2025-26 Miami Heat Regular Season Thread 2.0

[twix2500]

I am very surprised that Spo hasn’t tried any other lineup but one lineup with Powell and Herro together.

[Dmcdani6]

Its Up to Spo to figure this stuff out, hes too good to not to.

[Wiltside]

Anyone noticed ever since the Giannis new broke out, the bench production dipped tremendously?

Jaquez looking like a sophomore player again, Ware looks demotivated, Simon suddenly forget how to shoot, Jovic forgot to play basketball.

Dudes are tanking their value very hard

This was the Duncan special. Every deadline, bro would go through a massive shooting funk

[Wiltside]

Its Up to Spo to figure this stuff out, hes too good to not to.

He could start by not playing a Mitchell/Smith/Powell (or Herro) lineup. That would restore some sanity for me.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

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[Wiltside]

Giannis is an all in name. He’s in his prime, an All NBA First Team guy, and shares an agent with Bam.

You get Giannis, pair him with Bam, and rebuild the roster around those guys as your core. I think we have enough “next man up” guys in Kas and Pelle that we can get by OK if the depth takes a hit.

[Wiltside]

Honestly, moving Herro, Ware and Jaquez would open up a lot of minutes and roles for guys who are struggling to find consistency or playing time right now. I'd love to see Kasparas get an opportunity as a backup guard. Dru is a great option as a backup PG, provided he stays at Guard. Niko might actually regain his mojo playing more of a Jaquez type ball handling role at the backup 4. Pelle gets an opportunity to be that gritty 3&D wing.

I can see it.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

The time is NOW Patrick!!!

[Daffy]

We are about to be so disappointed as a fan base again. Luckily we've been through this over and over before. We're built for it.

[marson]

We are about to be so disappointed as a fan base again. Luckily we've been through this over and over before. We're built for it.

Different feeling this time, we need ICC nuggets and watchOut sources.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Okc, celtics, warriors etc..

All the same blueprint. Defensive versatility, shooting, and a playmaker who can create offense for himself and others.

That's what the heat will need.

Does giannis get them there? Or is simply contending in the East good enough.

[vagelis]

Herro, Jaquez, Ware + 1 first round pick for Giannis

Is this a deal?

I think Heat should try to keep Ware and add more picks in the deal but Bucks maybe prefer Ware

[Tim_Hardawayy]

Herro, Jaquez, Ware + 1 first round pick for Giannis

Is this a deal?

I think Heat should try to keep Ware and add more picks in the deal but Bucks maybe prefer Ware

I would love to keep Ware but that could only happen in a desperation situation where Giannis held all the cards and the Bucks had to trade him to his preferred destination. He doesn't have that much leverage, definitely not in the middle of a season anyways.

That said, even if we found some way to do it while holding onto Ware, I'd still be tempted to flip Ware for wing depth or a point guard upgrade at that point, because Bam/Giannis is an all-in win now move, and Ware probably isn't going to be in his prime for at least a couple more years, if he even pans out at all.

Also this is all just speculation, I hope if none of this happens this board doesn't become an all-out war with factions turning on each other and supporting individual players instead of the team as a whole. I fear that's where we're headed though. I'd rather us root for tanking as a team before we get taken over by player fans.

[Tim_Hardawayy]

Okc, celtics, warriors etc..

All the same blueprint. Defensive versatility, shooting, and a playmaker who can create offense for himself and others.

That's what the heat will need.

Does giannis get them there? Or is simply contending in the East good enough.

I think that team is close, its lacking a little bit in the shooting department, depending how much you trust Davion. If he can maintain 40% 3 point shooting at volume, and Bam can continue to knock his down, I don't see how that squad isn't every bit comparable to those others, you know Powell and Wiggins can knock'em down, you could play 4 out with that lineup and let Giannis be the motor. And defensively I'd argue their ceiling is higher than all those other squads.

This also clears up some of the glut for playing time, Pelle gets solidified as the #1 backup wing and as long as he can find his form from 3 he's everything you could ask for in that role, Dru has the makings of a solid backup pg. All you really need is a backup big, or Jovic to find himself somehow.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Okc, celtics, warriors etc..

All the same blueprint. Defensive versatility, shooting, and a playmaker who can create offense for himself and others.

That's what the heat will need.

Does giannis get them there? Or is simply contending in the East good enough.

I think that team is close, its lacking a little bit in the shooting department, depending how much you trust Davion. If he can maintain 40% 3 point shooting at volume, and Bam can continue to knock his down, I don't see how that squad isn't every bit comparable to those others, you know Powell and Wiggins can knock'em down, you could play 4 out with that lineup and let Giannis be the motor. And defensively I'd argue their ceiling is higher than all those other squads.

This also clears up some of the glut for playing time, Pelle gets solidified as the #1 backup wing and as long as he can find his form from 3 he's everything you could ask for in that role, Dru has the makings of a solid backup pg. All you really need is a backup big, or Jovic to find himself somehow.

Just saw the okc game. They are as scary a team we've seen since the kd/steph warriors.

Those guys arent big, but their sefensive versatility is their identity. All their players guard. They loaded up on so many 2 way players that they don't lack offense even without sga.

Having that same defensive versatility, but bigger might be the only way to beat them.

[Vertical Limit]

Okc, celtics, warriors etc..

All the same blueprint. Defensive versatility, shooting, and a playmaker who can create offense for himself and others.

That's what the heat will need.

Does giannis get them there? Or is simply contending in the East good enough.

Its an all in move to get a top 10 player in the NBA next to Bam. Even if its just for 5 years, it is worth the gamble.

Im trading Herro, JJJ, Ware, Kasparous and multiple firsts.

Are we contenders this year? Doubt it, but we do make the playoffs.

We build from there… Our best heat team during the Heatles was year 3.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

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[SA37]

Maybe they need 3rd teams, or maybe the Bucks onsend Turner to a contender for a FRP and expirings to get another asset and open the door fully for Ware to start and play big minutes.

Turner's trade eligibility opens up from the 14th December. I agree that you can't play him and Ware together, and if you're rebuilding, you move the guy turning 30 in March. Someone would offer something of value for a floor spacing big who can defend the rim.

The Knicks essentially having no FRP's to trade is a pretty large barrier to a deal for a rebuilding squad, I would think.

If the bucks are trading giannis, turner is also on his way out for assets.

They would have no need for guys like Kat, wiggins, powell, etc.. (unless flipped to another team) because they would be in a full rebuild and asset acquisition mode.

Ware is the prize. If the bucks think he's got the potential to be worth building around, they probably take their swing. Herro is just a salary filler, yet young enough to be a bridge.

If the rozier situation is unresolved, wiggins needs to go in the deal and flipped to a 3rd team for someone younger or possibly a pick.

Trading Turner is an option, but I don't see Milwaukee blowing up their team and going into full tank mode. Milwaukee is not a FA destination, and they actually got a good FA to sign with them for ~2x the MLE, which is a relative bargain (consider Milwaukee will pay Turner ~20M more in total than they'll pay Lillard to not play for them over the next 4 seasons, assuming Turner opts in to his final year). It would send a terrible signal to any future FAs, as well as remove a role model for Ware and a good player who is in his prime from their roster.

Assuming a deal with Miami was Herro, Ware, Jaquez, Rozier, and 2 Miami 1sts, you'd have:

Turner / Ware
Portis / Kuzma
Jaquez / Trent Jr / T Prince
Herro / Green / G Harris
Rollins / Porter Jr

That's an excellent starting 5 with a good bench and only one player making over $30M/year (Herro). I think that team absolutely makes the play-in in the East.

If Herro goes to a 3rd team, I think there are several options in play, including trading for Morant, T Young, or K Leonard

Consider the following deals:

Spoiler:

Miami gets Giannis
Bucks get K Leonard, Ware, 1st from Miami
Clippers get Herro, Jaquez, Rozier, and a 1st from Miami

Turner / Ware
Portis / Kuzma
Leonard / Prince
Rollins / Trent Jr
Porter Jr / AJ Green


Miami gets Giannis and C Anthony
Bucks get Morant, Ware, Jaquez, Rozier, and a 1st from Miami + a swap
Memphis gets Herro and a 1st from Miami

Turner / Ware
Portis / Kuzma
Jaquez / Trent Jr / Prince
Rollins / AJ Green
Morant / Porter Jr

[SA37]

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The fact that Doncic and, especially Harden, are on that list makes me skeptical of whether that measurement is useful.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

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