Post-Mortem: 2021-22 Miami Heat

[SerialChiller]

Gotta dump Duncan somehow in a trade

Hopefully resign Oladipo to a reasonable deal

Lowry is a big problem right now at his salary. They will just have to hope he can be healthy in the playoffs next year since Butler wants him there and hed be difficult to unload.

They need another PG option on the roster, and another PF but have no cap space as is. They wore themselves out playing so small all year and switching so heavily on defense.

[Pointgod]

Trade Herro, trade BAM, move Duncan. Resign Oladipo, Vincent and Struss if possible. I think Lillard is the wrong target and poor fit. I’m not a fan of the small backcourt with Lowry and Lillard struggles defensively. Jimmy is a 1A in the playoffs, they need a 1B. And Lowry provided he’s healthy steps into option 2 if Bam and Herro are moved.

[ITYSL]

Try to move Robinson. The Lowry contract is a lot too but you know that even at 36, if he's rested and relatively healthy, Lowry can give you good playoff minutes

It's crazy how much Robinson and Herro struggled to get on the court these playoffs

[RHODEY]

People underestimate what Riley has up his sleeve this off-season.

I predict they somehow land Donovan Mitchell.

[R-DAWG]

I don't think they need a big change - just need a bit more playable size and secondary scoring. Something around Duncan Robinson+Herro for Julius Randle might be a win-win. He'd fit their physical style and adds a little bit of secondary playmaking. Oladipo can take over the Herro role, as he'll likely look better next year.

Herro is too much to give up in this trade, but something like Robinson + a draft pick for Randle could have merit. I'm not sure the Knicks would have any interest in that contract tho and might counter back with using Oladipo's bird rights in a sign and trade. But Randle is the kind of low cost, secondary scoring option that a team like Miami can justify rolling the dice on, especially if it gets them off the Duncan Robinson contract.

Also - the Robinson/Lowry for Westbrook thing could make some sense. Westbrook is a better fit on the Heat roster and worst case for Miami, they get off the Lowry/Robinson contracts. Lakers bank on Lowry being a better fit with their group and Robinson being a servable shooter.

Run out a lineup of Westbrook-Butler-Tucker-Randle-Bam with Herro, Struss, and Vincent coming off the bench. The lineup is a little light on shooting, but plays Miami Heat style defense with more shot creation than they currently have. More importantly, they clean up the books long term.

It's a tough balance for Miami to strike as the window to win around Jimmy given his age is limited, but you also don't want to rush into anything that sets you back during a rebuild that is 2-3 years away. Unless you get a Dame Lillard type who forces his way to Miami in a trade - which given where the league is today very well could happen - it's hard to justify going all-in rather than just being economical around the edges.

Westbrook?!

The driver is getting off Lowry's deal a year earlier plus the back end of Duncan Robinson's deal.

[BBallFreak]

Herro is too much to give up in this trade, but something like Robinson + a draft pick for Randle could have merit. I'm not sure the Knicks would have any interest in that contract tho and might counter back with using Oladipo's bird rights in a sign and trade. But Randle is the kind of low cost, secondary scoring option that a team like Miami can justify rolling the dice on, especially if it gets them off the Duncan Robinson contract.

Also - the Robinson/Lowry for Westbrook thing could make some sense. Westbrook is a better fit on the Heat roster and worst case for Miami, they get off the Lowry/Robinson contracts. Lakers bank on Lowry being a better fit with their group and Robinson being a servable shooter.

Run out a lineup of Westbrook-Butler-Tucker-Randle-Bam with Herro, Struss, and Vincent coming off the bench. The lineup is a little light on shooting, but plays Miami Heat style defense with more shot creation than they currently have. More importantly, they clean up the books long term.

It's a tough balance for Miami to strike as the window to win around Jimmy given his age is limited, but you also don't want to rush into anything that sets you back during a rebuild that is 2-3 years away. Unless you get a Dame Lillard type who forces his way to Miami in a trade - which given where the league is today very well could happen - it's hard to justify going all-in rather than just being economical around the edges.

Westbrook?!

The driver is getting off Lowry's deal a year earlier plus the back end of Duncan Robinson's deal.

No. We're Miami. We're not taking Westbrook.

[Paz]

Worst home crowd I've ever seen in a game 7.

The place was packed. Same as it was the entire playoffs. No idea wtf you're trying to say? Should there have been people sitting on people's laps?

[Flash4thewin]

Worst home crowd I've ever seen in a game 7.

The place was packed. Same as it was the entire playoffs. No idea wtf you're trying to say? Should there have been people sitting on people's laps?

No thats Tootsies... Paul George loves it there

[rate_]

Miami is hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy if Jimmy had a true robin.

[Liver_Pooty]

Worst home crowd I've ever seen in a game 7.

The place was packed. Same as it was the entire playoffs. No idea wtf you're trying to say? Should there have been people sitting on people's laps?

Nah they were too busy sitting on their hands.

[JXL]

Have no space, and might pay the lux tax, but Riley won't care. He's going to get the best players for #HeatCulture.

[ForeverTFC]

For the better part of the last decade, I've looked at the Heats roster and cap and said "yeah, this is a mess. It's going to be a long rebuild for these guys" and then 2 years later the Heat are making long playoff runs.

So in short, I'm sure they'll be fine.

[Heat3]

People underestimate what Riley has up his sleeve this off-season.

I predict they somehow land Donovan Mitchell.

I would like that. Hopefully Danny Ainge doesn’t have too much influence. Negotiations should take place directly between Pat Riley and Dwayne Wade.

[R-DAWG]

People underestimate what Riley has up his sleeve this off-season.

I predict they somehow land Donovan Mitchell.

I would like that. Hopefully Danny Ainge doesn’t have too much influence. Negotiations should take place directly between Pat Riley and Dwayne Wade.

I think their path to a star is either (a) an older star who forces a trade and has a more limited market or (b) a player in a sign and trade like Jimmy Butler a few years ago where a limited package from Miami is better than an asset walking for nothing.

Path (b) this offseason is limited to Brad Beal and Zach LaVine this offseason. And if I am Miami and I can get either guy, I'm all in. They were close enough to the Finals this year where either guy could put them over the top.

I'm not sure who the older guy who would hit path (a) is, but a player almost always becomes available.

Either way - it's the Miami Heat, living in Miami, playing for a contender. It's arguably the top free agent destination in the NBA.

[jumblin]

On his 3pt shot, Max Strus took 4 steps without dribbling, and stepped out of bounds. And still believes he has the right to be pissed about it getting taken away.

And then does this kind of math:

"I think it went from a six-point game to an 11-point game with no time coming off the clock"

[Flash4thewin]

I predict they somehow land Donovan Mitchell.

I would like that. Hopefully Danny Ainge doesn’t have too much influence. Negotiations should take place directly between Pat Riley and Dwayne Wade.

I think their path to a star is either (a) an older star who forces a trade and has a more limited market or (b) a player in a sign and trade like Jimmy Butler a few years ago where a limited package from Miami is better than an asset walking for nothing.

Path (b) this offseason is limited to Brad Beal and Zach LaVine this offseason. And if I am Miami and I can get either guy, I'm all in. They were close enough to the Finals this year where either guy could put them over the top.

I'm not sure who the older guy who would hit path (a) is, but a player almost always becomes available.

Either way - it's the Miami Heat, living in Miami, playing for a contender. It's arguably the top free agent destination in the NBA.

Isn’t Zach represented by Klutch?

[Gomes3PC]

They have too many guys with limitations on one side or the other. Vincent, Strus, and Robinson are all targets against good offenses. God bless Tucker but he's a non-entity most nights on offense. Dedmon got exposed as their backup big, which I think is probably their most fixable solution as you can usually find solid bench big men without a great deal of trouble.

Part of the issue is just lack of talent. They shipped Precious out and so the only picks of their own they have since 2016 are Herro and Bam. They nailed those two but all the trades have left them barren of young, top-shelf athletes. Finding the Caleb Martins and Max Struses of the world is really fun but ultimately those guys should be 8th/9th men, not starters. Just look at Boston and GSWs starters:

Horford - top-5 pick
Tatum - top-5
Brown - top-5
Smart - top 10
Rob Williams - 1st rd who was a lotto talent
Grant Williams - 1st rd
Pritchard - 1st rd

Curry - top 10
Klay - lotto pick
Wiggins - #1
Looney - 1st rd
Dray - 2nd rd
Poole - 1st rd
Porter - top-5

Draymond is the only guy in the Finals who wasn't a 1st round pick, and he's obviously just a huge outlier.

I think they have their 1st this year, and even though it's a late first it's still got a lot of value. In that 25-30 range you can find guys like Jordan Pole, Desmond Bane, Payton Pritchard, Jaden McDaniels, Bones Hyland, Rob Williams, Landry Shamet, etc. Guys with pure talent levels a step above a guy like Strus or Vincent.

They obviously also just need Lowry to be better than he was - if he's cooked they are drawing a bit dead next year given his salary size. He won't be the Raps Lowry again but he has to give them more than he did on offense - be reliable as a spot up, marshal the offense, and be a pest on D.

IMO they are desperately in need of an athletic PF who can shoot and drive on closeouts. PJ Tucker is one of the all time NBA tough guy role players but IMO he's past his expiration date. Doesn't even need to be someone great, more like Jeff Green once he hit his early 30s. Just need a guy who can actually make defenses pay for collapsing on Jimmy and Bam.

[hippesthippo]

Miami must go for either Donovan Mitchell or Lavine. They need a second star.

Mitchell, hell no. Don't need a chucker taking the ball out of Jimmy's hands.

Lavine, maybe; he played well next to Derozan, who plays similar on offense to Jimmy.

[hippesthippo]

Try to move Robinson. The Lowry contract is a lot too but you know that even at 36, if he's rested and relatively healthy, Lowry can give you good playoff minutes

It's crazy how much Robinson and Herro struggled to get on the court these playoffs

They went all in on that man defense scheme and Robinson simply wasn't capable of performing that style of switching defense to Spo's liking. Everytime they put Robinson in the Heat switched to a zone defense. Struss is a bigger body, but he didn't seem any more capable on defense and he missed a lot of shots.

Robinson should have been playing more all year, instead of losing minutes and confidence, but Miami has a depth problem at Center which effected the defenses they could run and it trickled its way down to the guard rotation.

Herro was injured I thought?

[harlem_ball]

Miami must go for either Donovan Mitchell or Lavine. They need a second star.

Mitchell, hell no. Don't need a chucker taking the ball out of Jimmy's hands.

Lavine, maybe; he played well next to Derozan, who plays similar on offense to Jimmy.

Lavines a free agent right? He would have to be signed and traded and im not sure Miami would want to bolster a conference rival. Lavine's athleticism is def Heat style but Mitchell should be fine with Butler.