Heat's offseason moves give Beasley, Wright ticket to thrive

Things are going so well in Miami that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have resorted to blasphemously calling themselves The Heatles (we'll let you decide if LeBron is Lennon and Wade is McCartney, or vice versa).

But this much, we know: There's a pretty good fight over who's got dibs on Pete Best.

Like the poor drummer who missed out on The Beatles' fun and fortune, ex-Heat players Dorell Wright and Michael Beasley were cast aside to make room for a budding Goliath, a team of stars rising up the charts. The difference is Wright and Beasley are actually making the most of their second lives, and while nobody in Miami misses them now, might the Heat eventually regret this at some point on the long and winding road?

Wright and Beasley -- in Golden State and Minnesota, respectively -- are in the running for the Most Improved Player Award, their reward for blossoming in their new homes after underachieving in Miami. They were cut loose mainly to clear salary cap space, although not totally; long story short, Pat Riley wanted Mike Miller and had to make a decision. That makes it even more important for Miller to find his stroke again after missing two months with a broken thumb. He needs to ease some of the scoring burden from James and Wade.

Wright is getting big minutes (42 per night in his last five games) and producing in his first taste in a major role. He's finding a way to score on a team with Monta Ellis and Steph Curry and developing into a dangerous shooter from distance. The NBA's leader in 3-pointers made (87), he is comfortable on the perimeter and is second only to Manu Ginobili in 3-point attempts (212). He's scored 32, 30 and 28 points in recent games and is looking comfortable taking big shots for the Warriors. Scoring 16.2 points a game, he's already doubling his best season with Miami (7.9 ppg in 2007-08).