Tag: MiamiHeat

Miami Heat had a forgettable and quite frankly disappointing offseason. Momentum was not continued from a season that ended being one game away from the NBA Finals. The Heat only managed to resign Dedmon, Haslem, Oladipo (in a great deal) and give Herro a 4 year $130 extension while losing PJ Tucker and Markieff Morris. A summer where so many big names were available such as; Donovan Mitchell, Kevin Durant, John Wall, Collin Sexton, Malik Monk and so many more names the Heat struck empty on them all.

Some may look at the situation as if big changes were not needed to the roster seeing that they were only one game away from NBA Finals that even included some injuries for the Miami Heat. In a summer when almost every team in the eastern conference managed to improve their roster, the Heat only managed to lose PJ tucker and Markieff Morris while not replacing either set the team back quite a bit. Heat even had some questionable priorities when resigning Dwayne Dedmon during a time that much more productive players in his position signed for similar or even cheaper contracts. It’s understood by real basketball fans the importance of having Udonis Haslem apart of this team, however, Miami Heat going all out to recruit in earlier in free agency instead of putting that time and effort into bringing in new faces was something that made many people feel like Miami Heat felt like they are closer to being champions than they actually are. Not to overlook the good thing(s), Miami Heat was able to bring Oladipo back on two year deal worth $18 million.

After not getting any new additions during free agency the Heat made a decision that they might go on to regret sooner than later. Miami offered Tyler Herro an 4 year $130 extension to the reigning 6th man of the year. Does Tyler Herro deserve this contract? Absolutely! Miami just should not have been the team to give it to him if they have championship aspirations. Miami is in tough spot at this point, paying all three of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Lowry leaves them paying a combined $96 million next season and that is on top of having Duncan Robinson’s contract that has him earning nearly $17 million. If the truth is not being sugar coated, Miami Heat cannot afford to pay Duncan Robinson, Lowry and Herro that much and expect to be the last team standing. Do not get it wrong, those are three very good players and can contribute to a championship team but the amount of liabilities you have with those three on the court at the same time is too big of a burden for the Heat to overcome, and if you are not playing one of those players at the end or at all then you essentially wasted your money. Lowry still has flashes of being the allstar point guard that helped the Raptors secure their first franchise championship, however, his durability is unpredictable and quite frankly his consistency while on the court has not been up to par. Again, Kyle Lowry is a great player but as a point guard it does not seem like he elevates Bam’s game enough. A big factor is because he is not a huge threat in a pick & roll set as the ball handler and the P&R is where Bam thrives. In no way are Duncan, Kyle and Herro the players solely to blame for the Heat not being championship caliber.

Bam Adebayo is one of the more skilled players in the league, this is a 6’9 center/forward that occasionally brings the ball down for the Miami Heat and has the skillset to play either roles in a pick and roll set. Bam has increased his scoring average every year since coming into the league, however, his mentality on offense is not where the Heat needs it to be. Bam needs to consistently look to be an offensive force for the Miami Heat because an aggressive Bam is when the Heat are most dangerous. The Heat need a way to get Bam in the PF position more. He’s exerting too much energy on these bigger players defensively and does not have enough to be a consistent reliable offensive player on these bigger players. But in order to do this, Bam has to find a consistent jumper to maintain spacing for Jimmy Butler and teammates. In a perfect world Miami Heat would acquire Myles Turner, Richaun Holmes, Drummond, or Jakob Poeltl to start along center of Bam. However, If the Miami Heat are not willing to trade for a big then NBA free agents have some big time names available that could be essential role players for many teams. However, one thing Miami Heat does better than any team in the league is scouting and developing players they decide to roll the dice. With that being said, 6’11 rookie Nikola Jovic and 7’0 2nd year player Omer Yurtseven are two extremely talented bigs that have both shown the mobility, skill and mindset to find spot on the Miami Heat. In recent years the Heat’s achilles heel was their lack of size alongside occasional scoring problems.

Dejounte Murray, Collin Sexton, Monte Morris, John Wall, are a few guard names that were available this summer that Miami did not land but could really have benefited from acquiring. Between Lowry, Herro and Robinson the Miami Heat can truly afford to only keep one or two of their contracts if they want to add the missing pieces to win that championship they have been so close to in recent years. Miami Heat seem to pride themselves on being a loyal franchise and bringing back returning faces to figure it out together and get over the hump. However, I do not believe that is a reasonable option here. Miami Heat’s championship window is still open and if they truly want to bring a championship to South Beach, it is time for them for some big roster moves & for Bam to take the next step.

Below is a realistic list 50 players the Miami Heat should target via trade or consider bringing in from FA to address their size, scoring and/or star power issues.

* Miami Heat should keep an eye out for Jamal Murray, Kyrie Irving, Zach Lavine or Siakam becoming available