The Miami Heat are still recovering from LeBron James’ departure from South Beach, but this finally looked like a season where they made significant progress. At the beginning of it, Dwyane Wade was supposedly in his twilight, Goran Dragic wasn’t a sure fit, there were question marks up front and some even said Erik Spoelstra was on the hot seat. However, the Heat really pieced things together and with a healthy Chris Bosh, they probably would have made the Eastern Conference Finals.
But as we take a look at their offseason priorities, it’s very clear that this team could be very different next season. Wade played great but it’s (slightly) possible he calls it a career. What’s more realistic is that he returns, but it’s looking less and less likely that Bosh will with health reasons urging him to retire. As for free agents, Hassan Whiteside is going to get a huge contract – possibly from Miami or someone else – and the team has a number of free agents. There are many offseason priorities for this team and they could look very different next season.
What To Do With Free Agents
The Heat have so many free agents that it’s hard to envision what this team will look like next season. We know that Dragic, Josh McRoberts, Justise Winslow and Joshua Richardson are back. Beyond that, nobody knows. Wade is a free agent and he’ll command a big payday. Do the Heat want to invest in the face of their franchise or is it best to spend that money elsewhere? Luol Deng is another starter that the Heat have to evaluate. At $10 million last year, he seemed like a bargain. But he’s also getting up there in years and will command a raise in free agency. Do the Heat invest? If not, that’s two starters that are gone – make it three if Bosh retires. Then there’s also Joe Johnson, who proved to be a nice complementary piece, but he’ll be looking for a contender next season. Udonis Haslem is a free agent, as are Beno Udrih, Amar’e Stoudemire, Gerald Green and Hassan Whiteside.
Hassan Whiteside: To Pay Or Not To Pay
One of the main offseason priorities for the Heat is to figure out what to do with Whiteside. He was a hidden gem that Pat Riley discovered and the team was paying him less than a million dollars last year. However, he’s proven to be one of the best defensive players in the NBA the last two seasons and one of the most significant centers in the game. He averaged 14.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and had a PER of 25.69. That’s impressive. He’s going to get a max deal from someone but the question is whether Miami wants to invest. If they do, they’ll have a foundation that includes Whiteside, Dragic and Winslow. If not, this team is mostly starting from scratch.
Get Younger
Wade will join the NBA Hall of Fame one day, but he is just not the force he once was – even though he was masterful for stretches during these playoffs. The same goes for lesser players, forwards Johnson and Deng. That is three players past their prime in the Heat starting lineup. Then there’s Haslem, McRobers and Stoudemire. There are just too many past-their-prime pieces. This team has to get younger to be able to match up better with the strongest teams in the league.
Depth At Center
Whiteside is a burgeoning talent and his size is critical to the Heat’s defense and success, but they do not have any other productive interior players. We saw that when he was lost for the series against the Toronto Raptors. They had nobody behind him to step in, protect the rim and clear rebounds.
The league may be playing smaller than ever, but it is still very useful to have at least one player on the floor who can play big. Miami didn’t have anyone behind Whiteside this year and that could be even more important next year if he’s gone. That’s one of their most important offseason priorities.
Find Some Shooters
Miami has an interesting construction as they are essentially masters of the mid-range game. Their best scorers – Wade, Johnson and Goran Dragic – are all best inside the arc and this team really struggled from three-point land. Their 33.6% from three was 27th in the NBA as was their 6.1 threes per game. Only the Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks had less. They need to find some players that can spot up and hit threes to stretch opposing defenses. That will be one of their more crucial offseason priorities.
