62-win Bulls, led by MVP Derrick Rose.
The following night, the Heat went to Amway Center to play the Magic as it marked the second consecutive game without shooting guard Dwyane Wade due to a sore right knee; they chalked up their 27th in a row.
With 5 seconds left in regulation, Ray Allen hit a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime where Chris Bosh made a game-saving block on Danny Green's 3-point shot attempt, the Heat defeated the Spurs 103–100.
In Game 6, despite taking a 9–2 lead early in the first quarter, the Pacers were subsequently blown out for the rest of the way; Miami would reach the Finals for the fourth straight year, joining the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers as only the third franchise to achieve such a feat.
The Heat also signed free-agents Luol Deng from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Danny Granger from the Los Angeles Clippers and Josh McRoberts from the then Charlotte Bobcats.
Whiteside was removed from the starting lineup in favor of Amare Stoudemire to add spark for the Heat bench alongside Richardson, fellow rookie Justice Winslow, and Gerald Green.
After failing to sign Kevin Durant (who joined the Golden State Warriors), the focus shifted to the seemingly boiling relationship issues and disagreements between Dwyane Wade and Heat president Pat Riley, mostly over contract negotiations.
