The Miami Heat played in the 2020 NBA Finals as recently as October. Jimmy Butler looked like a player that could get you back there built around Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson, and Tyler Herro, Miami looked like they might be able to hang around and battle deep in the East playoffs for years to come and I am not saying that can’t happen, but believe me there is not the big free agent available this summer that they were dreaming about. The Heat are known for Heat Culture and it became very prominent last season. However, things quickly changed and now Miami was just swept by one of the teams they beat last year in their run to the finals, the Milwaukee Bucks. What went wrong and what can the Heat do next to get back to where they want to be next season?
The Miami Heat had their heart set on signing Giannis Antetokounmpo when he hit free agency this summer, except that will never happen because Antetokounmpo signed a 5-year super-max contract extension in December. Miami signed guys to 1-year contracts, Goran Dragic, Andre Iguodala, and Avery Bradley (who was traded in March), all signed 2-year deals that Miami could get out of because they all have team options attached to them. They lost Jae Crowder, who started at the 4 for them in their finals run, to free agency because they would not go above the 1-year deal and he signed a 3-year deal with the Suns. They lost Kelly Olynyk at the trade deadline when they sent him and Bradley to Houston for Victor Oladipo (more on him later). They replaced the two players with Trevor Ariza (after the Moe Harkless experiment failed) and Dewayne Dedmom, who spent the first 3 months of the season unsigned. Ariza and Dedmon played well, but Ariza is not the same player he once was and is not nearly as valuable as Crowder, and Dedmon is not as good as Olynyk. Not only did they lose guys, but the guys on the team who were on the 2020 finals team took a step back.
Tyler Herro scored 37 points in game 4 of the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics. He did not hit that mark in 2021, with his game high being 34 points in January. Herro struggled all season and was terrible in the playoffs. His minutes dropped, his points per game dropped, his assists and rebounds dropped, and his shooting percentages dropped. He only averaged 9.3 points per game in the series against Milwaukee shooting just 31% down from the 43% last year. He shot 31% from 3, down from 37%, and his 9.3 points per game were down from 16.0 last postseason. Herro struggled and Miami paid for it. Butler was also abysmal, shooting just 29% for the series, including 8/32 in the first 2 games combined. The Heat were dominated by the Bucks in every way, and the Victor Oladipo disaster does not help. Oladipo played just 4 games for Miami after he was acquired from the Rockets. He needed season-ending surgery on his right quadriceps tendon. He will be a free agent and Miami has a big decision to make. Do you resign him or let him walk? A resigning would likely be a 1-year deal so are you willing to try and do the 1-year deal thing again? I am not sure. Iggy, Dragic, and Ariza are getting up in age and they need to pay youngsters Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn so that does not make much sense. Let’s look into some options that Miami can look into.
Miami’s first hole is point guard, Goran Dragic has an option, Kendrick Nunn is a restricted free agent, and Oladipo is unrestricted. There are a couple of ways Miami could go. First, Chris Paul has a player option but assume if he were to opt-out he would re-sign with the Suns. Mike Conley is a free agent but it is expected that he re-signs with the Jazz. Miami could pursue the likes of Spencer Dinwidde or Lonzo Ball but would you rather have those guys or a duo of Nunn/Dragic? Maybe you could go with Nunn/Dinwidde which would be really good but there are other options as well. I like Kyle Lowry. He has proven throughout his career he can make big shots and is a guy that can give Miami a whole different dimension with the star duo of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, the problem is he is 35-years-old. Miami could also use a guy who can play minutes where Bam sits. Dedmon has played well and they also have rookie big man Precious Achiuwa so they coils decide they want to trust that. They could also look into adding a more reliable option like JaVale McGee or Bismack Biyombo.
What is the future in Miami? The free agent class is very dry besides Kawhi Leonard who seems to be committed to his home in Los Angeles. So yes, Miami can improve their roster in free agency but guys like Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and Bam Adebayo need to take the next step if they want to get back to the Finals. The East is re-loading up, Brooklyn will be back next year, Milwaukee and Philadelphia are not going anywhere, and Boston, New York, and Atlanta look like they will be in the thick of the Eastern Conference next season. They will compete but I am not sure Miami will return to the place they just were 7 months ago.
Comments