The last time Pat Riley was in a situation like the one he faces now - trying to put together a championship team relatively quickly - he did it largely in one summer, 2005, when he orchestrated a five-team, 13-player deal and acquired Jason Williams, Antoine Walker and James Posey.

Look for Riley to display similar savvy in this rebuild.

But look past this off-season. Riley might make his biggest move at the mid-February trade deadline, a period just as crucial in the rebuilding process as free agency.

That is why Heat fans shouldn't obsess on the summer. The 2008 draft picks and free-agent signees should be checkpoints in a process that Riley wants completed in two years.

The Heat is blessed with numerous chips and assets - the terms NBA execs use to dispassionately describe players - that could appreciate in value during the season and before the trade deadline.

(They also could depreciate, but aside from injury problems, that is unlikely.)

You know the names the Heat could use to fetch title talent: Shawn Marion. Udonis Haslem. Dorell Wright. Marcus Banks. Daequan Cook. Everybody except Dwyane Wade.

The big picture for Miami should be going into training camp in 2009, about 18 months from now, with a team just a tweak or two away from winning the title.

That's possible with the talent that could be available at the trade deadline.

Elton Brand and Corey Maggette of the Los Angeles Clippers could have expiring contracts going into next season and therefore be trade-deadline bargains.

The same could be true for Sacramento forward Ron Artest and Washington guard Gilbert Arenas. And New Orleans guard Jannero Pargo, Philadelphia guard Andre Miller and swingman Andre Iguodala, Portland sharpshooter James Jones, and Toronto guard Carlos Delfino, to name a few.

You get the idea. There could be a player to fit any need - big-timer, role player, three-point shooter, etc. The fortune-turning bargains are always there at the trade deadline. Just ask the Los Angeles Lakers. They acquired All-Star center Pau Gasol from Memphis because the Grizzlies wanted to dump his salary.

Done deal, the Lakers said. They shipped Memphis a semi-absurd package that included disappointing center Kwame Brown, rookie guard Javaris Crittenton, two first-round picks and cash.

The payoff has been huge. Gasol has fit in flawlessly. The Lakers finished with the best record in the Western Conference. And Kobe Bryant is happy. For now.

The point is, the Heat's retooling will go beyond what Riley is able to fetch this summer with a first-round pick (no worse than No. 4 overall), the estimated $6 million mid-level salary-cap exception and the $2 million veterans exception.

The Heat has enough bargaining power to make a mid-season deal that sets the stage for a title run in 2009-10, a mere two seasons from now.

 

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