First, understand this.
The plan remains in place. The fact that the Miami Heat stood pat amid a flurry of deals elsewhere around the league to beat Thursday's NBA trade deadline means that Pat Riley is back to his original plan.
While the net roster gain shows that the Heat didn't accomplish anything, despite being involved in several proposals, there was apparent progress on the home front. It appears that Miami owner Micky Arison and his team president met in the middle.
Micky's faith in Michael Beasley and insistence that he not be placed on the trading block might have nixed any chance the Heat had to land Amare Stoudemire from Phoenix. But it clearly shows, at the very least, that there remains two trains of thought within the franchise.
There's a side that believes in Beasley's ultimate potential and wants to see the second-year forward blossom here and reward the franchise for all of the misery it had to go through during that 15-67 campaign to draft him with the second overall pick in 2008.
And then there's the side that likes Beasley, but sees his ups and downs on a daily basis behind the scenes and still wonders if he might ever truly get it. It's also the side that would have pushed to deal Beasley in a heartbeat had this been Chris Bosh or even Joe Johnson on the block instead of Amare.
It's not too difficult to correctly guess where the Heat's top two executives fall on these stances. It was Micky who told me last week in Dallas that the Heat had never made Beasley available and wouldn't make him available as long as he's viewed as a core part of the future moving forward.
Having said that, Arison also mentioned that he had been out of the country the previous three weeks. In that time, it's not only possible that Riley slipped Beasley's name into a few offers to test the waters, it's likely he did so. At the end of the day, that's Riley's job. But also at the end of the day, "We took (Beasley) off the board," Riley said Thursday of removing Beasley from trade proposals.
And this is not to suggest that Pat Riley and Micky Arison aren't ultimately on the same page when it comes to matters such as these. They are. There respect and love these men have for one another is clearly visible. It simply underscores the fact that Michael Beasley is a polarizing figure. Just go ask any two Heat fans, Heat teammates, Heat opponents. It's not just Heat executives. There are those who are enamored by Beasley's potential and only see what he "could" become in this league, which is a very special talent and perennial All-Star.
And then, there are those who realize that "potential" essentially means all of the things someone hasn't done yet. And Riley knows more than anyone that Beasley reaching his potential might not coincide with the ultimate urgency of Dwyane Wade being in his prime.
The bottom line on the Heat's lack of movement at the trade deadline is this: Miami had a foul to give. It was limited in what it could offer, and frankly tried to sucker a few teams into a deal. It didn't work. Now, the Heat is back to its original plan of making a major play in free agency.
Nothing gained. Nothing lost. No problem with that.
And at the end of the day Thursday, Arison and Riley probably both got what they wanted. Beasley sticks around to continue his rapid development, especially of late. And Riley got the clearance to proceed with the roster without having to dump a Dorell Wright or Daequan Cook just to get under the luxury tax.
Just all part of a day's work at the NBA's trade deadline.
The Heat didn't lose out on anyone this week it can't make a better run at this summer.
(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)
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