So Miami really just rebuilt their squad in 1 offseason without assets and over the cap?

[BBallFreak]

First, who cares about the draft picks?

It's a big deal for a team like the Heat, who have been better with the draft than they have been with free agency.

You're making it sound like we gave them away and got nothing for it. We didn't. We got two incredibly good players who have given (in Dragic's case) or will give (in Butler's case) more than most draft picks. We owe two picks, still. One was for Goran Dragic who has given Miami 6 superlative years. The other was for Jimmy freaking Butler.

I'd make those trades, every time...

[iLLmatic860]

[benhillboy]

I'm an immensely proud fan of the Heat. Not because we are all of a sudden contenders, but because we have almost boringly practised what our robotic but brilliant coach has preached since Bron left.

Before going 30-11 in 2016-17 he said what the team has since shown. "We have an organisation-wide commitment to player development".

The fallacy with tanking is that your young assets look less attractive if your team stinks.

We're not that much better than last year in a real-world sense. Last year we had some injuries, struggled in the clutch and just missed playoffs. Probably a regression from the year before.

The big difference hasn't been Jimmy though. It's been getting getting rid of Hassan. It's not that he's bad, it's that he and Spo are very incompatible. One of Spo's flaws is he has a complex playbook. You need to make a lot of reads to execute on both ends. It just doesn't suit Hassan. He has to play a simple style.

This is the most compatible team Spo has had for his style of coaching. Millions of back screens, bigs running multiple DHOs. Different and complex defensive schemes that adapt to all matchups. This team is very high IQ. He's finally back to getting a 1+1 =3 result from his players. He hadn't done that since 2016-17 second half of the year. Difference between now and then is Jimmy. When the complex stuff gets shut down you need a killer to take you home.

There's overwhelming evidence that the organisation is very well-run but imperfect. That's good enough for me.

Excellent post. Hawks fan here, always been a Spo fanboy. I’m here forever for his and Jimmy’s bromance. I think he gets guys with marginal defensive chops to perform as well (or maybe even better) than Pop. What are he and Don Riley waiting on in terms of washing their hands of Waiters tho? He’s the model anti-Heat player.

[Maroko]

lol prime wade would be automatic finals and the title.

At first i was like :




then i am more like :

[greg4012]

Tyler Herro future star? Kendrick Nunn future star? How about they play more than a couple games first.

Yeah, definitely need some sample size. Also, it didn't take long for people to go from calling Fox/Hield the next great backcourt to now being overrated the entire time. Everything is recency bias.

That being said, the Heat have a good track record of developing unheralded guys that surprise people and end up sticking around in the league. People forget (because of the Spurs' success) that the Heat are the team that discovered and developed Bruce Bowen.

I'll take Fox on my team anytime. Dude is a star in the making.

[The_Hater]

Wasn't it a 5 year rebuild?

Exactly. It was a 1 season rebuild that took 5 years to complete.

Still, gotta say I’m impressed with all the cheap talent the Heat were able to add without even having a high draft pick the past 3-4 seasons, their scouting department deserves a lot of credit. And that helps make up for the slew of terrible contracts they were handing out middling vets in between.

[prime1time]

Tyler Herro future star? Kendrick Nunn future star? How about they play more than a couple games first.

Yeah, definitely need some sample size. Also, it didn't take long for people to go from calling Fox/Hield the next great backcourt to now being overrated the entire time. Everything is recency bias.

That being said, the Heat have a good track record of developing unheralded guys that surprise people and end up sticking around in the league. People forget (because of the Spurs' success) that the Heat are the team that discovered and developed Bruce Bowen.

I'll take Fox on my team anytime. Dude is a star in the making.

How do you know he's a star in the making? I'm actually very concerned about Fox. NBA is moving away from ball dominant guards who aren't lethal shooters because they stagnate the offense.

[tamaraw08]

Armchair GMs gloss over the most important part of rebuilding: picking the right players.

You don't need cap, high picks etc. You need great scouts, a greater coach and a top GM. Heat have all 3

right players who have strong work ethic, but the most overlook part IMO is not just about finding players but how you NURTURE THEM, train them and work on their game.

[DBurks2818]

First off Whiteside wasn't undrafted, he was just on the scrap heap. Also, why did you ignore the second-rounder, Richardson, after I'd brought him up as a success story? And getting lucky? McGruder and Tyler Johnson in the recent past, Haslem and Joel Anthony before that. Robinson has been solid so far this season... But non-fans like you don't really know about the organization's undrafted success stories and development program though, so I don't blame you for thinking its luck. So please don't take offense to this, I think it's just ignorance on your part which is understandable.

Do you really think it's because of some kind of special formula or secret the Heat have for drafting that other teams don't? Or that other teams don't spend massive amounts of resources and time into developing their picks? This isn't a knock at all on the Heat, who seem like one of the best run teams in the league. It's just that being well run doesn't magically produce draft success, just means you're making slightly better bets than other teams (which again means that, like with most bets, it's still mostly up to unknowns). I think we all look a little naive and slow on these boards by constantly judging FO's based on the outcomes rather than talking about these things like they do, which is in terms of bets made based on potential and developing guys step by step in competent realistic ways.

I largely agree with you, I just think that the Heat have shown a greater ability to do more with less than most organizations. I mean they haven't had a pick inside the top-10 since LeBron left.

[Pharmcat]

How did everyone else miss on Nunn but heat saw it? This is the best fo in the business

[dc]

How did everyone else miss on Nunn but heat saw it? This is the best fo in the business

Warriors had him on their G-League squad last year. I saw him play in person. They just didn't have room for him on the big club at the time.

They already knew he was too good for G-League. They were actually bringing him off the bench because they already knew he was good enough and were trying to get other guys playing time. At the game I went to, he came off the bench and played bigger minutes in the 2nd half and he pretty much had his way in the 4th Q, getting his shot off whenever he wanted.

[John Murdoch]

Just guys auditioning for Chris Paul deal

[SerialChiller]

Just guys auditioning for Chris Paul deal

Hell no...that would be a huge mistake. No way Riley could be that dumb.

[WD]

They looked good today

[KingDavid]

Just guys auditioning for Chris Paul deal

How does that make any sense?

[MotownMadness]

Has Garland looked as bad as his stats so far this year?

[chitownsalesmen]

Just guys auditioning for Chris Paul deal

If I'm a Heat fan I would feel sick thinking about handicapping their team to that CP3 contract for the next 3 years, after finally turning the corner post Heatles. They've had so much money tied up in Bosh/Dragic/Whiteside since LeBron left their hands truly were tied a bit.

Good on Pat Riley for not feeling the need to scramble and give up real value for CP3 in july. I feel like if they can get room for a max slot they could get someone legit to join Butler in Free agency, maybe at that point if they snag another guy on a max. It looks like they could have some space in 2021 which could be stacked FA class.

[djsunyc]

miami always had an outwork you type of team. now they have guys that can make shots. its a long season but promising start.

[Zasterror]

Tagging this thread.

[kidco2]

Just guys auditioning for Chris Paul deal

Lakers got Nunn of that?