The Miami Heat were hoping to embrace a LeBron James reunion this summer to form a new trio alongside him, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Instead, James burned his former 2010-2014 franchise by choosing to build an even bigger super team with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The story book ending was right there for the taking for James— the history of returning to the organization he became a champion, basketball fit and living in the city of Miami again all seemed too good to be true. And that’s because it was.
At the age of 41, James remains arguably a top-15 or 20 player in the league. However, his defense has tallied off quite a bit in recent years. He would’ve had that defensive support all around him had he gone to the Heat. Not to mention, the team’s need for additional playmaking would have allowed James to be a primary ball handler and focal point of the offense.
But all of that pitching doesn’t matter any more. Instead, what matters is taking down James and his new Sixers squad this upcoming season— and Heat captain Bam Adebayo is ready to embrace the competition in a now stacked Eastern Conference.
Bam Adebayo texted LeBron James as soon as he announced he chose Philadelphia over Miami.
Adebayo spoke to the Miami Herald recently and strongly stated that there is “no disappointment” in James’ decision:
There ain’t no disappointment… Like I told him (over text message), I’m going to bust his a**… it’s going to be an exciting season. I’m excited for the East. We got a whole new turnaround in the East. So, it’s going to be exciting this year.”
— Bam Adebayo (via Anthony Chiang)
Days later, Adebayo added some more additional comments on James joining the rival Sixers— adding that he’s “happy” for James choosing what was best for him and the end of his career.
“I’m cool with Bron. I consider Bron like a brother honestly. We’ve been Olympic teammates but even before that we’ve always had down to earth conversations. I’m happy for him. You want what’s best for somebody. That’s really how you go from there.”
— Bam Adebayo (via Brendan Tobin YT)
Adebayo has shared his excitement to team up with Giannis Antetokounmpo and embrace the championship aspirations in Miami again. He’s repeatedly iterated how much stronger the East has shifted this offseason and is ready for the competition.
That competition will assuredly include going through LeBron, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers.
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They Started 11-30… Then Everything Changed!
2016-17 NBA season
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1KU7Qkt7o
I miss Goran Dragic and that season’s gang of overachievers. I followed the Dragon from Phoenix to Miami and have remained a Heat fan ever since. The Heat sure could use a player like him now.
I saw a lot of Dragic in Jakucionis. For a 19 year old, he showed a lot of potential and a lot of improvement in his rookie season. He is mature beyond his years. I plan to follow our young guys in Milwaukee this year (Ware, Jaquez, Jakucionis, plus Nate Ament who was drafted with Miami’s 13th pick). They should be exciting, if nothing else.
I will be doing the same!
Wiggins and Jovic for K.D. Hmm?
Happy that Bam sees it that way. For the past 2 seasons I have internalized within me the sad thought of seeing Bam not getting another decent opportunity to get a crack at the ECF. Every NBA season is an opportunity to compete but some opportunities are better than others depending on the talents that are around you.
I don’t agree with Pat Riley that Miami’s focus should not be on acquiring shooters. To me that is an easier way to explain away or hide the failure to get shooters for the team.
A week or so after Riley’s comment, Bosh opined that the team needs shooters, so I don’t understand why Riley believes otherwise.
The additions so far have all been volume shooters – Conwell, Hardaway Jr, bringing back Fontecchio on a minimum and extending Wiggins. IMO the talk about playmakers was part of the LeBron recruitment, while every move the Heat has made is to bring in shooters. Even in the Giannis trade, Milwaukee was going to send out either Portis 2/30m contract or Kuzma 1/20m as part of a Giannis tax. Kuzma is on an expiring contract and owed less money than Portis, my guess is the Heat opted for Portis instead even with more long term money because he’s a better shooter and cleaner fit with Giannis and Bam than Kuzma.
Hope they gel.
Perhaps, I was looking for battle tested dudes at the minimum vet salary…like the Heat had in Antoine Walker, Shane Battier etc.
There was some dude posting who was posing as you (sort of). Alein or something like that. We straightened him out. Hasn’t been back.
Really? Thanks for straightening him out.
Could it be LeBron? Lol!
I heard his moniker for Wemby is Alien.
Been working the grave yard shift lately. Sleeping all day and hard to check in on hothothoops on a regular basis
Yes, I pointed that out at the time and wondered if someone had tried to pose as the real Alien that here now. And it was someone using that spelling – Alein.
Interesting, thanks folks.
DeRozan has a 112.8 career defensive rating (112.0 is considered a good individual rating). He has demonstrated he can play defense with a defensive minded team using good defensive schemes. Over the past few years, especially with Chicago and Sacramento, (both weak defensive teams with poor defensive schemes) his defensive rating dropped off considerably.
I believe there are three reasons for the decline, 1) the poor defensive teams and schemes he’s played on the past few years 2) overreliance on him to focus on scoring, not defense and 3) his age.
During his 16 year career, DeMar has been remarkably durable/reliable. He has averaged 74.4 games played per season (excluding the 2019–20 COVID-shortened/bubble year), boasting a career total of 1,203 games across his 16 standard played seasons. Over the past 5 seasons, he has played an average of 76.6 games per season.
If DeRozen is acquired by the Heat, it would likely be in a 6th man role, not as a starter. With a better overall defensive team and better defensive schemes, he should be able to contribute offensively while playing better defense within Miami’s defensive system. If the Heat can get 12-15 ppg and average defense from DeMar, the team would be ahead of the game.
The question now is…can Miami afford him?
Westbrook’s playmaking, rebounding and defense could help Miami significantly. His scoring would be a plus. Westbrook’s career averages are:
If Riley and Spo can convince him to play within a team structure, (no more free wheeling playground basketball and wild 3 point shots), he could prove very valuable to the team. If he is brought in and proves unable to play within the system, he can be benched, traded or bought out.
Miami is currently $10,441,543 below the First Apron. If DeRozan and Westbrook would be willing to split that amount, (probably most going to DeRozan), the Heat could acquire 2 low risk/high reward players. Neither player has ever won an NBA Title. Westbrook was in only one final series (2012). DeRozan has never played in a final series.This could be the last chance each may have to compete for and possibly win a title.
If Riley and Spo approach them with this vision in mind, I think they may have a very good chance of acquiring both.
Potential Line-up
Mitchell, Hardaway, Wiggins, Giannis, Bam
Westbrook, Larsson, DeRozan, Fontecchio, Portis
Smith, Conwell, Gardner, Jovic
This line-up is fluid and can change based on how players perform in pre-season and as the regular season progresses.
Individual defensive rating depends on what teams someone played on, isn’t good for comparisons between players. DeRozan 112.8 and Scottie Barnes 112.7 have almost the same career rating. DeRozan played the early part of his career when the league average offense/defense was lower than now, <110, Barnes has played most of his career with the league average offense/defense around 115. Westbrook 107.6 (never made an all-defense team, doesn't actually play defense) has a better rating than Bam at 108, with 6 all-defense teams.
Since 2016 DeRozan's on off by year is -6.1, -5.2, -1.5 with Toronto, -5.1, -4.0, -1.9 with San Antonio, +5.1, -0.4, +0.8 with Chicago, +2.3, -4.9 with Sacramento.
2016 Toronto lost in the ECF, Lowry had a playoff on off that year of +24.8 vs Derozan -4.8. With Lowry on the court Toronto played opponents even (+0.0), in the few minutes Lowry was off the court the team collapsed (-24.8). With DeRozan on the court Toronto was -6.5 and off the court -1.7.
DeRozan and Westbrook haven't won anything, despite being HOF players they are terrible defenders, IMO neither would be in a playoff rotation above the Heat's current perimeter players, and would not raise the teams championship ceiling at all which is the goal in filling the last roster spots.
What are you proposing?
What they are doing IMO, which is to wait to spend the $10m on players who can improve the title chances, vs rushing to sign name players who will not affect those chances. Once that 10m is spent for this year that’s all there is outside of trades, why spend it all in August asap just to fill roster spots?
As long as Riley has approached the players he is waiting on and made his position clear. Otherwise, if he is waiting and hoping like he did the past 5 years for a ss, it might be a while.
I don’t have a problem waiting. That will give Spo a chance to take closer looks at Jovic, Conwell and Gardner.
Teams have until October 19, 2026 to cut their rosters down to a maximum of 15 players on standard contracts.
Exactly
I think you’re discounting the multi-year planning it took to be in the position to make the trade for Giannis, which Riley basically laid out openly in his press conferences about how they were planning the next team around 2027 when Giannis, Jokic etc would be FA. It was not waiting and hoping but asset accumulation, building a team, making decisions (not extending Butler in 2024, holding out in the Butler trade for a FRP which became Jakucionis in 2025, not trading Herro at this year’s deadline 2026 etc) to be in the position to make a trade. And when Giannis was available, which itself was several years in the making and not difficult to see coming, they had the best offer.
As far as waiting now in the offseason I thought your position was the opposite, that they were missing out compared to other teams by not signing anyone, DeRozan etc now, and still having 3 open roster spots.
Rotation spots. There’s a difference.
Well said. If the opportunity arises, I’d take DLo over Westbrook. On another note, as for Klay, there is no incentive for Dallas to buy him out. They have no cap issues at the moment. Like you, I don’t want to see Jovic traded and Dallas doesn’t seem to have any interest. The likely third team that could get involved is Denver, and they have serious cap problems right now, so a trade there is probably out of the question.
Is it well said? DeRozan is considered a bad defender. He was considered a bad defender before this recent stretch.
The same scout that said Miami should pivot to him over Klay, literally said he’ll play no defense.
We can use a defensive rating from 2012 to justify someone’s ability, but league scoring was very different nearly 15 years ago.
https://www.reddit.com/r/kings/comments/1gdx1zc/did_anyone_know_that_derozan_was_a_bad_defender/
https://medium.com/the-defeated/the-definitive-guide-to-arguing-about-demar-derozan-now-can-we-stop-doing-that-aaa81e2928f0
Article from 2016 referring to him as a defensive liability.
DeRozan may end up in Miami, he may offer some bench scoring, but we can’t re-write the narrative that he’s an acceptable defender.
Dallas could maybe save ~$7m if they buyout Klay and he signs for that elsewhere. Their position is they want to trade him rather than buy him out, but that may not be possible. Letting him go to a contender would be the right thing to do since he was a free agent signing when they had Luka and were a Finals team, vs now when they are rebuilding, my guess is it will happen eventually.
That is what I was saying. You’re right about the $7m, but that savings is not an issue for them right now cap wise. They may accommodate him as a courtesy as we get closer to camp. He would be what the team needs at sg.
Wouldn’t it give them more room under the tax to take on contracts at the deadline? It would definitely show they are a desirable FA destination and that if someone goes there they’ll be taken care of if conditions change. There’s at least some self-interest in a buyout from the Dallas side, I get why they are posturing there will be a trade because it would be ideal to get something back, but they got Klay for basically nothing, now they are saying they want something back in a trade, doesn’t seem realistic or likely IMO.
I also don’t necessarily see a trade for Klay happening. And, yes, being accommodating is good PR for future deals. It would also be a positive look if they WERE able to trade him to LA, which is said to be one of his most desirable destinations. It could be done in a multi team trade, and Dallas could get a younger player or two (not high ceiling guys) in return. They have more flexibility there after moving AD. Per Sports Illustrated:
Below Tax Thresholds: They sit roughly $38 million to $39 million below the luxury tax line and about $45 million under the first tax apron.
Spotrac has Dallas at $2,297,600 under the tax currently https://www.spotrac.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/overview
Looking at their 16 man roster Klay stands out as the odd man out. Only 3 players over 30 – Klay, Kyrie, Caleb Martin who is 31. They want to keep Kyrie to mentor Flagg. There is really no role for Klay on this team. They have real depth 1-16 and no obvious roster cuts. And the teams who want Klay – Miami, LAL – have very little to trade/are unlikely to spend their remaining draft assets on a 36 year old. To me that makes a buyout likely.
Okay bro, who is saying he won’t be bought out? Not anyone here that I’ve seen.
First Apron Space: They have about $9.5 million in spending room before hitting the first apron.
Second Apron Space: They have roughly $22.2 million in room before reaching the highly restrictive second apron
⬆️ That’s also from spotrac. We could probably find different numbers elsewhere.
I have a suggestion – why don’t we just wait and see what happens? Absolutely nothing I’ve written is patently wrong.
The key is the tax line, they don’t want to be paying tax for a rebuilding team. They were in the tax and got out of it last year with the AD trade at the deadline. Being further under the line would allow them more flexibility on trades this year. Your first comment said Dallas has no interest in a buyout, which is true to their public statements, I was speculating that this is just a position that could change, which the Heat seem to be waiting for. If Thompson, LaVihe etc is bought out, Heat have a contending team and have more money than most contenders who have limited cap space to offer.
I’ll be happy when it’s all sorted out and resolved.
In addition to Miami, two California teams (Lakers and Warriors) are also interested in Klay. He was born in L.A. and has homes in Dana Point and Hermosa Beach. He played most of his career with Warriors and it would be a nice homecoming for him to return there for his swan song with Steph.
No idea what he will do but Miami has a potential starting SG opportunity, a better on court offer than either LA or GSW.
Just going with the flow. “Accept the things you cannot change.*
He’s widely considered a bad defender. His recent defensive play is worse than ever. Could he get back to just being bad? Maybe, who knows. But relying on a stat a decade ago is silly. League scoring is up and his rating mirrors that.
He can score, but he’ll give up buckets. And cry as folks might, Miami clearly isn’t desperate otherwise they’d have written him a check for the $8m or so they have.
What are you proposing?
I think Miami is doing what Miami needs to. Waiting the market out. They have a pretty clearly defined top 7 players. Maybe 8, 9, 10 are already here with Simone, Niko and Dru.
If someone who can help shakes free, do it.
Since there is no news to talk about, I thought these rankings were interesting. It’s best FA’s available according to Hoopshype. Guys we are interested in as an org.
DeRozan-#7
Beal-#9
Westbrook-#10
B.Brown-#11
N.Richards-#17
This doesn’t include buyouts as I think Lavine would be above any of these, but not sure where Klay would rank. Maybe 8th and that moves Beal to 10th.
Give me a combo of Beal, Brown and Richards.
My gut says they may just leave the spot open, see how Jovic plays, and hope for a buyout that they feel fits the team better than what’s out there. Russell?
Beal’s defensive rating is similar to DeRozan’s. His attendance is far worse. He hasn’t played over 60 games in a season since 2018-2019.
Russell is bad news. He gets worse by the year. Dude has played less than 30 games 4 of the past 5 years.
Any other suggestions?
Beal offers a 3 point shot and can in a pinch handle the ball as a PG. DeRozan doesn’t. His availability is a huge question mark, but his skills fits Miami’s needs more than DeRozan, who occupies the same space on the floor as Bam and Giannis. Do you watch basketball?
The consensus is that they will likely not fill the 15th spot until sometime during the season, when they can pro rate the salary.
I mean I won’t be shocked if they don’t fill any spot for now. LeBron moved the needle, filled a need, is still a top player. The rest of the free agents are kind of square pegs in round holes.
Guys like Beal, can help with the three point shooting, but have a ton of injuries, and are limited defenders.
The mid-range king, occupies the same space on the floor as Giannis and Bam, and plays awful defense (there are article’s dating back to 2016 discussing his liabilities on the defensive end).
Bruce Brown? He might fill a 3 & D role, but doesn’t change the path of the team. Maybe until training camp starts and they see where Niko’s head is at?
Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think Pat’s made a big play on anyone out there, except LeBron.
Kevin Durant says Giannis Antetokounmpo is his favorite player to watch in the NBA: “Greek Freak probably the number 1 guy I like to watch. — Greek Freak I think is a force and I’ve never seen anything like him. His ceiling, he could be the best player to ever play if he really wanted to. That’s pretty scary to think about but he’s by far my favorite player to watch”
Not much happening these days. It’s going to take more patience than I prefer.
That also extends to the Marlins, who even though just a game and a half out of a wild card spot, sat on their hands again at the deadline. In fact, they were sellers, trading one of the best contact hitters in baseball for prospects. And Liam Hicks responded the best way a player can for his new team, hitting a grand slam. Meanwhile, we brought up his replacement Ramirez, from the minors, and he went 0-2, with a strike out and an out in the midst of a potential ninth inning rally.
It’s tough to be a fan in South Florida. Thank goodness for the Panthers. And the Canes, and the Herons.
I mean after the trade – Miami has it’s top 7 players fairly locked in.
C – Bam
PF – Freak
SF – Wigs
SG – Pelle
PG – Davion
6th – Portis
7th – Hardaway Jr.
We’re looking for players to be the 8, 9, 10. They have Fontecchio. They have Jovic (who maybe they haven’t given up on, even if we have?). They have the rookie. They have Gardner, Dru, etc.
Miami’s bench isn’t as dire as folks nationally make it out to be. They have two players who averaged over 13 PPG in under 30 minutes last year. They have Fontecchio who averaged 8.5. What they need is pieces that fill gaps. They don’t have a real back-up big on the roster, Portis will have to cover the 4/5 back-up roles, unless Miami thinks Niko can play in either of those roles. They could use another ball handler unless they think Dru’s capable. They could use more 3 point shooting.
I don’t think they are in this frantic mindset to fill out the roster.
They don’t need that 14th spot filled until start of season, so I expect at least one, but probably two spots to be open for a while to see what happens with Klay, Lavine, or any other potential buyout guy.
I think ideally you’d like to have the roster finalized by training camp, so folks can get used to playing together, but if there isn’t someone who they feel can move the needle available, why rush. And maybe they’ll hold it through the trade deadline incase someone else shakes free with a buyout.
Agree, but they added Birdman after the season started and they went on a crazy streak. Joe Johnson was bought out and found the fountain of youth for a few weeks. lol
Your point stands.
I can agree with most you said, but I think at least Pelle should move to the bench and THJ to start. Not ideal, but much better fit.
Dru will replace Mitchell, Pelle Wiggins, Niko Bam, Portis Giannis.
One of the rest will replace THJ.
Thats a 10 man rotation. Starting lineup is probably top 10, but bench is not top 20.
As far I remember, Portis and Greek didnt play much together, I assume, that that will be the case in Miami too. So, there is Bam/Greek combo, then Bam/Portis and then Greek/Jovic combo.
I mean if THJ starts, it probably is a better fit, at least offensively. Clearly line-up isn’t in stone, but the top 7 are the top 7, at least in my eyes.
Also, Portis and Giannis averaged 28 MPG together in the 35 games played last year, so I think they can co-exist fine (unless google is lying).
I also think bench is the bench. I mean if they have Portis, Pelle and Fontecchio repeat last years averages, they’d get roughly 34 points a night from the 6-8. They’d need roughly 5 more points from 9-10 to be a top 12 bench scoring team if that scenario played out. And with Pelle they have at least one acceptable defender on the bench.
Would having a boost from some combination of free agents – Beal, DeRozan, (non-free agent) Klay, or the guy you don’t like Bruce Brown – add to the depth? Obviously. I just think all in all, much like the problem with 76ers, there is only one basketball on the court at a time. The Heat don’t need a 20 PPG scorer to fill a spot that might only get a few shots a game.
I too like Brown here. I don’t think Klay is coming here with word Lakers are interested, as well as a potential Warriors reunion.
Move on to Brown or Beal, then wait as season approaches for any potential buyouts like Lavine or even D’Angelo Russell. A knucklehead but could be another reclamation project. I guess Ben Simmons is still around lol
I like Brown, I would have him, but he is not what we need. Its not that I dont like him.
Its all speculation, I m sure Spo will bring something different up, as he does every year. But on the first sight, that lineup is not ideal.
And I think Heat are still a year from real contender. Right now, Heat gravitate towards 10th place in the league, last year, Heat gravitate towards 20th place. Its an improvement, but its still the middle of the pack.
I think that’s a fairly reasonable assessment. I surely wouldn’t select them as the favorites. I still think the Giannis / Bam combination could be really rocky early. But I don’t think anyone they can sign will move them from 10 to 5th or vice versa.
Also, I probably would have had the Knicks somewhere in the 5-10 range to start the season, so you never know. At least being relevant is nice, though I was a never Giannis person on this board and wanted to see Miami grow the traditional way.
Yes, Knicks were a big surprise. Giannis is far from being my favourite player, but I supported the trade. When there is an elite talent, you go for it.
By net rating the Heat were an average team last year (#13, +2.2). They add the best player in the East and are still middle of the pack? A year ago the argument was Milwaukee would make the playoffs on the strength of Giannis alone, with a #2 and #3 of Myles Turner and Kuzma.
I don’t agree on Hicks. He was a rule 5 lotto ticket that hit and is being flipped for a guy who will finally lock 3B down. With Joe Mack you weren’t going to play Hicks at catcher often. Right now Stowers is playing 1b, so his backup spot is going to Kyle. There were very limited opportunities to play him often, so they rolled dice just like they rolled and hit with Hicks.
Rough crowd on Gus and two at bats. 😉
Yes, all true, and thanks for giving me a chance to comment on the Marlins, as I never joined their one website. And Stine has potentially more thump than Hicks, even if he can’t hit as well for average. It was just one night so even though the contrast was glaring, it may work out in the long run.
It’s just that, like the Heat, the Fish are right on the verge of being a serious contender. Maybe the time for them to be buyers at the deadline was next year, and hopefully so. But, I felt it could have been this year. Hopefully the owner will open his wallet at some point. Bendix has done all he can and is doing great. But at some point you have to augment with free agents or trade acquisitions.
lavine not being bought out sac gonna keep him according to locked on heat
If DeRozan wants more than Heat can afford, I wouldn’t mind taking a risk with Westbrook and whatever else the limited budget can afford. Riley and Spo would need his commitment to play in a structured system, not playground ball.
Nick Richards might also be worth gambling on. I’m expecting a big turnaround from Jovic. If he comes back playing up to his potential, he could play SF and Wiggins SG.
Conwell and Garland might also be valuable off the bench.
I wouldn’t mind taking a risk on Westbrook or nick Richards, especially if we can’t get lavine,demar,klay, or Beal. I’m hoping we can still get Bruce brown too.
I posted this several days ago, pointing out that his $49m opt in was a hard nut to crack.
thats alot of $$ for a guy that has been part of bad teams his whole career .teams tend not to be to good when that type $ is given to players like lavigne harden trae zerro d .riley was smart not to give zerro d his bag.he learned from uncs contract about one wayers.not really he blew it with jovic man pat has given out some really bad contracts here,its a miracle (family biz) he still has a contract himself
This is going to be Jovic’s first season with the contract you think is already blown. Now it might turn out that way, but Niko hasn’t played on it yet.
Not yet, which is why they suggested signing Beal as it leaves the other spot open, and more of a roster fit, if one of Lavine or Klay gets bought out, even though Derozan is the better player between him and Beal.
I tend to agree we should be prioritizing DeMar. Is he a game-changer at this point? Probably not. But at least he’ll be an extra, historically reliable body for the regular season to help keep our starting lineup relatively fresh come playoff time. If we had to slightly overpay for the remaining free agents, probably him.
To me it greatly depends on what the organization feels his defense is like at this point. He’s been flat awful for 3 seasons defensively. Do they really want a Tyler Herro level defensive liablity without a three point shot?
Is his awful defense more linked to the teams he played for or more a representation of what he is today?
If they sign DeRozan, it adds depth for sure, but I don’t want a player teams identify as a free basket, in late in games and with the game on the line personally.
Also giving that the reports seem to indicate the Heat prefer Klay Thompson, their interest in DeRozan may be over blown. I mean there is a reason he hasn’t signed anywhere yet, it’s either he’s holding out hopes he’ll get paid a bag somewhere, or teams interest in him is muted.
“I mean there is a reason he hasn’t signed anywhere yet, it’s either he’s holding out hopes he’ll get paid a bag somewhere, or teams interest in him is muted.”
Bingo. He’s waiting to see who has the most money and if he’s interested in that specific team. Then drops teams and bag from there
Yes, and if I was him, I’d do the same thing.
id say theres about 25 teams love to have dd.he like lebron knows hes wanted by other teams so take your time make the wisest deci$ion for u and the derozan$.borderline hof player id say .hes so smooth on the ct with the way he manuvers for the elbow jumper.
I think you are over rating the current state of DeMarr. He’s great mid range shooter (but many folks coach against taking mid-range shots, in modern basketball). He plays zero defense currently. Like none. Tyler Herroesque effort on that side of the ball.
Also is one of these 25 teams you theorize about the Kings? Because they were awful, and just bought him out. I think his market is limited to contenders who want him to be a bench player (he’s never done that before).
I think he can score, but he doesn’t fit with Miami. Non-3point shooter. Non-ball handler. Can’t defend. As a bench player – great (but he’s also never done that). And for the folks who are like who does Miami have that you want with the ball in their hand, with the game on the line? I mean if you answer is DeMarr, and not Giannis, then it’s all moot anyway.
I think Beal is a shell of his former self, he’s likely not going to play a full season, and his defense is limited, but from a basketball perspective, I think he’s a better fit. He shoots the 3. His defense isn’t quite as bad as DeRozan. And in a pinch he can be the primary ball handler.
I still think Bruce Brown is the best bet. He’s not the defender he was 3 years ago, but he doesn’t need the ball to be a valuable asset. He can defend. He can shoot the three.
I do agree on Derozan and Beal, but not on Brown. He is a good player, but not what this team needs.
game changers maybe about a dozen in nba bam sure isnt one.need a bucket who u calling end of game dd.about as unstoppable at the elbow as theres been last decade.with wiggy getting that 30 mil really has limited our funds.is he worth 30 dont think so.is jovic worth a penny so far not even a penny lol.were stuck with him for few more 3 more years.hope he plays much better or needs to just be a cheerleader.
Disappointed? Yes, for a NY minute. GAF? Hell no! Oh yeah, life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone.
he was never coming here what for been there done that wades retired
It was a calculated business decision based on who he thought was in the best position to win a title. Plus it gives him a whole new city and a new group of fans to follow and adore him.
After all the dust eventually settles, It will be interesting to see who does want to play in Miami for a vet’s minimum. If Riley waits too long, some other teams may pick up most/all of the players he has put on hold pending the outcome of the Dallas/Thompson situation.
He would be in NYK had they not won the title according to Rich Paul. So instead he is a short distance away in Philly. Not discounting 76ers as a contender, but it appears location mattered in his decision and contending was not the only/sole factor.
4 titles 4 teams no ones ever done that was a contributing factor.his d wade is maxey.think he was waiting for ad to get traded to gsw when that wasnt happening that eliminated steph.besides being the best player ever hes prob the smartest player ever.when he talks its one athlete i like listening to.the most uninteresting interview for me is eric spobot he never says anything thats interesting.100% cliches
Longest career yes. Best player no. Jordan, Russell, Kareem, Steph, Magic…
stephs d disqualifies him.id say jordan was best but lebron has stuck around forever at a very high level give nod to him.based on longevity,youve said availability best ability
Learn about basketball in every Spo interview, imo he’s one of the better coach interviews in the league
he says nothing interesting full of cliches
I saw him say why Ware wasn’t playing last year (his defense and the opponent offensive rebounding when Ware was on the court), talk about development of guys like Larsson, Gardner, etc. It’s there if you read between the lines. He’s already given a preview of the offense next year with Bam and Giannis with the ball at the elbows, but people would rather trade that for DeRozan in the same spot.
may i ask him why niko was playing so much,why keshad gets no minutes. feel sorry for keshad super athlete can shoot it little bit needed to see more but not a spo fav.coaches never say anything only thing i want to hear from them is injury status.a guy like brady hawk will tell u alot more about the game than spobot would check him out hes really good
Then I have to say you’re not listening to him much. No question that like many coaches and players, he uses a lot of cliches. But he is also one of the most intelligent, well spoken coaches in the league. Kerr is right up there too.
It will be interesting to see how Ware does in Milwaukee and whether it was the player or the coach. Spo doesn’t have much experience coaching legitimate centers. Bam is a PF who has played out of position as a C in Miami’s “small ball” program for years.
A NBA coach with multiple titles who also coaches team USA doesn’t have much experience coaching centers, and is playing Bam out of position (where he is one of the most impactful bigs in the league), those are not statements I’d agree with.
I was referring to coaching elite centers during the regular season, not other team’s centers a few games every few years.
Can you imagine how much more impactful Bam could have been if he had been matched up against smaller, less physical PFs for the past 9 seasons?
Expecting him to cover monsters such as Jokic, Embiid, Wemby, Townes etc. game in and game out is asking a bit much, don’t you think? Bam has been asking to play PF for years. Last year with Ware at C was the first time he got a glimpse of what it would be like.
Bam is an elite center in the NBA, he guards all the best centers, he’s held Embiid below his career average when he guards him, posted those numbers before, not sure what else there is to say. Heat will have the often talked about twin towers lineup next year with Giannis and Bam. Height does not make a center, look at Ben Wallace, look at Draymond, etc. The ideal defender on Wemby is not someone as 7’4″ like him but someone like OG, Bam, Draymond.
miami or la.we i believe we have more $$ no st inc taxes believe his daddy still does laker games?and he played there so has ties there.come on pat if u get shutout of dd klay lavine beal not gonna be happy.
It could happen. There has been a pattern over the last few years where Pat fixates on one player while the rest of the league goes elsewhere. And, I’m of the belief that DD or BB would help us more anyway. We probably only have money for one of them, so it could be any day now that we hear those two guys are gone. I think Pat wants Klay over everyone else for reasons I don’t see, but what do I know. We do have to trust in Pat.
Take what you can get or keep waiting to see what falls out of the tree.
Jack and Diane were just two American kids doing the best they can.
Suckin’ on a chili dog
Outside the Tastee Freez
Add a one and a zero in front of the current zero. That’s the level of disappointment.
Here we go again. The article opines LeBron is still a top 15-20 player and yet there’s zero disappointment in not landing him. Sometimes it seems like we make up our own private reality by whatever sounds good to say. Well, there is disappointment even though LeBron is more like a top thirty player now.
My sincere hope, as I have nothing but disdain for the Sixers, is that they will have two guys so tired from having to run back on defense that they will be holding onto their knees and catching their breath while opposing players fly past. It may not happen till later in the season, but it could work out that way.
Several thing to consider:
-even with him Heat are not a contender.
-getting him would force new moves, which could hurt team in long-term, without real chances to win it all.
-LBJ could be a second fiddle to the Greek, but unlikely the third fiddle to the Bam.
-there could be a relive to avoid all the drama and circus around him.
-and of course, failing with both Greek and LBJ is not an option, as it not now in Philly.
I m not disappointed at all.
Fair points. Will be interesting to follow the story as it unfolds this season.
Heat not a contender with Lebron on a minimum contract? Out of curiosity where do you rank Heat in east currently? IMO it is wide open again, NYK has to be #1, Indiana, Philly, Toronto are up there, Boston is a wins machine, and Heat are right there with Boston and Detroit. A top 10 team on offense and defense is a contender, Heat definitely have a pathway to be that next season after being #13 in both last year.
What are Cleveland, Atlanta and Orlando,chopped liver?
east is loaded with lots good teams gonna be lots close games what about the generals theyre not gonna be an ez w anymore same with charlotte.
Heat needs at least one more closer to keep from losing close games, again. Off the bench scoring and clutch shooting at crunch time are two qualities DeRozan has and Miami needs.
There’s an old adage in bones and cards “Study long…study wrong.
Giannis is at the top of the NBA in 4th quarter scoring just about every year, the Miami offense next year is going to look different than this past year. This past season Giannis led the league at 8.8 ppg in the 4Q, DeRozan had 4.6.
I didn’t compare DeRozan’s 4Q ppg average to Antetokounmpo’s, you did. I compared him to everyone else on the 2025-2026 Heat roster.
DeRozan’s 4Q career scoring average is 5.8 ppg. In 2025-2026, it was 4.6 ppg, which would have been the 3rd highest on the Heat team.
2025-2026 4Q ppg averages, by Heat player, were as follows:
*Powell 5.5
Bam 4.7
*Jaquez: 4.4
Wiggins: 4.2
*Herro: 3.9
*Ware: 3.7
Larsson: 3.4
Jovic: 3.0
All others below 3.0
*4 of last season’s top 6 4Q ppg Heat players are no longer with the team.
In 2025-2026, Bobby Portis had a 4Q ppg of 3.4 ppg, which would have tied him for 7th place with Larsson.
Do you still think Miami doesn’t need DeRozan’s clutch scoring on a team friendly contract?
“Team friendly contract” is the key. They could offer him the minimum right now. So far, he hasn’t signed, and I assume he is waiting for the most money and then decide from there. But the players are clearly not in hurry unlike our fan base.
From what I’ve.read, Miami hasn’t offered him jack pending outcome of Thompson. Team friendly does not necessarily mean vet minimum.
Right now I haven’t heard a credible source saying any single team has offered him jack, so not just the Heat. We have reports of interest.
If he took what the Heat currently have or say down to $5 mil, that would be team friendly.
I guess he’ll sign one of these days.
Yes, and that’s a great point about Giannis. But, DeRozan can create his own shot, and hit the midrange jumper with the best of them. Having two players who produce in the clutch would give us a huge advantage over most teams. So many good players become less efficient in crunch time. That would not be the Heat’s problem anymore, like it has been since Jimmy left.
Don’t confuse him with the facts.
The facts being that the Heat is a hard capped team this year, only has around 10m left to spend total under the first apron, and doesn’t want to spend it on Aug 4. on a non-spacer, non-defender in DeRozan who doesn’t solve any problems on this team and can’t play with the two best players unless you want spacing like Detroit last year. This isn’t Khris Middleton on the Bucks despite the similar ppg and the fact that DeRozan will be HOF for his scoring.
I’m still waiting for your response to my post regarding DeRozan’s 2025-2026 4Q ppg average compared to the other Heat players. As I indicated, it would have been the third highest last year, after Powell and Bam.
Your boy Herro was 5th highest at 3.9 ppg 4Q ppg. 4 of last year’s 6 highest 4Q ppg players are no longer with the team.
Its easy to criticize without providing a logical alternative. Who exactly do you propose Miami bring in on a low cost contract who has a better 4Q ppg average or is a better clutch player than DeRozan?
You seem to be saying the scoring lost last year between Powell, Herro (who only played 33 games and only around 200 minutes with Powell), Jaquez and Ware will not be replaced by this years rotation, not something I agree with at all. My point was that for the concern about previous years clutch scoring, the Heat are adding to this year’s team the #1 4th quarter scorer in the NBA last year in Giannis, who had more 4Q points per game than Luka, SGA etc. Besides Giannis’ own scoring, he will create easier looks for everyone on the roster – the offense will be totally different even if they keep the same principles from last year. I don’t think it’s useful to add up ppg from one year to another and from players on different teams and assume that’s how a team is built, by stacking ppg, because ppg is context dependent and there are only so many shots available on a team. My point was that Giannis, who does not have a general public perception as a clutch player I would say, averaged almost double the 4Q points last year as DeRozan who does. Rather than sign DeRozan I would save the remaining money under the first apron to try to sign Klay if/when he is bought out.
As I’ve stated, I don’t know if any team DeRozan signs with will have him starting. While he has been a perennial starter, an aging player often transitions to a lesser role. Whoever gets him will resolve the issue of starting or not before signing. He’d be a great offensive spark off the bench.
I agree. The closer thing is a big deal. It can be the difference in five more wins than losses over a season, as so many games are tight. That’s why I have wanted DD over anyone else, even though, like almost every player in our price range, he isn’t perfect.
Absolutely!
Teams built around players far worse than Giannis and Bam? IMO those are flawed teams that are either all-in already, CLE and ORL, or teams not trying to contend immediately, ATL.
CLE has similar odds to win the east as Miami, but after getting swept in ECF they lost more defense this offseason with Dean Wade to 76ers, and their only addition so far is Hezonja. ATL and ORL combined odds most places are <1% to win the east
ESPN 2026-2027 odds to win Eastern Conference Championship:
TEAM/ODDS
New York Knicks
+330
Philadelphia 76ers
+350
Boston Celtics
+600
Detroit Pistons
+800
Toronto Raptors
+900
Cleveland Cavaliers
+1000
Miami Heat
+1000
Indiana Pacers
+1600
Atlanta Hawks
+2200
Orlando Magic
+3000
Charlotte Hornets
+4000
Washington Wizards
+6000
Chicago Bulls
+30000
Milwaukee Bucks
+30000
Brooklyn Nets
+50000
Last season’s ESPN Eastern Conference preseason poll had Miami at 9th.
giannis is a top 2 player imo.bam maybe top 20.theres a big difference between bam and greek.bam on a champ team has to be the third option ,if we got dd hes option 2.klay and beal not at that level currently.dd is a must for my 4th ring imo
Which teams have a better top 2 than Giannis and Bam should be the question, and it has to be very few. The Heat with the trade for Giannis have solved that part, now have to build around those two, which is the area they’ve been good at historically finding second round picks, UDFAs, undervalued vet min signings etc
Second round picks, UDFA’s and players on vet minimum contracts don’t quite stack up to Embiid, Brown, Maxey, James and Edgecombe?
I think the favourites in the east are Detroit, NY, Philly. Then comes a group of Celts, Cavs and Heat. After that, but very close behind are Toronto, Atlanta, Orlando… and a bit further back Charlotte, Washington and Indiana.
All those teams (12 of them) have a good chance to get into top 4 in the east.
If LBJ would go to Miami, Heat would just swap the place with Philly.
Health and depth will be the main factors here.
West is weaker this year, but the strongest teams in the west are stronger then east ones.
So, Heat are not title contender this year. As I already said, there are 6 players currently in Miami, which can be a part of a champion level team. Heat needs 3 more, one of them could be LBJ, but that wouldn’t be enough.
until det gets a #2 they have no shot at jewelry.think ind with hali back zubac siakam neismith nemhardt are gonna be the detroit of this year.if toronto is allowed to keep kawhi they are in the top 4 imo.
Agree that Indiana will be back and be a tough matchup for the Heat.
Bingo!
Good analysis V! (I almost referred to you as Vag). I think your assessment of the relative strengths of the Eastern teams are pretty solid.
Actually, I don’t really know. There are 12 teams, any of them could be the first and the last. I m excited, there s gonna be a dogfight from start to finish.
I was called “Vag” before on this site… when I pissed someone, so it is probably nothing flattering. But I don’t know what is means and I don’t really care.
Do you prefer Vagi or Bugi for short?
the first one.
Orale…Vagi.
Don’t underestimate Toronto or Indiana.
Heat’s top 5 of Davion-Pelle-Wiggins-Giannis-Bam is arguably the best defense in basketball, although a lot of competition between Spurs, OKC, Toronto, Detroit, Boston etc. But on that alone, a top defense plus maybe the #1 defensive rebounding team next year, they would be a contender.
Add Hardaway Jr and Portis, both who have played in/won Finals and that’s 7. They are now by far the two worst defenders on the team and are in supporting roles, vs last year Powell, Herro, and Ware were all playing big minutes.
Need to find someone from the regular season rotation of Dru, Simone, Jovic, Myron Gardner, Conwell to play in postseason, and I think that’s possible. Plus have two more roster spots to fill.
Add in that most of the teams coming out of the east recently have not been top seeds – the last four years NYK 3, IND 4, BOS 1, Miami 8. Maybe we have different definitions of contender, to me contender = real chance to make the NBA Finals, and then once you’re in you have a chance to win it as the underdog, as NYK did this year and IND almost did two years ago.
My 6 players doesn’t include THJ, and not Mitchell and Pelle as starters.
In my opinion, we need a starting level point guard and a starting level shooting guard to be a contender by your definition.
From the group of Dru, Simone, Jovic, Myron Gardner, Conwell, the most chances to become a player we need to compete is Jovic, and those chances are slim. Gardners and Conwells ever slimmer.
We know Simone and Dru, those are players for special assignments, who could help, but they are no needle movers.
I was thinking about the likes od Irving or even Lilard as a possibility. If we can get on of those two, maybe even THJ would be enough to fill the starting shooting guard role.
And of course, another player from that group of Jovic, Gardner, Conwell to become a reliable player.
Defend well is great, but scoring well is even better.
Milwaukee had a 121.6 Ortg last year in Giannis’ minutes, would be the #2 offense in the league, only below Denver, the #1 offense last year. MIL in Giannis’ minutes has been >120 each of the last three years. Think people are underestimating the effect Giannis will have on this teams offense.
The one thing Milwaukee did have vs Miami is above average 3PT volume (10th last year) and accuracy (2nd in team 3PT%). Don’t think there’s any question Mitchell and Larsson are starting level 1 and 2 or that Mitchell will not start, but the low volume 3PA they take makes it a question of fit, not talent. Not sure who will start at 2 but Larsson will likely be closing games again because he does too much to not be on the court, he and Mitchell are perfect fits around Giannis except for the low 3pt volume. Vs Dame who was great at that but not really a fit in MIL because he and Giannis are both on ball players in the offense and took turns, plus Dame was a big liability on defense.
Jovic has talent and positional size, Gardner and Conwell have barely played NBA minutes or not at all. Looking for one of those players to hit and be back of the rotation 8th-9th man is a decent bet IMO.
I would try to sell Jovic on a 6th man type role on offense to rebuild his confidence, but would think he goes into year lower in the rotation behind Larsson/THJ, (whoever doesn’t start), and Portis. Sign Klay and the bench becomes Larsson, THJ, Portis, Jovic, Dru, Simone, Gardner, Conwell.
Fit, talent, whatever, Heat with Mitchell and Pelle starting is not a contender team, with those two from the bench and better/more talented/better fitted players starting is a contender team.
Thats all I m saying.
About Dame and Irving, I would prefer Irving.
-Mitchell-Larsson two man lineup had a net rating of +5.4 in 1043 minutes last year
-Add Wiggins, and the Mitchell-Larsson-Wiggins lineup was +7.0 in 566 minutes
-Add Bam, that 4 man lineup was +11.2 in 420 minutes.
Only 6 teams last year had a overall net rating above that two man Mitchell-Larsson lineup, and that 4 man lineup had the same net rating as OKC
And the Heat added Giannis who made his team better by +14.4 points last year, and whose presence alone was the difference between the Milwaukee having the #2 offense, 121.6 in his minutes and the #29 offense when he was off the court, 110.8.
So by net rating Mitchell and Larsson were already above average starters last year even if they lack name value, and were part of some very strong lineups. And both have more room to improve, Davion only has 5 years in the NBA and Pelle in his third year, and both did not start their careers as starters.
Well, lets put it this way.
If there is a lineup of Mitchell, Pelle, Wigins, Bam, Greek, there is packing the paint from opposite team.
That quite effectively neutralise Giannis, as Spo with his schemes proved many times.
If there is something clear, Greek, Bam, and Wiggins needs open lanes to operate to be at their best. Lanes can be open by elite volume shooters, not average ones.
Agreed and think that’s the reason all the signings so far have been volume 3PT shooters. Drafted Conwell (almost 10 3PA per game as a senior/99th percentile in attempts), signed Hardaway Jr (7), resigned Fontecchio (5) and Wiggins (5),now looking at Klay (7).
Cutting off ball is another way to open up space and Larsson is the best at that on the team according to Spo, and reminiscent of Jimmy, so that is another area of offensive improvement to watch imo
Maybe. Knowing Spo, he will try everything.
when have u ever heard a fo or player say were disappointed we didnt get him,of course theyre dissapointed not getting goat.anybody whos not dissapointed isnt interested in winning
I’m disappointed I didn’t win the lottery. I got over it…immediately.