29-year old Quentin Richardson was traded four times over the off season before finding a home in Miami. He will likely be the starting small forward for the Heat this season. He played in 72 games for the Knicks last season and he averaged 26.3 minutes, 10.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He has the potential to score much more than he does but he will likely be the #4 option on offense for the Heat this season. 29-year old James Jones will back up Richardson at small forward. He played in 40 games for the Heat last year and he averaged 15.8 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Jones will likely put up better numbers this season for the Heat. 27-year old Yakhouba Diawara will be #3 in line for minutes at small forward. He played in 63 games for the Heat last season and he averaged 13.5 minutes, 3.4 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Diawara might see his playing time drop some this season as he only shot 35% from the floor last year. 25-year old Shavlik Randolph is trying the make the Heat. He only played in 10 games for the Trailblazers last season and he averaged 3.7 minutes, 1.8 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Randolph is a decent player when healthy but that’s the catch as he is very injury prone. Second year forward Michael Beasley could also get some minutes here but he is likely to start at power forward this season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: C-