This year’s NBA draft didn’t have many potential superstars, such as Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant and, of course, Lebron James. However it did have many players who could serve as future role players in the NBA. There were a record setting number of players who came from overseas. The draft was also very heavy in the point guard position, which was great for the Heat since point guard is their most needed position. 
The Heat had the first pick in the second round and decided to trade up to the 28th pick in the first round. The Heat traded their 2nd round pick with a future 2nd round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for draft rights for Norris Cole plus cash.
Norris Cole spent four seasons playing college basketball for Cleveland State. He is known as a leader, competitor, hard worker, and a tough player. He has impressive speed and agility which makes him a great scorer and play maker. He is a competitive defender and averaged a very impressive 2.2 steals per game in his college career. He also had a great assist to turnover ratio in college with 5.3 assists to 2.7 turnovers. Cole’s downfall is that he is very skinny. He is 6’1” and 175 pounds. In order for him to compete against the best NBA point guards, he will need to gain muscle. It shouldn’t be a problem because the Heat coaching staff will spend the whole year getting him into game shape. Norris Cole will probably spend the upcoming season on the bench, and then become the point guard of the future. The Heat will most likely re-sign Chalmers and then add a point guard from a free agency or from waivers. Cole will probably serve the same role that Dexter Pittman did this past season. Pittman only played two games this past season and spent most of his time conditioning and getting into game shape. Pittman had the opposite problem from Cole, because Pittman was considered overweight and had to lose weight. This year we should expect to see Pittman in the rotation a lot more against the league’s best big men. Cole should continue to work hard so he can pan out to be the point guard of the future. 
In other news, Lithuanian center Zydrunas Ilgauskas exercized his 1.4 million dollar player option with the Heat. It was probably best for the Heat to part ways with Ilgauskas after his first season with the team since he averaged 5.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 15.9 minutes which are all career lows. There is no question that Ilgauskas is no longer in his prime. However, the Heat has a couple of ways that they can deal with this situation. They could make Ilgauskas the 14th man on the roster where he would travel and practice with the team, not just play in the games. He is a veteran with tons of experience which could make him a good mentor in the locker room. He also has a great rapport with the team’s superstar, Lebron James, since they both came here from playing many years in Cleveland. If the Heat suffers with a lot of injuries this season and is forced to put Ilgauskas in the rotation, it may not be that bad. Ilgauskas is old and got run down this season. If he stays rested on the bench, the once or twice he plays might refresh him. Ilgauskas is 7’3” which makes him hard to guard. He could hit a mid range shot which is very hard to stop. If Ilgauskas plays once in a blue moon he may be able to make a lot of shots and use his size to block shots and rebounds. Ilgauskas is no longer an everyday player but hopefully the Heat can fill that hole with other players such as Joel Anthony, Dexter Pittman, Udonis Haslem, and maybe add a player from a free agency. If the Heat’s roster gets much better and they are able to obtain a better 14th man, they could move Ilgauskas to another team for a 2nd round pick, or release him, since they will only have to pay him for a year. Ilgauskas was contemplating retirement but decided against it. Physically he should retire since he is unable to play an 82 game season, but mentally he will make 1.4 million dollars and have a chance to win his first ring. Perhaps he shouldn’t throw in the towel just yet. 
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