There are numerous factors why the Heat have not added a veteran player via trade or free agency for nearly eight months, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Topping the list for the Heat’s lack of activity is that all of their available trade assets, except for Caleb Martin, either regressed, stagnated, or got injured. Other factors include a lack of mid-range salaries to include in potential trades, and that fact that no All-Stars on other teams lobbied for a trade to Miami.
We have more on the Heat:
- They were unable to move Kyle Lowry‘s salary before the trade deadline and there’s concern how well the veteran point guard can move physically the rest of the season, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports. Lowry has been dealing with left knee soreness and he could be sidelined for several weeks as he continues to receive treatment. He hasn’t played since Feb. 2.
- Jimmy Butler played this weekend in both games of a back-to-back for the first time since late October, Chiang notes. However, Nikola Jovic (lower back stress reaction), Victor Oladipo (right ankle sprain), Duncan Robinson (finger surgery) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery), as well as Lowry, remained sidelined. Coach Erik Spoelstra said that, among the injured players, only Oladipo has a chance to play before the All-Star break.
- Yurtseven will be a free agent after the season and the team hopes he’ll provide a late-season boost, much like Oladipo did last season, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes. Yurtseven, who underwent ankle surgery in November, has been cleared for high-impact work. “I just like the progress,” Spoelstra said of Yurtseven. “Things in our center position are trending in a much better direction, for sure.”
- The Heat have internally discussed adding Russell Westbrook in he chooses to take a buyout from the Jazz, according to Jackson. Westbrook may not make a decision about whether to go the buyout route until the All-Star break.
Spotrac summed up MIA’s deadline pretty well
“The Heat have put themselves in a really tough spot with their cap sheet. Kyle Lowry has fallen off a cliff and Duncan Robinson has fallen completely off the planet. That’s essentially $45-$50 million of bad money that the Heat have to work around. That led to salary-dumping Dewayne Dedmon, which is fine. That opens up the flexibility to convert Orlando Robinson to a standard contract. But a lot of teams got better in the East and Miami didn’t.
Just a hunch, but I think Butler is the next Big star (that teams actually want) to demand out
What’s crazy about Miami though is that I wouldn’t be surprised if they made the conference finals again.
Agreed
So they’ll try and dump Duncan or Kyle this off-season.
The Heat have 2 open roster spots to add a smallball 5 and someone that can help them at the 4, and they also have Duncan Robinson coming back, and playing guys in the right roles would help. There is a scenario where I could see Westbrook working in multiple positions, but it would depend on injury situation, and the shooting around him. I think there are multiple current FAs that can help the Heat, as well as a couple of options in their G-league I wouldnt want to continue to lose
Yurtseven coming back makes Orlando Robinson not as important, so not sure what they’ll do with that situation. I feel like they need to worry about other stuff with the roster spots, if Yurtseven is healthy
Standing Pat (Riley)
MIA had no ability to improve their roster at the deadline, and won’t have much more in the off season, unless they are willing to accept being a taxpayer the next couple of years, or, of course, do at least something of a reset involving a few of their high priced contracts. They proforma over 12 mm deep into tax territory for next season right now, and that’s without FAs Vincent, Strus and Yurtseven on the books.