Let's see if this song and dance sounds familiar.

A big-name player on the wrong side of his prime becomes available. The Heat, a team that seems to get thrown into every possible rumor, again is considered a possibility because, well, there's a big name available and the Heat has tradable contracts. Fans get into the mix and become enamored with the idea of acquiring the player, which leads to wild ideas that would sound fantastic if this were a fantasy league and not the NBA.

It has happened so often with the Heat, and apparently we're dancing again, this time the player being Tracy McGrady.

He wants out of Houston, and the Rockets want the same, so here come the ideas of sending Jermaine O'Neal to Houston for McGrady, giving Dwyane Wade the superstar teammate he wants, even if it's only for a trial period.

MANY NEGATIVES

This one is difficult to support -- and it has less to do with what McGrady can or can't offer and more to do with the Heat's intentions.

Let's play along for a second and assume it's as easy as sending O'Neal to the Rockets (with a young player such as Daequan Cook possibly thrown in to entice Houston) for McGrady.

What becomes of the Heat? It doesn't change the fact that next offseason, the Heat plans on stripping the team bare and using all the salary-cap space to pursue an even bigger name to team with Wade.

So in the short term, it does this to Miami:

It makes the team smaller, which it can't afford to do if it has any desire to compete with an Atlanta, Boston or Cleveland. Joel Anthony, bless his heart, isn't nearly enough to make up for the size and 57 percent shooting of O'Neal. Anthony, a defensive sparkplug, had his chance to prove his worth as a starter last season. But the Heat needed an upgrade, so it traded for, that's right, O'Neal. Going the opposite direction turns this team into the same team it was before it sent Shawn Marion to Toronto for O'Neal.

What difference does that make, you ask, when the Heat is essentially locked into the No. 5 seed and already is looking toward the future?

The difference is it fails to prepare the Heat for its future. That future includes a productive, assertive Michael Beasley.

Bringing in a guard who's at his best when he's shooting 25 or more times doesn't help Beasley's development. Taking away the only true inside presence the Heat has doesn't help Beasley's development.

This season isn't only about biding time for next season, and that's because of Beasley. Ever since Pat Riley decided to wait until next summer to make a big move, it meant Beasley was part of this team for the long run. And McGrady doesn't make Beasley better. Yao Ming played better without McGrady. So why stall Beasley's development for the sake of another big name?

There are arguments for the acquisition, but they're relatively weak.

This could be a way to preview what life would be like with Wade and LeBron James playing together. But McGrady never was James -- not when he's a career 44 percent shooter who averages fewer than five assists a game. And he's certainly not that now. For that matter, you don't even know how long he's going to be able to play, never mind at what level.

ATTENDANCE BOOST

This could be a way to get those embarrassing curtains raised from the arena's upper level because as much as McGrady is an enormous question mark, he's still popular enough to stand just behind second-place Steve Nash in the voting for Western Conference All-Star guards.

But that's not usually how Heat owner Micky Arison operates. Even if he convinces himself that this season should be about nothing more than salvaging every dollar he can, forcing Riley's hand on personnel moves isn't what he does. Besides, if all goes right this offseason, there won't be a ticket available for at least the next half decade, more than making up for one disappointing year in sales.

Maybe this season isn't part of the Heat's big picture. McGrady still doesn't even make the current picture any clearer. It doesn't make any more sense than Allen Iverson did. It doesn't make this team any better than Marion did.

Clamoring for the big name is a tired act. Let's cut this one short.