Miami Heat Hot Topics: Summer League ends, NBA 2K ratings and trades

In this mid-week edition of Miami Heat Hot Topics, we’ll take a look at how the Heat Summer League roster fares, NBA 2K ratings and late trade season speculation.

As we’ve entered the dog days of the NBA offseason where most of the free agents have been signed and just about all the cap space is gone, the league is in a lull. Summer League is over, but NBA 2K20 dropped their top player ratings and there remain a couple trades that the Miami Heat may yet be interested in. We covered it all, and in our mid-week look at the world of the Heat, we’ll recap the last few days on All U Can Heat.

Heat guarantee Duncan Robinson’s contract for the rest of the season:

Duncan Robinson‘s strong Summer League performance paid off earlier this week as the Heat guaranteed his $1.4 million salary for the rest of the season. The Heat are up against the hard cap and are in need of cheap contributions, and Robinson earning his assured pay-day as he has is good for everybody.

ESPN power rankings have Heat ranked 14th overall:

After the end of the free agent frenzy, most teams are likely in their final state before the beginning of next season. ESPN ran their post-free agency power rankings, and the Miami Heat checked in at the 14 spot. Our Kenneth Wilson broke down their analysis.

Jimmy Butler’s NBA 2K20 player rating is just about right:

NBA 2K dropped their first wave of player ratings for 2K20 earlier this week, releasing their top 20 players, the top five rookies, top five shooters, and the top duos in the league. Jimmy Butler checked in at 88 overall, which intuitively feels a bit low, but when you look at the players he ties with in the mid-teens of the list, it makes a lot of sense.

Summer Leaguers who should see meaningful minutes:

The Miami Heat Summer League team was laden with players who might get some rotational burn next season (Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson, for example), and one who definitely will in first-round pick Tyler Herro. Kenneth Wilson took a deep dive on their performances and how they may be used next season.

Jimmy Butler’s deal well-regarded by NBA executives:

A lot of huge contracts were handed out around the NBA in the past few weeks, some more well-constructed than others. Among the max deals given out since the beginning of free agency is that of Jimmy Butler. NBA executives (the people who gave out these deals, mind you) are highly critical of some of these contracts, but it appears nobody has an issue with Butler’s max deal.

The Heat need shooters, not senseless trades:

In Ivan Mora’s return to the All U Can Heat family, he took a look at the trades the Heat have made this summer as well as the trades they reportedly could have made but didn’t. The Heat were a poor shooting team last season, and he argues that any further trades should prioritize improving their shooting.

Taking on Wall for Beal would be worth it for Heat:

The Miami Heat are interested in trading for Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, but they will almost certainly have to take on John Wall‘s gargantuan contract in order to do so. Kenneth Wilson makes the case that assuming Wall returns to some shade of his former glory, it would be a trade worth pursuing.

Check in regularly for our ongoing recap of what’s been going on in the world of the Miami Heat here on Heat Hot Topics.