The Sports Rotation

Forgive me Miami Heat fans.  It brings me no pleasure or delight to liken the explosiveness of Dwyane Wade's ability to get to the rim (which earned him the nickname "Flash") to the speed at which he will be leaving the Miami Heat organization.  But make no mistake about it. Time is not on the Heat's side and Dwyane Wade will not be with this organization after next year. 

 Forget how your local beat writers or sports talk radio hosts will try to spin the latest controversy surrounding Michael Beasley and his stint in rehab.  They'll try and say that, "this is a good thing for Michael", "this gives him time to clear his head", "he'll grow from this experience"...and on and on we go.  But there are no positives here. And a minimum of 30 days in isolation is a far thing from a cure all.

The last time I checked people (or more to the point, potential future NBA stars) with marijuana issues don't check themselves into rehab.  They just never realize their full talents, flame out, and surprise... have multiple run ins with the law ala Isaiah Rider.  Perhaps they stay unfocused, injury prone, and make youtube idiots of themselves like a blazed up Josh Howard .  Or maybe they just stay overgrown kids with candy cravings like Lamar Odom.  But rehab is for people with serious issues...issues that Wade doesn't have time to deal with. 

That might sound callous, but it's the plain truth.  In case you haven't noticed the Eastern Conference has gotten significantly tougher this year.  With the addition ofRasheed Wallace, the Celtics have added a level of toughness that gives them a two year window into the championships.  The Magic with Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson were already going to be a better team for the next five years even before they added Vince Carter.  Oh, and did I mention there's a certain someone named Lebron Jameswho is fresh off of having an embarrassing dunk cover up to go along with his pouty behavior after an upsetting exit out of the playoffs last year. 

I haven't even mentioned the teams that will get better just being healthy (The Bulls with the addition of Luol Deng and the Wizards with Gilbert "Agent Zero" Arenas, as in zero memorable moments in 3 years) and the teams with better players like the Hawks, who eliminated the Heat last season, and the Raptors.  Add that all up, and that's a mighty big log jam of talent that Dwyane Wade, who has been clamoring for free agent help throughout the off season, will have to leap frog with his second option being Michael Beasley(although B-Weedy has a funny ring to it...fans can be so cruel) and his "issues".   And at age 27, with a ring, an NBA finals MVP, and USA gold medal Olympian, Wade is unlikely to want to try. 

So while D-Wade's nickname might be fitting given his athletic ability, that same moniker just might become prophecy as Dwyane Wade's career in Miami might be over in a Flash.