Are You a True Heat Fan or Bandwagon?

The Heat are in a slump right now. So let me ask you a question: Are you a True Heat fan right now or has jumped off the bandwagon? Look, if you're a True Heat fan you should be cheering for your team (Good or Bad), watch or attend 60-70% of the game, or simply smack your buddy in the head and say "I LOVE MY HEAT!!!" If you're 1 out of the 3 then you are a bandwagon. If you are 2 out of 3 then you are a real fan. But if you are all 3, then you are a "TRUE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THEM" Heat Fan!

Wade Not Saying He's Staying or Leaving Yet

With a disastrous season and currently own the worst record in the East, Wade is not saying any words of departure after 2 years. He never said anything about staying or leaving either. So that leaves a question mark for all Heat Fans. Read this section from Sun-Sentinal:

"I signed a three-year deal and I'm not worried about anything until my contract comes back around," he said. "So right now, my only objective is to make the Heat as good and as competitive as it can be. And when the time comes for us to renegotiate, we'll renegotiate."

he's only saying that he's not worried until his contract is over but whether or not he's staying or leaving it all depends on the Miami Heat's results on how well this team is after 2 years. Let's look at another scenerio. Lebron sign a similar 3 year contract and the Cavs are a subpar team right at .500. The Cavs also did a bad job to strengthen the team this off-season. Now, if you ask the same question to Lebron, I'm pretty sure he will say the same thing as Wade. In the end, they all want a maximum contract deal before their prime and I believe Wade will most likely stay in Miami and get his maximum contract deal; whether the Heat's going to be good or bad.

Heat Players Giving Up On Riley?

Are the Heat players tired of Riley? Maybe...if you watch the way they are playing now. If one backup player admitted that they don't want to hear him already, maybe he should step down now and find another coach. If players start losing faith in a coach, you know they don't play as hard.

Reported by Miami Herald.

Pat Riley said he doesn't believe Heat players have stopped listening to him, though one backup player admitted, ''There are times you don't want to hear him.'' Udonis Haslem agreed with Dwyane Wade that some players (not them) might not know all the defensive schemes. If true, that's unacceptable, but Riley said he doesn't think that's true.

Pat Riley Likely Won't Return

Looks like Pat Riley is thinking about stepping down after this season. With the team struggling & in desperate roster change, Pat Riley said he will instead focus on his role as a team president. Here's the Report by Ira Winderman | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

MINNEAPOLIS - After committing in the offseason to coaching the Heat through 2009-2010, Pat Riley is leaning toward stepping aside after this season.

With his team struggling and in need of a significant roster overhaul, Riley said it might be in the franchise's best interest if he focuses solely on his role as team president.

"But that's after this season," Riley stressed, as he looked ahead to Tuesday night's game against the Timberwolves at Target Center. "That's not now."

Riley, 62, said he was torn by the commitment he made to owner Micky Arison to hold the dual roles over the remaining two-plus seasons on his Heat contract.

"Sometimes, just with me, I feel like now, more than ever, I might be butting heads with both jobs," he said. "And I've revisited that over and over again."

Several NBA coaches have final say on personnel decisions, ranging from the success of San Antonio's Gregg Popovich to the failure of New York's Isiah Thomas.

But Riley said he now sees why the majority of teams divide the responsibilities.

"I was much better, I believe, just as a president," he said, "because I wasn't having to deal with the personalities."

Just over a year ago, Riley left the team for six weeks to undergo knee surgery and a hip replacement, with assistant Ron Rothstein guiding the team back into playoff contention.

Riley insisted there would be no such break this season, but backed off considerably from the statement he issued on Aug. 18, when he said, "I'm going to coach another three years, the terms of my contract. … I don't want to be a one-and-done guy every year. I have three years left on my contract and I will coach those out."

At the time, Riley thought the Heat would return to title contention. Instead, it has sunk to the bottom of the league, in part because of front-office decisions that have stripped the team of much of its 3-point shooting, defensive grit and quality depth.

"As a coach," he said, "there's a real personal attachment that I have had with players that is not as objective on the other side."

Given the opportunity by Monday's deadline to clear the Heat of two non-guaranteed contracts, Riley retained forward Alexander Johnson and center Joel Anthony, leaving his roster at the league-limit of 15 and denying the team the opportunity to try out prospects on 10-day contracts.

"I grow very close to guys, young guys that might not be performing for me, because I've always been that way," he said. "That's how I sort of related to guys as coach."

Riley has spoken of selecting his successor from his staff, with Erik Spoelstra, 37, considered the front-runner among the current assistants. Riley also is particularly close to longtime coach Mike Fratello, the former Heat television analyst who has been out of the league since being dismissed last season by Memphis.

Riley's anticipated enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame would be in September, a ceremony that could provide closure to a coaching career that produced four championships with the Showtime Lakers in the '80s and a 2006 title for the Heat.

"I think this has to be addressed," he said of a full-time return to the front office. "It has to be addressed by me in an honest, objective way."

Wade Wants Out of Miami in 2 Years?

Today's interview with Stephen A Smith said Wade will be out of Miami if the Heat is still playing as bad as this year's season. He said people that knows him well all believe that he will move back to his hometown Chicago.

Here's the audio clip

I personally believe he will leave too if the Miami Heat don't improve next year and the year after. But of course these are only speculations. The Heat CANNOT afford to lose Wade...