The X-Factor, and the Conspiracy

Editor's Disclaimer - The quotes in this story are true and are not taken out of context, except for those by Pat Riley.

"He's the X-factor, no doubt. Dorell is a young guy with potential," Heat GM Randy Pfund said about the Heat's first round draft choice, 18-year-old Dorell Wright. OK, fine. We'd like to think that anyone drafted in the first round is a young guy with potential(Or a young woman. Someday, my friends). That doesn't really tell us much. So who else can we ask? I know - how about his agent?

"I think Wright's going to make an impact this season, quicker than people think," said Wright's agent, Calvin Andrews. "He's going to help the Heat this year."

That's certainly a lot of enthusiasm surrounding Dorell. But just how likely is that? I decided to check it out.

The Sun-Sentinel had Wright listed this morning as 6-7, and a "reed-thin" 193 pounds. So I figured if that you looked for players drafted out of high school, between 6-6 and 6-8, 183 and 203 pounds, and within 5 picks of Wright's #19 slot, you could get some kind of range of performances for which Wright should fall between. Right? Sure, except for one thing. There is a conspiracy going on about Dorell, and it involves his weight. That's right, Wright's weight.

I started checking for similar players at the ESPN website, and then I noticed that they had Dorell listed at 210 pounds. Well, there must be some mistake, I thought. How can there be a 17-pound difference in weights? Somebody must be wrong. So I went to NBA.com, and they also had Wright listed at 210 pounds. OK, it must be the Sun-Sentinel's mistake, right? Well, I don't know, because I then went to nbadraft.net, the best of draft websites, and guess what they had Wright at on draft day? 190 pounds!

So now we have a discrepancy of over 10% in Wright's body weight. How can this be? I mean, the Heat have invested millions of dollars in this kid, and nobody even bothered to weigh him? That can't be right.

Then, a cold feeling blew over me. It rattled my bones and shook me where I stood. What if, what if,...all of those weights are ...TRUE?!

What if nbadraft.net weighed Dorell during the season, the Heat weighed him a day before the draft, and ESPN got their number from the NBA this last week? That would mean that Wright has gained 20 pounds in exactly one month! How is that possible? Well, I shouldn't say that, I know how it's possible. But there doesn't seem to be anything in Dorell's past to suggest that he's going to the International House Of Pancakes at 2 in the morning, every morning (Do they call it French Toast in France?). And what does that say about his prospects for this coming season? At his current rate of weight gain, on Opening Night Dorell could weigh 270 pounds!

Gravely concerned, I immediately sought out Heat President Pat Riley. Here's how the conversation went between us.

Me: "Pat, Dorell seems to be moving far away from his playing weight, do you have any concerns about that?"

Riley: "I don't think he's as far away as people think."

Me: But he seems to have gained 20 pounds in one month! How can he get up and down the floor like that? Isn't this going to make his transition to the NBA difficult?

Riley: "He's smooth. He glides. The game is easy for him."

Me: "So you have no concerns about his sudden weight gain at all?"

Riley: "We're sort of enamored by that right now."


If Pat's fine with it, I guess I can live with it. Maybe they'll have Wright in a fat farm before camp opens. But if you should see Dorell anywhere, help the Heat to their first NBA title, and tell him to put down that donut.