Miami Heat Grab Bag: The Josh Richardson Question

Welcome to a [somewhat] weekly grab bag of thoughts and observations from the past few days in the world of Miami Heat basketball and the NBA.

Free Agent Grades for the Heat

A few days ago I graded Miami’s free agency performance, including a breakdown of their off-season acquisitions. Some snippets:

"The Heat will try to strike a healthy balance between finding Whiteside rolling to the basket and Bosh popping near the elbow. It will be Wade finding his teammates in familiar position, and Dragic pushing the pace, that will set the tone for the rest of the team."

[…]

"Deng provides the Heat’s starting lineup–one packed with players who can dominate with the rock in their hands–with a guy who can impact the game without the ball. Deng, a 36 percent 3-point shooter, can space the floor, cut to the basket without the ball and be an outlet for his teammates on offense. Last season, two thirds of Deng’s field goals were assisted. That’s essentially the inverse of Wade and Dragic."

[…]

"The Heat ranked 24th in the NBA in 3-point percentage last season. To say they needed a 3-point shooter would be as much an understatement as it is obvious. So, Pat Riley went out and signed the best 3-point shooter available at a below market, minimum contract. A-plus for that."

[…]

"If I told you in 2010 that, in five years, the Heat would have both Bosh and Stoudemire on the roster, you would have done backflips."

The Round Table Discusses Summer League

The All U Can Heat staff got together to talk about summer league, specifically our impressions with rookies Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson. Reviews were generally positive in regards to Winslow. However, while we all like Richardson, we disagree on if he will make the Heat’s roster this season.

Speaking of…

Breaking Down How Josh Richardson Makes the Heat’s Roster

Earlier in the week, I went in depth about how Miami’s second round pick can make the team. It’s not as easy as deciding whether or not he’s good enough to make an NBA team. A lot more has to play out first, before the Heat can make that kind of decision. Such as…

• Can the Heat trade Mario Chalmers and/or Shabazz Napier?
• Where does Richardson rank among the other players on the bubble, including James Ennis, Tyler Johnson and Henry Walker?
• Is it better to keep Ennis on the end of the bench, or send him overseas to get more experience? This way, the Heat can keep a roster spot open for one of the aforementioned players.

Read the post for more complete analysis.

More on Josh Richardson…

Albert Nahmad has another must-read breakdown on Richardson’s potential contract, and what kind of decisions the Heat need to make in how that deal is structured.

Summer Fun with Goran Dragic

https://instagram.com/p/4nWp4pCBf2/?taken-by=the_1_dragon

A fun post on the Miami Heat’s website about how Goran spent his summer, including photos.

Check out the Heat Check podcast, now a part of the Hardwood Paroxysm Network and available on Stitcher. We talk about what we think will happen at the bottom of the Heat’s roster, including the futures of James Ennis, Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson.

Best Throwback of the Week

This is one of my favorite all-time Heat moments. I remember it like it was yesterday. Udonis Haslem was egregiously (sorry, Stephen A.) fouled and Joey Crawford had hit head to far up his behind to blow his whistle.

What did UD do?

He threw his mouth piece at him!

As if to say “Hey! I got fouled! I would spit on you but you’re too far away!” Yes, Haslem used his mouth piece as a vehicle to transport his spit further than he could send it just by puckering up. Frigin’ genius.

Making it all better is that this is old school Cornrows UD. Good times.

New Threads

It was reported a few weeks back that the Heat would be getting new alternative uniforms, and a redditor has found a leak of the new Miami threads.

I appreciate the change from the ugly all-blacks or all-whites or the hideous tuxedo sh*t that happened last year.

Jan 23, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat forward Chris Andersen (11) is fouled by Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Heat won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Truly terrible.

I’m unsure how I like these new ones, though. I like the simplicity of it–and that it includes the Heat’s colors–but it doesn’t look as organized as I would like. The adjusted lettering/numbering pattern is off-center, and the single stripe down the side goes against my appreciation for symmetry.  We’ll see how they look in person, though. Why can’t we bring back the Floridians?