" Miami Heat President Pat Riley said Wednesday he could envision Michael Beasley emerging as his team's starting small forward.

"He can play that spot, there's no doubt," Riley said, in a 48-minute season wrap-up session at AmericanAirlines Arena. "There's some power small forwards in this league. I'm a believer in Michael. I think he can play that position."

Beasley spent almost the entire season as a backup power forward, despite being the No. 2 selection in last June's NBA Draft.

Riley compared Beasley to oversized small forwards he had coached, such as James Worthy and Anthony Mason.

"I think Michael has the ability to be one of the best three-fours in the game," he said of muscular small forwards, mentioning the role Ron Artest fills with the Houston Rockets. "He will give you tremendous fire power."

Riley touched on a variety of roster subjects, but it was Beasley who drew the most focus.

He said he initially envisioned Beasley as a full-time starter, but appreciated that the composition of the roster made that difficult for first-year coach Erik Spoelstra, with Udonis Haslem unable to play as a full-time starting center.

"I would probably have envisioned Beas starting all year long," he said. "Erik made the decision. I think what Coach did this year was good in disciplining him in one spot."

Asked if Beasley was off-limits on this summer's trade market, Riley said, "I would think so, in my mind." However, he added, "but you never know what could come from outside."

Such was the non-committal nature of the session.

On other topics:

Riley said he would not rush into a roster overhaul this summer, with the focus on 2010 free agency.

"Cleaning the table for 2010, that's got to be the vision and long-term plan," he said of when his own Dwyane Wade, as well as LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire and Kobe Bryant, among others, can become free agents.

But he acknowledged, "Being patiently impatient is what it's about."

He said the hope remains to sign Wade to an extension before he can opt out on July 1, 2010.

"It's already been broached," he said. "We want Dwyane to be the centerpiece. There's no doubt we feel a need to do that."

He said he respected Spoelstra's performance and had no desire to return to coaching.

"I still love the competition," he said. "I miss it. But I don't need to do that.

"I was proud to sit there and watch him grow."

Riley said he had no issue with second-round pick Mario Chalmers starting all 82 games."