Count rookie forward Michael Beasley among the Heat players who left Miami on Monday looking forward to sights, sounds and tastes of the team's two-game preseason trip to Paris and London.

''I hear they've got some good pasghetti over there,'' said Beasley, who mispronounced spaghetti. ``I like pasta. So this will be good.''

Instead, forgive Beasley for being a bit off with his geography. Like his team, Beasley is headed abroad in search of some direction as the Heat continues its preparation for the Oct. 29 season opener against New York.

The Heat boarded the team flight for France on Monday looking to build from Sunday night's performance in a 95-91 overtime loss to Detroit in the preseason opener for both teams.

The NBA has been trying to spread its product globally for decades. And teams have been playing exhibitions or early regular-season games abroad on a regular basis since 1988.

The Heat departed with a new coach, two promising rookies, a healthy Dwyane Wade and facing several questions as it embarks on a rebuilding process on the heels of an NBA-worst 15-67 finish last season.

That same team hopes to return in a week as a much more cohesive unit with a better knowledge of both coach Erik Spoelstra's up-tempo system and of each another.

The trip -- the Heat will face the Nets on Thursday in Paris and Sunday in London -- is about more than basketball. It's about bonding for a team that returned just six players who were on the roster at the start of last season's training camp.

DUAL IMPLOSION

Wade saw the Heat essentially implode each of the past two seasons because of injuries, egos and attitude problems that created a need for Pat Riley to change the team's culture.

Now Wade believes the chemistry his new teammates can establish off the court over the next few days is almost as important as the building and refining that takes place on it.

''It's not 50-50, but it's pretty close,'' Wade said. ``Especially when you're like us and have a young team. Everyone is new to the offense and the culture. A lot of that continuity comes through communication and getting a feel for one another.''

The Heat is charting a preseason international course similar to what Boston took last season as part of the NBA's European Live Tour.

It was this time a year ago when Celtics guard Paul Pierce insisted his team laid a championship foundation that ultimately propelled Boston to a title after it posted the worst record in the East the previous season.

Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were acquired last summer and the Celtics quickly came together during an exhibition tour to Italy and Paris.

It was during that trip when Garnett established himself as the vocal and emotional leader of the team. He also purchased suits for Celtics rookies.

''Some of the things we did on that trip, we still do to this day,'' said Celtics second-year forward Glen Davis, who had to eat octopus as part of his rookie initiation in Paris last year. ``It set the foundation in so many ways. There are other ways you can do it. But that way worked for our team.''

Spoelstra welcomes the Heat's trip and extra practice time as an extension of training camp, but he said, that off-the-court bonding often is overstated on these overseas trips.

''At the end of the day, it's about talent and cohesion on the court,'' Spoelstra said. ``I don't know if that necessarily translates to what you do in a foreign country. We do need the extra time to get acquainted.''

The Heat will have plenty of opportunities to do just that. In addition to the two games, Miami has also scheduled four practices. The plan is to squeeze in as much work as possible between the mandatory tours and NBA promotional events on the itinerary.

PLAYING TOURIST

Players will tour the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday after practice. But Monday's departure represented another long overseas trip for Wade, who spent a month in Beijing with the gold-medal winning U.S. team.

Forward Shawn Marion still has memories from the 2006 trip with the Phoenix Suns to Germany and Italy.

''Everyone got to take their family with them, and it was fun,'' Marion said. ``That's what this is about. It was a good cultural experience.''

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