We’re only one round through, but if these playoffs have revealed anything, the Miami Heat are nowhere near contention. And by “nowhere near,” I mean it feels as if the two are playing two completely different sports in two different universes.
Coming off a 43-win campaign, the Heat enter a pivotal summer where important conversations will need to be had. Seismic changes must come, or else their fortune in a wide-open East will remain the same.
But that doesn’t mean they also can’t improve around the margins. One area that they must improve is asset management. Their stubbornness is their own worst enemy, but one way to circumvent their reluctance to sell players for assets is to buy low on others.
One name who could make some sense is Atlanta Hawks’ former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher. Let’s explain why.
Why the Miami Heat taking a flier on Zaccharie Risacher could make some sense:
Getting drafted No. 1 overall comes with incredibly lofty expectations that few ever meet. For Risacher, who was taken with the top overall pick two seasons ago, he’s fallen well below the Mendoza line through two seasons.
The recently-turned 21-year-old endured a sophomore slump after a promising end to his rookie season. In 2025-26, he averaged just 9.6 points and 3.8 rebounds on 45.5 percent shooting and 55.7 percent true shooting. He was omitted from Quin Snyder’s rotation by season’s end, having difficulty getting run in “garbage time,” so to speak.
Though there’s a world where taking a flier on him makes sense for the Heat.
For one, buying low on a player (via trade) is not a trend the Heat have typically followed over the last several years. Davion Mitchell and Terry Rozier were playing some of their best basketball upon getting acquired; Andrew Wiggins was contributing in Golden State; the Heat took advantage of a lackluster asking price from Los Angeles/Utah in the Norman Powell deal.
The closest examples are Victor Oladipo, acquired ahead of the 2020-21 trade deadline, and Simone Fontecchio, a byproduct of last summer’s Duncan Robinson sign-and-trade. Both players were coming off injuries at the time of their deals, where neither rehabilitated their value enough to parlay for superior value later on (Fontecchio’s a free agent now).
In Risacher’s case, he just played poorly.
He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2024-25, averaging 15.4 points and 3.4 rebounds on 52.4/39.3/70.6 shooting splits, including a pair of 36- and 38-point performances over the team’s final 10 games.
Over his two-year career, the lanky 6-foot-8 wing has shown legitimate flashes as a:
- Spot-up 3-point shooter (37.3 percent over first two seasons)
- Play finisher in transition
- Team defender, where he’s posted above-average block percentages and defensive rebounding rates for his position
There are still plenty of things he must improve. His contact balance is poor, largely due to his lack of upper body/core strength; he’s not a good passer, and his ballhandling in the halfcourt remains very shaky.
His fit in this new offense wouldn’t be clear-cut. In a perfect world, if the Heat take a swing on Risacher, they’d need to glue him with a lead guard who can optimize him. That’s where I believe Jakucionis would be the best in-house candidate.
Risacher will be on contract for $13.8 million this year with a $17.4 million team option in 2026-27. He’ll allocate for 8.3 and 10.0 percent of the cap in those two seasons, respectively.
All that said, this is the cheapest he’ll ever be. And he has just enough functional tools to take a flier at an inexpensive cost; I know the Heat wouldn’t, but building some of his value back up and moving in 1-1.5 seasons would make a lot of sense if the organization didn’t want to pay him (he becomes extension eligible after 2026-27).
This year was a completely different story from last. But in this fake scenario, he’d have an opportunity to change the tune with one of the best developmental organizations in the NBA if he bought in.
At the end of the day, it’s all about the cost of said player. But would you take the flier?! Let us know in the comments!
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59 34 wow no more doris burke only good news
celtics loss of kornet might have cost them a chance to win the east.hes pretty decent big
There you go again, pushing whitesides.
hed be an upgrade over slowevic,trading simons for slowevic salary cap issue or not wtf were they thinking.
Sorry, not sorry, as much as you might want to ignore cap issues, the people and teams can’t.
series 1 1 go wolves
gobert playing like crape
bones hyland hunting season
looks like arods got a new honey.
looks like minn happy with split
Doris Burke – the cure for insomnia.
is she the worst rc doesnt shut up.play by play guy excellent
doris burke unlistenable ruins the game
There has to be something better than this. Not everyone makes it. This guy will get one more chance. But, for the Heat, you can only make so many moves, and this one is too low percentage.
Birdies not gonna do that. But nice thought. Crazy but nice. Nice for Heat if it does happen.
paul george having great game
The Sixers are playing a much better game without Embiid. Could it be that the Sixers are actually better without him? Joel moves so slowly he’s gotta be killing his team on defense.
With Embiid they were 3-1 vs BOS. Tonight they are +18 from three vs NYK but -28 in the paint. They need Embiid out there to have any chance in this series imo
not with embids d.think there better w/o him
They were 1-2 vs BOS without Embiid. He comes back in Gm 4, and they go 3-1. What happened to Boston, according to Mazzulla? “Embiid comes back midway in the series and they’re a different team with him playing”
coach talk .joel with his no mobility .i think with barlow bona there a better team.he very rarely passes.old and injured not a great player anymore.
No Embiid tonight and Sixers defense gave up 56 PITP, were -26 in PITP
Sixers without Embiid in Round 1 are not even playing now, would have lost to Boston. Their entire playoff ceiling is determined by his health.
Yes, probably true. Good stats. But, may not be as easy to exploit the Knicks in the middle.
No. They lost because they ran out of the centers.
That’s the other thing. Without Embiid, can Drummond handle extended minutes? Probably going to wear down.
At $13.8m Risacher would be the 5th highest paid on the Heat after Bam, Herro, Wiggins (assuming an opt in), Jovic. And it’s hard to see him getting more playing time on a team with Wiggins, Larsson, Jaquez already at wing. Heat would be better off saving that salary space, they have the ingredients of a good team although it didn’t add up to more than the sum of the parts this year. They aren’t far from contention with a few moves.
agree
Yup. If I had a choice for a project between him and Jovic, I’m taking him
If they take Jovic straight up for him, I would do it. If one of the Heat’s young players (Ware, Jaquez, Larsson or Jakucionis) is requested by Atlanta as part of the deal, I would pass.
Miami has an opportunity to acquire a good front court or wing player in the 2026 draft. Some possible options with the #13 pick are:
Hannes Steinbach PF – Washington (Germany) – HT: 6-11 – WT: 248 – WING: 7-0 3/4 – Fr – A versatile big forward with good athleticism and movement skills. Impacts both ends, is a high level rebounder and a high energy player. Might not be a star but is a rock solid prospect with clear NBA traits.
PLAYER COMP: David Lee, Isaiah Hartenstein+13
Yaxel Lendeborg SF/PF– Michigan – HT: 6-9 – WT: 235 – WING: 7-4 – Sr – Yaxel is a stud who can do a bit of everything on the court. He’s an older prospect but is still fairly young in terms of basketball experience and his rate of improvement has been awesome. He just keeps getting better and better and rounding out his game.
PLAYER COMP: Kyle Kuzma, Obi Toppin+
Chris Cenac Jr. C– Houston – HT: 6-10 – WT: 233 – WING: 7-3 – Fr – A long and agile post player with a nice skill level and really good open court athleticism. Can face-up and take his man off the bounce or drain jumpers. Has great timing as a shot-blocker and can defend in space as well. Shows developing ball-handling and offensive play-making.
PLAYER COMP: Jaren Jackson Jr., Kel’el Ware
Karim Lopez, SF – NZ Breakers, NBL (Mexico) – HT: 6-8 – WT: 215 – WING: NA – Int.07 – A highly skilled forward with great ball skills and good size for a wing. Has broad shoulders and good strength and can hold his own inside and out. The best prospect in the history of Mexican basketball.
PLAYER COMP: Tristan da Silva
Nate Ament SF – Tennessee – HT: 6-10 – WT: 207 – WING: 7-1 – Fr – This might be a bit too low for Ament but the talented guards in this class might bump him out of the top 10. He’s a highly skilled offensive player with a nice outside shot but he has some limitations athletically and doesn’t really pressure the rim. He could be more of a role player at the next level, rather than a star.
PLAYER COMP: Risacher, Austin Croshere, Keith Van Horn
Morez Johnson C – Michigan – HT: 6-9 – WT: 220 – WING: NA – So – A burly rebounding big man with good footwork in the paint. Gives good effort and his very productive on the boards and highly efficient with his scoring. Is starting to stretch the floor and show some upside on the offensive end. Probably won’t be a star in the NBA but seems to have a very clear path to success.
PLAYER COMP: Beef Stew
johnsons one rugged dude.yaxel was little injured during tourn.both would help.not familiar with others
Yaxel played hurt and his team still won the NCAA Championship. He would be my #1 target.
pg was the mvp .that giant was dam good to.yaxel prob 4 th best player in champ game,he was the mvp for big 10 though
Do you think Yaxel will be available? I like him and I like Cenac too. I think Houston makes good players.
One of two should be.
Cenac will almost definitely be there. Most project him 15-20. Johnson likely second round.
Mine too. Not a ss, maybe not even all star, but might be the perfect fit.
Careful, some might be upset if we got a good player like Steinbach. Or possibly even Lopez.
I sadly have to say that’s true. But, I do want everyone to know I don’t like being the advocate for this kind of thinking either. I just want to win more than I want to be morally correct. I wish it wasn’t even an issue. Anyway, I think it won’t happen with this pick.
Best available player. Period!
While I can appreciate the honesty and conviction one may have, my conviction and being honest is to say deliberately passing on a player who may be the best, most skillful player available because he’s white would be shameful and _____. If it makes anyone feel better, I think it would be best for the team if they began next season without Herro, Simone, and Jovic, but certainly not because of their ethnicity! Quality of the player above all else, period! And that’s not meant to be some kind of pc or socially acceptable position.
You’re right. I hadn’t thought about that. I think the Heat already hit their limits on brownsides (1).
the guy is Ben Simmons 2.0, pass
I see him more as a Kyshawn George lite.
how bout a greek for brown trade.tatum brown similar type games .rumors swirling about that
GAF about what celtics do. Chokers. Glad they lost.
2 ss traded for each other.your not a hoops fan also ?
Burnt out looking at other teams ss. Waiting for Heat to get one
Trading max players making 35% of salary cap but one is a MVP, one is an All-Star, different levels. It makes sense for Boston who was last in the NBA in free throw rate and shots at the rim this year. Not sure how it makes sense for Milwaukee as Windhorst reported. How would they build around Brown when they can’t build around Giannis currently, due to lack of draft picks and prospects
I haven’t seen enough of him to make a judgement on him. The positives are size, age, and decent, not great, numbers. But he couldn’t crack the rotation of a struggling team before the Trae trade. Yet, how many people wrote off Wiggins, another player who didn’t live up to his #1 draft position?
He is from wrong continent, but the colour is right.
Trade Niko for him.
Pretty sure the Hawks would decline that offer.
Yes they would. Because of pride. But he is probably even worse then Niko.
thats virtually impossible to be worse than niko.
color trumps country greek wemby joel sga
I agree. Jokic, Dancic, Sabonis, Markkanen, Porzingis, Wagner, Sengun.
jokic luka yes others not same level.
You said color trumps country. I was agreeing. It doesn’t matter what color you are or if you are from Bumf*** Egypt, as long as you can play. Period.
And all those other guys Markkanen, Zinger, et al, are great players too.
Yup.
Amen brother!