2025-26 Miami Heat Regular Season Thread 3.0

[wadenation305]

Screw it how bad can it be?

JA, Dru, Kas
Powell, Larsson
Wiggins, Jaquez
AD, whoever under 6'5 and undrafted that spo likes
Bam, Ware

[Wiltside]

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Bring my 3 and D goat home

He stinks. Let him get traded to Istanbul

It’s 2026 and we still talking about JAGSMITH

[Wiltside]

Miami won’t be able to pay Morant, Herro, and Powell so something has got to give. It’s easy to say send Rozier and Simone and adding 40 mil to books next year putting us in heavy apron territory.

My guess is Herro is the one that gives, considering his desired pay day will likely exceed Norm’s.

Ja is a conundrum though. Earning big money, only available sometimes, shot is a bit busted, highly questionable attitude….but an elite talent. Not sure if he’s salvageable or if he just is who he is, just another malcontent.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

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Spurs, Knicks, Celtics, Lakers, Pacers, Warriors, Hornets, Bucks, and Nets fans already frothing out the mouth at the opportunity from what I’ve seen.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

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[vagelis]

"zero main flaws in his game right now" is really funny to me.

i) His biggest weakness is his handle. It’s the main reason he never developed enough counter moves or the ability to squeeze through tight spaces like elite scorers can. He can't manipulate the defense with his dribble at all and is helpless once the paint is walled off.

Comparing him to MJ is totally off, imho. MJ had elite fundamentals, footwork, counters and ball protection were on another level, MJ is much closer to Kyrie skill wise when it comes to handle than Wiggins is to MJ.

ii) We literally saw high usage Wiggins in Minnesota (25%+ usage) and he basically averaged 2 asts and 2 TOs a game. This is his second biggest flaw and makes me want to put my skull through the wall watching him play sometimes.

He's a play finisher, not a creator. His tunnel vision, getting the ball in the paint and proceeding to try finishing 1-on-2 or even 1-on-3 is easily the most infuriating part

iii) "I really think that if you force Wiggins to score, he can go to 25ppg easily"

We saw "25 ppg Wiggins" in Minnesota too, high usage, low efficiency scoring, little playmaking for others. The lack of handle, counter moves and court vision makes it very difficult to translate volume into high efficiency, even if you are a freak athlete.

iv) Pippen was more of a "point forward," whereas Wiggins is a wing scorer. Pippen is much closer to Jimmy than Wiggins is to Pippen, they are a different tier impact wise, but I get the comparison in the sense that he's seen as a "complementary piece" to a star

v) "For me he is an Alpha as a basketball player but he is not an Alpha as a personality"

I'd agree he's an athletic freak with physical tools most guys in the NBA don't have, but it's not just personality that held him back. The lack of an elite handle and court vision are very significant technical flaws that limited what he can become and he never really improved those

Wiggins has not elite handles but he has decent handles.
Minesota Wiggins was 20yo and he had 25% usage and 24ppg. He was not ready. The scouters said that he was raw but people judjed him at the age of 20.

He now shoots 41% 3p.
He has improved with the years but his main opportunity came when he was not ready.
Who is ready at the age of 20?

Jordan had decent handles not elite but all the other tools made him the GOAT.
The athleticism, the speed, the balance in the air, the shooting ability, his ego , his personality etc.

Wiggins is more talented than Butler imo.
Butler has a bigger ego than Wiggins and a bigger personality.

Wiggins and Butler have the same type of play and they are not like Pippen.

Pippen played in open court and was a one foot leaper. Lebron has similar type of play but he is a better player than Pippen. A better version.

Wiggins and Butler play with midrange and jump shoots and they are 2 feet leapers.

[HeatingUp3]

Don't give away picks!!!

[wadenation305]

"zero main flaws in his game right now" is really funny to me.

i) His biggest weakness is his handle. It’s the main reason he never developed enough counter moves or the ability to squeeze through tight spaces like elite scorers can. He can't manipulate the defense with his dribble at all and is helpless once the paint is walled off.

Comparing him to MJ is totally off, imho. MJ had elite fundamentals, footwork, counters and ball protection were on another level, MJ is much closer to Kyrie skill wise when it comes to handle than Wiggins is to MJ.

ii) We literally saw high usage Wiggins in Minnesota (25%+ usage) and he basically averaged 2 asts and 2 TOs a game. This is his second biggest flaw and makes me want to put my skull through the wall watching him play sometimes.

He's a play finisher, not a creator. His tunnel vision, getting the ball in the paint and proceeding to try finishing 1-on-2 or even 1-on-3 is easily the most infuriating part

iii) "I really think that if you force Wiggins to score, he can go to 25ppg easily"

We saw "25 ppg Wiggins" in Minnesota too, high usage, low efficiency scoring, little playmaking for others. The lack of handle, counter moves and court vision makes it very difficult to translate volume into high efficiency, even if you are a freak athlete.

iv) Pippen was more of a "point forward," whereas Wiggins is a wing scorer. Pippen is much closer to Jimmy than Wiggins is to Pippen, they are a different tier impact wise, but I get the comparison in the sense that he's seen as a "complementary piece" to a star

v) "For me he is an Alpha as a basketball player but he is not an Alpha as a personality"

I'd agree he's an athletic freak with physical tools most guys in the NBA don't have, but it's not just personality that held him back. The lack of an elite handle and court vision are very significant technical flaws that limited what he can become and he never really improved those

Wiggins has not elite handles but he has decent handles.
Minesota Wiggins was 20yo and he had 25% usage and 24ppg. He was not ready. The scouters said that he was raw but people judjed him at the age of 20.

He now shoots 41% 3p.
He has improved with the years but his main opportunity came when he was not ready.
Who is ready at the age of 20?

Jordan had decent handles not elite but all the other tools made him the GOAT.
The athleticism, the speed, the balance in the air, the shooting ability, his ego , his personality etc.

Wiggins is more talented than Butler imo.
Butler has a bigger ego than Wiggins and a bigger personality.

Wiggins and Butler have the same type of play and they are not like Pippen.

Pippen played in open court and was a one foot leaper. Lebron has similar type of play but he is a better player than Pippen. A better version.

Wiggins and Butler play with midrange and jump shoots and they are 2 feet leapers.

Wiggs is missing that fire inside that pushes people to greatness. That why I see Bam as a good third fiddle, but no where near alpha status, its just not in his personality. He's a hard worker, anchors our defense, can shoot sometimes. But just doesn't have that a hole in him that's says " I'm the best player on the court, prove me otherwise"

Some people have that irrational confidence and not the talent to match it. Wiggs and Bam have talent, but not the confidence to take to be THAT guy.

Give Wiggins, Dion Waiters type of confidence and you got yourself a totally different player

[3ammy3uck3ts]

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Shumpert with the inside scoop?!

[Kobewade11]

Rozier and Norm

[3ammy3uck3ts]

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[MartyCONLONNN]

I NEED IT

[VaDe255]

Spoiler:

"zero main flaws in his game right now" is really funny to me.

i) His biggest weakness is his handle. It’s the main reason he never developed enough counter moves or the ability to squeeze through tight spaces like elite scorers can. He can't manipulate the defense with his dribble at all and is helpless once the paint is walled off.

Comparing him to MJ is totally off, imho. MJ had elite fundamentals, footwork, counters and ball protection were on another level, MJ is much closer to Kyrie skill wise when it comes to handle than Wiggins is to MJ.

ii) We literally saw high usage Wiggins in Minnesota (25%+ usage) and he basically averaged 2 asts and 2 TOs a game. This is his second biggest flaw and makes me want to put my skull through the wall watching him play sometimes.

He's a play finisher, not a creator. His tunnel vision, getting the ball in the paint and proceeding to try finishing 1-on-2 or even 1-on-3 is easily the most infuriating part

iii) "I really think that if you force Wiggins to score, he can go to 25ppg easily"

We saw "25 ppg Wiggins" in Minnesota too, high usage, low efficiency scoring, little playmaking for others. The lack of handle, counter moves and court vision makes it very difficult to translate volume into high efficiency, even if you are a freak athlete.

iv) Pippen was more of a "point forward," whereas Wiggins is a wing scorer. Pippen is much closer to Jimmy than Wiggins is to Pippen, they are a different tier impact wise, but I get the comparison in the sense that he's seen as a "complementary piece" to a star

v) "For me he is an Alpha as a basketball player but he is not an Alpha as a personality"

I'd agree he's an athletic freak with physical tools most guys in the NBA don't have, but it's not just personality that held him back. The lack of an elite handle and court vision are very significant technical flaws that limited what he can become and he never really improved those

Wiggins has not elite handles but he has decent handles.
Minesota Wiggins was 20yo and he had 25% usage and 24ppg. He was not ready. The scouters said that he was raw but people judjed him at the age of 20.

He now shoots 41% 3p.
He has improved with the years but his main opportunity came when he was not ready.
Who is ready at the age of 20?

Jordan had decent handles not elite but all the other tools made him the GOAT.
The athleticism, the speed, the balance in the air, the shooting ability, his ego , his personality etc.

Wiggins is more talented than Butler imo.
Butler has a bigger ego than Wiggins and a bigger personality.

Wiggins and Butler have the same type of play and they are not like Pippen.

Pippen played in open court and was a one foot leaper. Lebron has similar type of play but he is a better player than Pippen. A better version.

Wiggins and Butler play with midrange and jump shoots and they are 2 feet leapers.

Have to strongly disagree on the Butler comparison, you seem to be defining "talent" mostly as athletic aesthetics (jumping, smoothness). To me, talent includes ball handling, court vision, basketball IQ and craft. Jimmy isn't just "ego and personality", he is elite at a lot of these
Butler dragged very flawed rosters to the Finals as a #1 option because he impacts winning across the board. Wiggins isn't close to that, in a limited role he has value, but their impact on the game is in completely different tiers. They might both take mid range jumpers, but the context is totally different

Regarding the 3P%, it matters a lot how you get those shots. Wiggins is assisted on ~94% of them this year, I haven't looked too deeply at the tracking data, but this implies he rarely creates them himself. He is taking the easiest shots available, C&S looks, which is totally different from being a self creating threat. Elite scorers shoot pull ups off the dribble, if Wiggins was asked to do that, his efficiency would drop significantly

I get your point about patience and players needing time to develop, but we saw Wiggins for 5.5 years in Minnesota. This isn't me just looking at his rookie year, the flaws (handle and tunnel vision) remained mostly the same throughout that period and I still see a lot of it today

I really like his C&S 3p shooting though, ever since he isn't ask to create them himself his 3p% has been been consistently good. He's become a high end version of a 3&D wing who can do a bit more if needed. I'd value him a lot more if his contract actually reflected that role

[broke]

I'd rather keep Norm and offload Herro. I feel like Norm is a more reliable scorer with more tools when he's expected to iso. Even with Ja I feel like Norm is a better finisher.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Patrick James Riley is on the 1 yard line, he’s done it again

[Kobewade11]

I'd rather keep Norm and offload Herro. I feel like Norm is a more reliable scorer with more tools when he's expected to iso. Even with Ja I feel like Norm is a better finisher.

For me it comes down to age. If I have to pay one I’ll take the 25 year old every time. If we were talking about a superstar player I’d feel differently, nothing against Norm though who has been solid.

[Enso]

[MartyCONLONNN]

Patrick James Riley is on the 1 yard line, he’s done it again

don't jinx it king

[Enso]

Say what you want, it might end up being a dumpster fire but if we do grab him it’ll def inject some excitement for at least a little while lol

[CWebb2491]

I think we’re getting Morant.

Would be most likely include a mix of the following contracts to match salary. No picks.

Rozier, Fontechio, Kasparas

Would give Miami to assess what a team of

Bam Ware
Wiggins Jovic
Powell JJJ
Herro Larson
Morant Mitchell

That’s a solid deep rotation.

Allows Miami to have 4 tradable 1sts in the off-season with assets in Herro, Ware, Larson and a good expiring in Mitchell.