Heat Trade Talks Get a Little More Interesting

As the trade deadline nears the rumors and reports get a little more interesting. With the recent talks about trading away Shawn Marion for an established Center in the league, much speculation has gone around as to whom the Heat should trade for. Most notably, Jermaine O'Neal's name has surfaced in almost all of the trade talks that involve the Miami Heat.

An interesting rumor has recently leaked that Jermaine O'Neal was spotted at Doctor's Hospital in Miami, Florida, a few days prior to the Super Bowl. It seems fitting that Shawn Marion has also been "injured" with a groin injury that has kept him out of action since Jan. 18th. He returned to playing with the Heat on Feb. 2nd as he came off the bench to play 30 minutes. Until then it seemed as though the Heat were sheltering Marion to keep him as healthy as possible. Obviously this fuels the fire to the burning questions that surround this situation: Why is J. O'Neal in South Florida and not in Toronto, Canada? and Why did a groin injury hold Marion out for such a long time?

The talks get even more interesting when Chris Bosh announced that he has no interest in returning to the Toronto Raptors next season, which automatically places him on the trading block. So now the Miami Heat have interest in Bosh and/or O'Neal. Do they get both? Choose one? Or go another route? A Bosh/O'Neal trade to Miami would involve another good player besides Marion. Maybe Haslem gets thrown into the equation along with Mark Blount or Marcus Banks. Pat Riley is probably watering at the mouth right now with all the options he can "sample" from. It seems that Miami is closer to making a deal than ever with they way things have materialized in the past few days. This saga will continue in real-time as Feb. 19th nears and deals begin to be offered.

Will it be the "2nd Coming of O'Neal" or a Wade/Bosh Olympic combo? How about the sleepers like Elton Brand, Marcus Camby, and Brad Miller? It's up to you to imagine and the Miami Heat front office to decide. Grab some popcorn, because it's gonna be a "blockbuster."