23-year old Robert Dozier was the last player picked in the NBA Draft. The 23-year old Dozier is a banger who plays good on the defensive end of the court. He played in 148 games in four seasons at Memphis where he averaged 9.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Dozier will back up Udonis Haslem if he makes the roster.

UPDATE: Robert Dozier has signed with Greek team Colossus Rhodes. The Heat will keep his rights for a little while but it looks like he won’t be playing for them any time soon.

The Heat acquired this pick from the Lakers and they didn’t think they could pass up Beverly. The 20-year old Beverly will have the cool job of backing up D-Wade. Beverly played two seasons at Arkansas covering 70 games in which he averaged 13.0 minutes, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Beverly then played professionally last season in the Ukraine where he played in 46 games and averaged 16.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Beverly showed last season that he could handle the rigors of professional basketball so he will be on the fast track to getting playing time.

UPDATE: Beverly has signed a 1-year deal to play for Olympiakos of Greece meaning that both of the Heat’s draft picks will be playing overseas this season.

The Heat have signed 23 year old point guard Shaun Livingston to a 2-year contract. The 6’7″, 182 pound Livingston did not play last season as he was recovering from a devastating knee injury that he suffered two years ago while a member of the Clippers. Livingston has played in 145 games (60 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 27.2 minutes, 7.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. If healthy, Livingston has by far the most potential of any of the point guards on the Heat’s roster right now and this was a excellent gamble by them.

The Heat have signed 29-year old Jamaal Magloire to a 1-year contract. Magloire only played in 31 games (2 starts) last season for the Nets and Mavericks. In those 31 games, Magloire averaged 9.2 minutes, 1.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. The Heat hope that Magloire has something left in the tank as they would like him to give them 15-20 solid minutes per night. Magloire has played in 537 games (301 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 24.2 minutes, 8.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. This was a solid signing for the Heat as Magloire has been a All-Star in the not too distant past.

The Heat have released Bobby Jones. They figured they didn’t need him around after hiring Yakhouba Diawara recently. Jones should be able to find a new job soon as he is a capable NBA bench player.

The Miami Heat seem to be collecting bench players and Diawara adds defense and hustle to the backup unit. Diawara played in 54 games (14 starts) last season for the Nuggets and he averaged 10.0 minutes, 2.8 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Diawara will likely get most of his minutes backing up Shawn Marion at small forward in 2008-09. Diawara has now played in 118 games (33 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 14.6 minutes, 3.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. The Heat should not give Diawara the ball much on offense as he thinks he’s a good shooter but he’s not as he has only shot 36.4% from the floor in his career.

The Miami Heat have claimed small forward Bobby Jones off waivers from the Knicks. Bobby Jones is a small forward who played for five teams last season (Grizzlies, Heat, Rockets, Nuggets and Spurs). Jones played in 47 games (2 starts) for his five teams last season and he averaged 11.3 minutes, 3.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Jones has now played in 91 games (7 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 3.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. This was a nice low risk move as Jones could give the Heat some good minutes off the bench.

The Miami Heat have signed G/F James Jones to a 5-year, $22 million dollar contract. Jones is 6’8″, 220 pounds and he’s only 27 years old so his best years could still be ahead of him. Jones played in 58 games (3 starts) with the Trailblazers last season and he averaged 22.0 minutes, 8.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He also shot 44.4% from three point range which was a huge weakness for the Heat last season. Jones has now played in 290 games (58 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 19.9 minutes, 7.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. This was a good signing for the Heat as Jones will be an assassin off the bench for them.

The Heat have decided to waive forward Alexander Johnson. Johnson played in 43 games (6 starts) with the Heat last season and he averaged 12.8 minutes, 4.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. The Heat won’t miss Johnson much as they have other young players who have moved past him on the depth chart.

The Heat have traded center Shaquille O’Neal to the Phoenix Suns for power forward Shawn Marion and point guard Marcus Banks. O’Neal appeared to be slowing down this season and he has gotten into some disputes with Head Coach Pat Riley this season, so the Heat appear happy with this deal. O’Neal played in 32 games (32 starts) this season for the Heat and he averaged 28.5 minutes, 14.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game.

Shawn Marion is a 29-year old who will likely start at small forward for the Heat. Marion played in 47 games (all starts) this season for the Suns and he was averaging 36.4 minutes, 15.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Marion has now played in 660 games (647 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 37.8 minutes, 18.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Marion also can become a free agent at the end of the season which will leave the Heat with at least $15 million bucks to spend in free agency next season.

Marcus Banks wasn’t used much in Phoenix but he should get a lot more playing time in Miami. Banks played in 24 games (1 start) this season for the Suns and he averaged 12.9 minutes, 5.2 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Banks has now played in 289 games (35 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 16.7 minutes, 6.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

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