Today's look at the Southeast Division..
- Heat president Pat Riley and owner Micky Arison have a great deal to do with the future of the Big Three, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Arison has to be willing to spend an astronomical amount of money to keep all three in place because of the luxury tax and Riley, who turns 69 in March, may not want to keep his job in Miami forever.
- In today's mailbag, a reader asks Winderman if offseason acquisition Michael Beasley is engaged in Heat practices. If the low-risk signing fails, Winderman says that it won't be because of a lack of effort as Beasley is working hard to get himself ready for the upcoming season. What could hurt him, however, is making the transition to being a complementary player which will call for a greater emphasis on passing.
- After signing a two-year, $4MM deal with the Wizards this summer, Eric Maynor's goal is to be a steady complement to John Wall, writes Michael Lee from the Washington Post. Washington was sloppy on offense last season and the addition of Maynor, who has a career 2.81-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, should help to straighten out the offense.
- Rookie Victor Oladipo is ready to help the Magic turn things around, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
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