Miami Heat 99-00 preseason presser

[logpmess]

Welcome everybody to the Miami Heat 1999 press conference. Like every year this press conference will be broken up into three parts: last season, the offseason, and the upcoming season. When I am finished talking I will open the floor for some questions.

Last season found us in the mix for the Eastern conferences top spot for much of the season. Every single big man that we had got injured (some people twice). We asked some people to step into larger roles than previously, and like always, we relied on our leader Gary Payton. Some people extremely underachieved during the season, while others flourished. I never would have imagined Tony Delk transitioning to shooting guard at the level he competes. We, also, want to commend Adam Keefe for taking a starting role at power forward and suring up that position for us. Ultimately, having got the 5th seed as opposed to the 4th seed in the playoffs may have been our downfall. Jim Jackson needs to learn how to compete at a high level in the post season as he is our second in command.

In the draft, we decided to go big man since we needed some depth at that position. I believe that Todd Macculloch can flourish in this system with some help of our training staff. We had one primary goal this offseason: to lock up Gary Payton for the foreseeable future. A max talent guy deserves a max contract offer. We offered the books and are thankful for his return to south beach. In order to try to attain some depth at our post positions, we decided to not pursue Cliff Robinson, Greg Ostertag, and Tharon Mayes. We wish them both the best as they transition from their primes to the moonlight of their careers. Thank you gentlemen for your effort in a Heat uniform. We brought in two new players at the center position as well as welcoming back Scott Haskin. Scott has been a part of this team since his rookie season when we took him in the second round. Please help me welcome Dino Radja and Matt Fish. The Center position is up for grabs by whoever performs best in practice. Now, lets talk about training camp. We noticed a particular lack of hustle by the man who is supposed to be our center of the future Sharone Wright. He has declined two years in a row and is now one of the worst players on our team. We expected our newly signed Dino to take a hit but not as hard as he did. Even rookie Devean George declined some this year. He is at risk of losing his spot on this roster. Expect some of our players to be given extra trainings before the start of the season.

This upcoming season sees us in a between year. Last year I felt like we had the pieces to contend. This year I feel that training camp may have taken us out of contention. Our starting lineup will look as follows:

C- TBD
PF - Adam Keefe
SF - Jim Jackson
SG - Tony Delk
PG - Gary Payton

At the PG position, we have the man himself Gary Payton. Look for a mix of Alvin Williams and the wily veteran John Stockton to back him up. Shooting guard gives us another year to look at the development of the young Tony Delk. Spelling him will be a combination of Alvin Williams and Devean George. Our diamond in the rough Jim Jackson is going to be our starting small forward, with Pat Garrity playing the position when Jackson needs a rest. Our power forward is our work horse Adam Keefe. He provides us with all of the dirt work: defense, rebounding, and passion. His backup will be determined by the remaining players on our roster. The center position and the backups for it will be determined through the preseason.

At this point I would like to open up the floor to any questions.

[Xist2Inspire]

This is probably a premature question, but you mentioned that your weakness at center may have taken you out of the title hunt. If that does indeed prove to be the case, what will your plan of action be, with two superstars heading out of their primes, one who is also an expiring?

[logpmess]

This is probably a premature question, but you mentioned that your weakness at center may have taken you out of the title hunt. If that does indeed prove to be the case, what will your plan of action be, with two superstars heading out of their primes, one who is also an expiring?

Next year we have a lot of talent coming off of the books in Jim Jackson, Tony Delk, and Adam Keefe. We had hoped that Dino Radja, although a little higher in age, could have been an inside force to push us over the edge. That plan did not come to fruition up to this point. For now I ask all of my players to go out there every night and hustle. We would like to keep those players with us past just this year. We are hoping for Jackson and Keefe to possibly consider in season negotiations with us. And Tony is heating RFA, so we will either have him back or be getting something in return for him.

[coltsguy510]

Do you see yourself ever trading Jim Jackson to build a more "complete team"? Or do you plan to stick with the same core you've had since drafting Jackson?

[logpmess]

Do you see yourself ever trading Jim Jackson to build a more "complete team"? Or do you plan to stick with the same core you've had since drafting Jackson?

I had Jackson on the trade block last year, but nobody came with a suitable offer. If given a quality offer, I could see anybody moving. I drafted Jackson, developed him, and would like to see him finish his career here, but no one person is above the good of the team. That being said, if he is to be traded then this is probably the year it happens. So send your offers if you like. Just makes sure it is going to wow me.

[NickMalone77]

Nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: was there ever a thought that you would possibly lose Gary Payton or were you confident that he would resign?

[logpmess]

Nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: was there ever a thought that you would possibly lose Gary Payton or were you confident that he would resign?

I was confident in what I was going to offer him. I was definitely worried, because I have built everything around him being our point guard. If we had lost him, then we would have been in a really bad place.