2017 NBA Offseason Review: Miami Heat

After falling short in the Playoff race, the Heat entered summer with a lot of ambition, as well as a lot of competition. How did they fare this offseason?

Alex Bellat
Jul 22, 2017 · 3 min read
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The 2016–17 Miami Heat were a true Jekyll and Hyde team. They started the season 11–30 only to go 30–11 the rest of the way. In the end, they missed the playoffs because of a tiebreaker with the Bulls and turned their attention to chasing star free agents.

Ultimately, the Heat struck out in free agency, as their main target Gordon Hayward went to an Eastern Conference foe in the Boston Celtics. However, the Heat made other significant moves this summer. Let’s check them out.

Key Losses

It rumored for a while and did not surprise anyone but on July 4th, the Heat made it official. They waived Chris Bosh. The forward could not continue playing with his health at stake, and even though the 11-time-All Star did not suit up all season, a future Hall of Famer having to retire can’t go unnoticed. Bosh’s jersey is now retired by the franchise. The Heat also saw the athletic and promising big man Willie Reed take his talents to Santa Monica for one season and $1.5 million. Another important loss for the Heat was losing ou in the race for Gordon Hayward, who they could not convince to join their squad. This time, Pat Riley’s charm did not work. Neither did the banners.

Key Additions

Although Hayward signing for Boston was a punch in the guts, it allowed Miami to offer Kelly Olynyk a nice $52 million contract over four years. This is a pretty good move from the Floridians who are adding an interesting offensively-minded big man. The Canadian will be used as a back-up for Hassan Whiteside alongside Bam Adebayo, who they drafted 14th overall. The former Kentucky Wildcat showed some promising performances during the Summer League, and although we can’t rank him as a potential candidate for Rookie of the Year, his athleticism and engagement under the rim make him a reliable draft pick who will fill the gap left by Willie Reed. We might also not see as much Olynyk-Adebayo competition as we may forecast, as the Heat could make good use of Kelly’s shooting range and have him create some spacing and stretch defenses. He also crushes the Wizards dreams from time to time.


Is stability a bad thing?

Gordon Hayward, Serge Ibaka, Rudy Gay… those were the names the Heat’s front-office were aiming at. Yet, they could not sign any of them. Instead, they signed Dion Waiters on a 4-year, $52 million contract. Miami also kept their Swiss army knife in James Johnson for $60 million over 4 years. They are also getting Justise Winslow back who missed most of last season due wrist and shoulder injuries.

Miami is reuniting with the same squad responsible for their outstanding run which almost allowed them to steal a Playoff spot. No fancy signing, but a valuable addition in Olynyk and a core which knows each other and most importantly, trusts each other. Somehow, after the hideous season beginning in 2016, something clicked. Something internal, which makes a team believe in itself and everyone shooting in the same direction. Being coached by Erik Spoelstra surely helps too. This is what Miami needs to focus on, as they almost made it to postseason last year and certainly can make a statement in an open Eastern Conference.

The Heat showed us Dion Waiters is actually a player capable of contributing to winning basketball as well as the worth of role-players like Luke Babbitt and Wayne Ellington, who many would have otherwise seen as nothing more than end of the bench players. If they stay healthy, the Heat will continue doing so this season and will have their word to say in the playoff race. Miami still has time to improve and take a new step in the upcoming season and they have less pressure on their shoulders to do so than they would have had if they signed an All-Star this summer.

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