5. Brian Grant (2001-04)
Brian Grant’s biggest accomplishment in Miami may have been apart of a package that brought Shaquille O’Neal to Miami, but before that, he was an important part of the Heat franchise.
Pat Riley originally brought Brian Grant to Miami in hopes of pairing him with franchise anchor Alonzo Morning, to join Eddie Jones and Anthony Mason. Riley insisted that Grant was the missing piece from the championship equation, thus rewarding him with a 7-year $86 million mega free agent deal in 2000.
Unfortunately for Miami, Zo’s now famous bout with a rare kidney disease scrapped those championship plans before the team had a chance to get together on the court. However, Grant did not disappoint, averaging 15.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game on 48% shooting that season. This resulted in a career high PER of 17.5 for the man playing center out of necessity.
In his 4 seasons in Miami, Brian Grant averaged 11.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game on 48% shooting. He may have never lived up to the contract he signed, but he did end up helping the Heat bring in O’Neal, who helped turn Dwyane Wade into the best shooting guard in Heat history.
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