It has been a relatively quiet free agency period so far for the Heat, who agreed to re-sign Davion Mitchell on Saturday and worked out a sign-and-trade deal sending Duncan Robinson to Detroit, but haven’t made any veteran roster additions outside of Simone Fontecchio, who will be sent to Miami in that trade with the Pistons.
According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, Miami are content to “let our young guys show what they can do” this fall, with a full training camp together. As Jackson explains, the Heat believe they can’t accurately judge the current group based on last season’s results due to the Jimmy Butler chaos, changing roles, and Andrew Wiggins‘ health issues, among other factors.
The team also believes that its young prospects – Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez, Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson, and Kasparas Jakucionis – all have a chance to be “really good players,” with some of them set to take on increased roles this season, Jackson writes.
The Heat are remaining open to taking a bigger swing if a star hits the trade market, but would only be aggressive if a player in his prime is available, Jackson continues. That’s why Miami wasn’t willing to go all-in for Kevin Durant, with multiple sources telling the Herald that the team never thought it was close to landing the 36-year-old forward.
Whether or not the Heat have the assets to beat out rival suitors if an in-his-prime star such as Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the trade block is a fair question, Jackson notes.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Miami haven’t considered the idea of trading Bam Adebayo and/or Tyler Herro in order to launch a rebuild, a source with knowledge of the situation tells the Herald. The Heat believe that tanking fails more often than it works and doesn’t plan to rethink that philosophy, according to Jackson.
- The Heat also aren’t weighing the idea of waiving and stretching the final year of Terry Rozier‘s contract, which will pay him $26.6MM this season, Jackson says. Unlike Milwaukee with Damian Lillard, Miami doesn’t need the immediate cap savings, so the plan is to either trade Rozier at some point or simply keep him for next season, Jackson adds.
- Although the Heat are entertaining inquiries on Wiggins, there’s no urgency to move him, according to Jackson, who says the club acquired him from Golden State in February because it likes his game, not to use his contract in a subsequent deal. The Heat view him as a player who can complement Adebayo and Herro.
- The Heat officially signed undrafted rookie Vladislav Goldin to a two-way contract on Wednesday. Our story on the deal can be found here.
Heat can’t run it back and think they can compete…I’m just glad I’m not a Miami fan..
They can compete, especially in this weaker East.
Contending for the upper half of the East is a different thing altogether.
They need to get more size/scoring by the deadline.
Need to trade Wiggins. Have always been a Wiggins supporter. But his heart is not in this anymore. Needs to go back home to light his fire. Heat get Ingram. Make it work however. Toronto is where Wiggins will wake up. He can help lead them back to contention. The guy hasn’t wanted to play since he won his ring. I see Toronto as only place he wakes up again.
Heat can wake up Ingram.
I am a Wiggins fan, and have to disagree. He doesn’t need to go home, he needed a change of scenery because the entire time he was a warrior his dad was going through a terminal illness. Wiggins is a great player, just not the franchise star he was drafted as. He could absolutely thrive in Miami.
That said, if he still doesn’t look engaged and intensely locked in, it might be that he was playing to win before his dad died, which he did, and now he has nothing to play for. He’s already generationally wealthy.
The Heat keeps “Holding Out For A Herro”
Hopefully, they will find a way to
SANDWICH other players around him !!
Sigh. Same jokes years later.
Would Indiana potentially consider trading Siakam, at this point?
Don’t waive and stretch Mia , bad idea , nothing to buy currently can be a nice expiring salary at the deadline if needed to punch up or simply expire off the books
I hate the stretch , see the merits in it when getting a Turner /Gianni’s play but you don’t do it unless you absolutely have too ; Mia doesn’t here
The Heat have gone from a premier franchise to a ship without a rudder. Wild to watch Pat Riley wither away upstairs like a grumpy old fool.