Since Dwyane Wade hasn't been able to do anything relevant to the game of basketball for many months, he and the Heat figure he might as well act the part of the figurehead. Wade will represent the Miami Heat at the NBA Lottery next Tuesday, May 20th, during the televised announcement of the results on ESPN.

The Heat have 250 of the 1,000 viable 4-number combinations available in the official drawing, which is held two and a half hours before the televised announcement, making them the frontrunner for the #1 spot. It's important for Miami's season ticket drive that Wade maintains an active, positive role as the face of the franchise. This provides him an opportunity to show that he is committed to the future of the Heat, as he welcomes the probable opportunity to draft one of the two top players available in the draft, either one of which would help the Heat tremendously next season. Wade is currently recovering from (another) knee injury in Chicago, but feels he should be healthy enough to martyr himself play in the Olympic games this summer.

If the Heat manage to walk out with what is statistically probable for them, it could be the start of a new era in Miami. If the Heat somehow manage to fall out of the top two picks? It's not going to be good for that whole "Dwyane Wade is NOT cursed" sentiment.

Contrary to widespread internet rumors, it would appear, based on what Dwyane Wade said at halftime of the Detroit-Philadelphia game on Thrusday, that he and Star Jones are just "friends". Of course, that was his halftime stance after getting ragged by Charles Barkley (DE-WA-YANE WADE!) and Kenny Smith for dating a "cougar". Here are two videos, one of the pregame non-denial of the relationship ...

Lost in the recent crush of stories about players partying (or not partying), coaches getting fired (or not fired), and legends having some serious skeletons in their closets (sorry Mailman, but there's no alternative scenario to bail you out here) was an interesting sidenote about new Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.

As it turns out, Spoelstra isn't just the youngest coach in the NBA right now, but he's also apparently the first Asian-American to crack the head-coaching ranks in any of the three major sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB). Wikipedia lists Spoelstra's mother as Filipino, and in a Sun-Sentinel story by Ira Winderman, the 39-year-old wunderkind refers to himself as "Dutch-Irish-Filipino."

The "first Asian-American pro coach" story angle was enthusiastically reported by the blog Rice Daddies, and their sense of pride is understandable. Prior to ex-Heat coach Pat Riley naming Spoelstra as his replacement, the only Asian-American of note in the NBA was former Heat guard Rex Walters ('93-'00), who is half-Japanese.

Asian-Americans could previously take a small sense of pride in Chinese imports like Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian succeeding in the NBA, but a big man making a pro roster just isn't the same as a skill player or a coach making it in the L. Like swine scrounging for truffles, NBA teams have historically been adept at sniffing out 7-footers from overseas (Uwe Blab and Frederic Weis come to mind). But the deck is at least slightly stacked against an outsider trying to make it as a point guard (just ask Tony Parker) or a coach, which is why, even though he's from the U.S., Spoelstra's hiring is a small breakthrough for Asian-American sports fans.

A crush of rumors about the future of the Toronto point guard position has been months in the making, first spurred by Jose Calderon's masterful work during T.J. Ford's unfortunate injury absence, then stoked by Ford's (quiet) bristling at coming off the bench behind Calderon. Some Bryan Colangelo comments captured by the Toronto Sun's Frank Zicarelli offer the strongest evidence Ford will be on the market this summer.

Colangelo understands and applauds Ford's desire to be No. 1, but at the same time Colangelo is going to do what's best for the Raptors. "At the end of the day it's how can he and Jose co-exist,'' Colangelo said. "If, in fact, that's a possibility."

Colangelo then added some very telling words. "It's a very safe assumption that Jose will be back in a Raptor uniform."

Calderon's a restricted free agent, and (unless Shawn Marion or Elton Brand opt out) no team will head into July with both cap space and a pressing need at point guard. If that's the case, the only thing that would stop the Raptors from keeping Calderon is Calderon demanding too much money (something that, for some reason, seems unlikely).

Ford's the guy to go, and plenty of towns would invite the upgrade ... for the right price. Injury concerns related to his tricky spine will never disappear; still, he's a fantastic point guard -- one of the fastest guys in the league and an always improving shooter, distributor and passing-lane disruptor. The Knicks, Heat, Clippers (depending on Shaun Livingston), and Kings (depending on Beno Udrih) make sense, on first glance. (Whether Colangelo chases Mike D'Antoni could affect this whole scenario, as well.)

An AP report confirms what we've all been hearing and suspecting for the last month, Pat Riley is stepping down as coach of the Miami Heat today, with a 4PM press conference scheduled at Heat HQ. Riley is expected to remain as President of the struggling basketball organization. This is the second time Riley has stepped down from the coaching position, this time following a questionable assertion of power from Stan Van Gundy in 2005.

Riley coached the Heat to the 2005-2006 NBA Championship, but just two years later, the Heat were the league's worst team, with an .183 winning percentage that marked Riley's career worst as well. Riley spent extensive time during the season away from the team during games, scouting players in the NCAA tournament. Riley's capability as a management professional is unquestionable, having built successful teams from the ground up in New York and Miami, but his coaching style seems to have come under fire in recent years. Of particular interest was his decision to keep pushing a clearly injured Dwyane Wade during a lost season, subjecting the former Finals MVP to further wear and tear.

The report also states that assistant coach Erik Spoelstra will take over the head coaching duties for the time being, but with big names in the head coaching market like Larry Brown, you have to wonder if the Heat will consider bringing in someone else. Brown is particularly interesting to examine because the roster in Miami (legitimate superstar, seasoned veteran squad) seems to fit Brown's talents and preferences more than the brutally young and developing Bobcats franchise which he's being considered for.

It'll be interesting to see what Riley does now that a personnel rebuild is the focus of his job, and whether he can keep off the sidelines this time.

The Media Takeout may have most accurately described my feelings on this rumor, simply by adding five question marks to the title they used while attempting to drop this little nugget-bomb of gossipy good(?)ness. Because, according to the site, Dwyane Wade and Star Jones, both newly single, may be dating.

This is the wackiest couple ever. MediaTakeOut.com is hearing (from COMPLETELY RELIABLE sources) that Star Jones is now dating NBA's Dwayne Wade.

According to a person affiliated with the Miami Heat organization, Star Jones has been picking up Dwayne after most of their recent home games. The insider told MediaTakeOut.com, "[Dwayne's] teammates are even joking around with him about it. They say he has to watch his back - cause Al's gonna get him."

Star Jones recently separated from her husband Al Reynolds. Similarly Dwayne and his wife Siobhan have been separated for close to a year.

So, yeah, these two kids are more than welcome to do whatever they want. But that doesn't mean D-Wade should be doing this. Seriously, this would be the second most ridiculous move Flash has made in his life, right behind putting the "y" before the "a". And not to dog Star here, but D, you're Dwyane Freaking Wade. You can have whatever you want. Please go get it.

The Sonics decided to win out (two-game win streak! woo!), while Memphis and the Knicks stoked the Derby fire with nothin' but losses to finish out the year. All the developments of the past few days have been tallied, and here's your Ping Pong Derby: Final Report.



Miami ends up with a 25% shot at Pick #1, and a 64% probability of getting a Top 3 pick. They cannot fall further than 4th. Seattle's got a 20% chance at #1, and a 56% probability of sticking in the Top 3.

The two ties make things ... interesting. The league will flip a coin in each case later this week. The result will have no real bearing on the lottery proceedings on May 20 -- Minnesota and Memphis, for example, will split the balls available for the #3 and #4 teams. If it's an odd number, the coin flip winner will take the extra one. But the coin flip does have serious import with regards to draft order. A Minnesota coin flip win means Minnesota picks ahead of Memphis, unless Memphis vaults into the Top 3 by way of lottery win. It also means the lowest Minnesota could pick would be #6, while Memphis could fall as low as #7.

The same goes for New York and the Clippers. Last season, there was a three-way tie between New York, Charlotte, and Sacramento for #8. The coin flip results ended with Charlotte picking #8, New York giving Chicago its #9 pick, and Sacramento picking #10. That's a pretty big difference. The gulf between #3 and #4 (or #5 and #6) doesn't seem to be as large, but if some prospect comes out and wows everyone next month, this coin flip could end being huge.

Previously on FanHouse:
Ping Pong Derby Update: The Knicks Falter
Miami Wins Ping Pong Derby
Miami Takes Lead in Ping Pong Derby

It's not a terribly huge surprise that the NBA will be welcoming it's next big thing, lock job first round pick Derrick Rose, who has already stated he will "test the waters" (read: figure out what agent is going to offer me the best deal) and now, according to Darren Rovell vis a vis sources within Memphis, Rose is going to name his agent today, making him "our" (NBA junkies) property.

No, instead, Derrick Rose -- who took his Memphis Tigers all the way to the National Championship Game and could be the No. 1 overall pick -- is going to pick Arn Tellem of the Wasserman Media Group to represent him in the NBA Draft in June.

Tellem, who is already representing the Lopez brothers from Stanford as well as Anthony Randolph from LSU, didn't return a call seeking comment.

This was a shock because Derrick Rose was so connected to William Wesley, who had steered clients towards Leon Rose, agent of LeBron James and Allen Iverson.

All of this is important for two reasons. First, Rose is not going to be playing in college anymore (duuuuh). Second, as Rovell points out, if he is picked first overall, he will get a three year deal worth 15 million dollars. Since that's some fairly serious cheddar -- and so is the supposed 1.5 million/10% for the agent -- you have to wonder if that will be the full amount coming Tellem's way.

Obviously, Rose had his choice of agents to pick from, and Tellem, as noted, already has a few clients that could make him some money in June. Which means that there's a pretty decent chance that he offered up to take seven percent or something like, or guaranteed a bigger shoe deal from Reebok/Adidas perhaps. Or, maybe Leon made the same assumption -- that Derrick would sign with him because of the Wesley connection -- and refused to budge off of his initial offer, only to see it backfire on him. Pat Riley could not be reached for comment on which agent he preferred; apparently there was a big Lil' Ballers championship game at the greater Tampa area YMCA.

As we head into the final four days of the regular season, all the proverbial marbles are at stake for the six teams battling at the bottom of the standings. Your updated Ping Pong Derby scoreboard:



Minnesota wrested sole possession of third place from Memphis, sending the Grizz careening toward the Knicks and ... the insurgent Clippers! The Knicks, of course, could be in the 4th slot and battling for #3 (and its 50% shot for a top-3 pick). Instead, we might see the Knicks end up with only the sixth worst record in the league. Bummer.

We should note that last year's #4, 5 and 6 teams in the derby ended up with the top 3 picks ... in reverse order. (#6 Portland got #1 overall, #5 Seattle earned the second pick, and #4 Atlanta got the third pick.) Of course, the Grizz, Knicks, and Clips would be counting on lightning striking in the same spot twice.

Previously on FanHouse:
Miami Wins Ping Pong Derby
Miami Takes Lead in Ping Pong Derby

The Rotation is a weekly study on the NBA by one of our All-Star voices. In rotation this week is Brett Edwards.

The Draft Lottery is a convoluted system put in place so that the teams finishing with the worst records in the league don't automatically receive the top picks in the draft (see: the madness of the 2007 lottery). But the lottery is still weighted according to record, meaning it's still to a team's benefit to tank their remaining games once a playoff spot is out of the question. Bad, bad, and more bad.

Take the Miami Heat, for example -- the way they have treated the end of the regular season has been an absolute embarrassment. After compiling the league's worst record and trading away Shaquille O'Neal, the team only played Dwyane Wade 11 more times before shutting him down for the season. More recently, they have also shelved Shawn Marion, whose injuries would probably not have been season-ending if the Heat were still in contention for the playoffs.

Combine all of this with the fact that the team is gleefully auditioning players from the D-League while their head coach skips out to catch some NCAA Tournament action, and one can only come to this very obvious conclusion: the Heat have long ago stopped trying to compete.

And you know what? I can't blame them, because it's not their fault. They're simply working within a system that rewards teams with no playoff aspirations for losing as many games as possible. The system that the NBA uses to hand out draft picks is broken, people. Continue reading for some interesting ways that it can be fixed.