I watched Dwyane Wade run roughshod over international competition just a few weeks ago. He said it loud and proud to everyone in the world: "I'm 100%" The Miami Heat are hoping a healthy Dwyane Wade can help what might be a pretty talented team back from the ugly, 15-win abyss of a year ago.
With guys like Shawn Marion, Mario Chalmers, and Michael Beasley… the Heat might have the talent they need to challenge for a playoff spot. Except Chalmers was tossed out of a rookie symposium (and fined $20k) for some sort of weed/girls/hotel room mess. And now there are questions about Michael Beasley… who is reportedly going to fire his agent because he doesn't like the endorsements he's getting.
Beasley wanted bigger and better endorsement deals than Bell delivered him, sources said. Those may have been unrealistic expectations given Beasley’s poor public image, but that was apparently part of Beasley’s thinking in letting Bell go. For now, the bigger shock to those in the basketball community is this: Malone is out, too.
It's hard for people close to Beasley to tell him this… and harder for him to see… but here's the truth: Kevin Durant had a lot more buzz coming out last year… so trying to compare yourself to him by saying "I'm a #2 pick… so I should get what he gets" is just flat not going to cut it. Endorsements are about buzz… and as far as the big companies are concerned… you're nothing special. Top it off with you not even being the most marketable guy on your team… and you're simply going to have to wait your turn.
The concern for Miami is that people were already whispering about this kid…. and this ain't helping. Rookies are supposed to come in wide-eyed and focused… and Beasley isn't doing that. If I were the Heat… I'd be looking for ways to ground this kid and fast… or else his huge ego is going end up hurting him on the court. And that's going to cost the Heat in the long run… especially when D-Wade starts to shop himself around.
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