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Miami Heat: Ranking The Top 5 Acquisitions In Franchise History

By James D. Tillman III

Dallas, UNITED STATES: Miami Heat head coach Pat Riley (C) holds the Larry O'Brian trophy with Dwyane Wade (L) and Shaquille O'Neal (R) after winning the NBA finals against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas 20 June 2006. The Heat won 95-92 to take the best-of-seven series 4-2. AFP PHOTO/Jeff HAYNES (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images)
Dallas, UNITED STATES: Miami Heat head coach Pat Riley (C) holds the Larry O'Brian trophy with Dwyane Wade (L) and Shaquille O'Neal (R) after winning the NBA finals against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas 20 June 2006. The Heat won 95-92 to take the best-of-seven series 4-2. AFP PHOTO/Jeff HAYNES (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, UNITED STATES: Tim Hardaway of the Miami Heat sits on the bench 09 May, 2000 during the 4th quarter against the New York Knicks in game two of the Eastern Conference semifinals at American Airlines Arena in Miami. The Knicks defeated the Heat 82-76 to even the best-of seven series at 1-1. ELECTRONIC IMAGE AFP PHOTO RHONA WISE (Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images)
MIAMI, UNITED STATES: Tim Hardaway of the Miami Heat sits on the bench 09 May, 2000 during the 4th quarter against the New York Knicks in game two of the Eastern Conference semifinals at American Airlines Arena in Miami. The Knicks defeated the Heat 82-76 to even the best-of seven series at 1-1. ELECTRONIC IMAGE AFP PHOTO RHONA WISE (Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images) /

4. Tim Hardaway

The Heat acquired Tim Hardaway prior to the trade deadline in February 1996.

This could have been a gamble being that Hardaway wasn’t the same flashy player he was during his early years with the Golden State Warriors, due to an ACL injury that forced him to miss the entire 1993-94 campaign.

But after watching his team lose 26 of 29 games, Riley knew that a change was needed.

From the ChicagoTribune.com

"With those results . . . you’ve got to make some decisions,” Riley said. “We are not going to give up on the season. I don’t know how much this is going to disrupt us. We are going to have to simplify things. “Today obviously was a day that I felt was coming all along if we had the opportunity to improve the position of this team. It was a very difficult day for me personally.”"

Riley’s pain would be alleviated by the fact that Hardaway put up some pretty respectable numbers during his stint with the Heat.

Over a six-and-a-half year stretch, Hardaway averaged 17.3 points and 7.8 assists per contest. Along with that, Hardaway converted 35 percent of his attempts from distance; is still the team’s all-time leader with 806 three-pointers and he earned two All-Star selections as well.

Next: No. 3

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