Justise Winslow a Good Start but More Work Needed for Miami Heat
With the tenth pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Miami Heat got a gift with Duke forward Justise Winslow on the board. Winslow, who won the NCAA National Championship with Duke, was projected to be a top 7 pick in the draft but fell into the lap of Pat Riley. Despite having a terrific draft, Riley still needs to do work with this Heat roster that looks beaten and battered at this point in time. Here are some things that need to happen to make this offseason a success for the Heat:
To start off, Riley must retain Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade for at least this season. After acquiring Dragic at the deadline, Dragic averaged 16 points and 5 assists in the 26 games he started at the point guard position. The stats were a significant upgrade from the 6 points and 3 assists that the Heat got from Norris Cole, who started at point guard before being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans at the deadline.
Wade, who will turn 34 in January, has missed time every season due to knee injures. In 62 games last season, Wade was able to keep up production with 21 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds per game. There have been reports of Wade having mutual interest with the Los Angeles Lakers but those could very well just be a smokescreen from Wade.
With that being said, there are some great free agents in this class to possibly replace Wade, including Monta Ellis, Wesley Matthews, and Louis Williams, who are all unrestricted free agents. The Heat have said to have interest in Ellis and Williams especially, but the price will have to be right for someone like Riley to make the move.
There’s no question the Heat have struggled with bench depth, especially big man depth. The free agent class will feature some great players to help combat that. Among those are Carlos Boozer, who will most likely ask for a veterans minimum. Boozer would help a team that doesn’t have much cap flexibility to work with. A team like the Miami Heat, for example. Last season, Boozer averaged 12 points and 8 assists per game for the Los Angeles Lakers and is definitely a viable option for the Heat.
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Sticking with big man and depth, the Miami Heat will need to look to trade Chris Andersen. Despite being a fan favorite for his outlandish behavior, Andersen is currently on a $5.3 million contract over two years. Andersen’s contract is too high and looks all the more inflated, given his minimal production (5.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.0 BPG in 2014-15) in Miami. Riley may also look to trade Josh McRoberts, who missed most of last season with an injury.
There is no question that the Heat can make the playoffs in 2016. After adding valuable pieces in Josh Richardson and Winslow, the offseason has looked bright so far for the Heat. With that being said, if the Heat want to make the playoffs next year, they will need more.
