Miami Heat may need to recruit aggressively next season due to potential retirements: NBA news
The Miami Heat could be forced into looking across the league for some free-agents in the off-season, if they are unable to win the Championship this term, since they could lose some players to retirement.
While the Big Three of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are responsible for a majority of the ball possession and the bulk of the scoring for the Heat, several others have been pivotal in helping Miami grab second spot in the Eastern Conference.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas – Starting Centre
Ilgauskas hasn’t had such a great season for the Heat, putting up an average of five points and four rebounds in almost 16 minutes per game, but his presence on the floor for the Heat is important nonetheless.
Ilguaskas said in an interview, “I think [I've] played enough. I don’t want to sit on the bench and do nothing. I’m tired of long trips and the tough schedule. I’m not a 20 year old and my health is not that good, therefore I think that after this season
it will be a good time to retire from the NBA.”
Big Z has been plagued by foot injuries throughout his career. After a stellar rookie season, Ilguaskas ran into some bad luck when he broke a bone in his right foot. The meant he had to sit out a huge chunk of the next two seasons for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In January 2000, he underwent an experimental surgery on the navicular bone in his foot. His left foot was broken, reshaped and held in place by inserting three screws. Much to the delight of the 7ft 3in Ilgauskas, it worked.
Already pushing 35 years, Big Z hasn’t been in the best of health lately either. Add to that the fact that he has been playing for the last decade with three screws in his left foot, and the gravity of what he has been doing for so long comes into perspective.
He missed seven games in March due to a strep infection in his foot which could have turned dangerous when it started moving up to his leg. It swelled his foot up to twice its size, and understandably Ilgauskas was scared.
He said, "I can deal with broken bones but when something from inside attacks you, I've never had that before."
Juwan Howard – Backup Forward
Juwan Howard, a 17-year league veteran, is the fourth oldest player still playing in the NBA at 38 years of age. Although not as skilled a power forward as Amare Stoudemire or Tim Duncan, Howard is more than capable of handling things at his position.
He is one of the toughest defenders in the league and brings with him a plethora of experience. Howard has played 29 career playoff games, and has been averaging three points and two rebounds in 10 minutes of play off the bench for the Heat this season.
Juwan Howard was part of the Michigan Wolverines’ Fab Five team that featured Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, as they made consecutive appearances at the NCAA Title game in the 90’s.
Since joining the league, Juwan has featured in eight different squads and played in the playoffs for four different teams. He has played a total of 1,173 games during his career, averaging 13.7 points and 6.3 rebounds.
An important back-up man for Miami, Juwan is expected to retire after the season is over. Depending on how far the Heat can make it in the playoffs, he might be tempted to stick around for another season, but the possibility is pretty slim.
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