Despite losing Dwyane Wade and having no future with Chris Bosh, tanking is not the right move for the Miami Heat.
The Miami Heat fan base is one of a kind.
(I can say this objectively, as I used to be ride or die for the Chicago Bulls.)
And it is a beautiful thing to be a member of Heat Nation.
However, for the second time in two years, it’s hard for me to get behind the majority mindset.
In the summer of 2014, Heat Nation blasted LeBron James over his decision to return home to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They called him every name in the book, vowed to never support him moving forward, even said they wished he never formed the Big Three in the first place. People were angry, and thus #TeamPetty was born.
And you better believe Heat Nation has yet to let their hostility towards James go.
Now fast forward to this past summer, when the Heat missed out on Kevin Durant, lost Dwyane Wade and announced they see no future with Chris Bosh. It was obviously a tough offseason for the team and its fans.
So what did fans immediately jump on?
The Tank Train, of course.
https://twitter.com/mikescriba/status/788460539143782400
Cue another scolding in 3, 2, 1…
Is Miami housing an All-Star cast right now? Not exactly. Should they expect to contend for a title this year? Probably not.
But should this team not be given a chance?
After all, Hassan Whiteside, big-man extraordinaire, re-signed on a four-year contract. Goran Dragic, easily a top 15 point guard, is still around.
Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson are coming off of impressive rookie seasons, only having further developed their skill sets this summer.
Tyler Johnson has a price tag on him that alone will serve as motivation enough to have a killer 2016-17–and he’s already off to an awesome start this preseason. Dion Waiters is primed and ready to start another chapter of his career.
(I could go on.)
But letting these guys show off what they are made of is not the only reason that tanking does not make sense.
There is also the fact that there is no guarantee tanking would lead to anything better.
Remember in 2008, when the Heat tore themselves down, only to end up with Michael Beasley? Sure, at the time it may have seemed like a good idea: Beasley did have plenty of potential. But as the saying goes, hindsight is 20-20, and now we all see clearly that tanking that time didn’t work out.
Team president Pat Riley has never really liked to rely on draft picks anyway. Of course, this could very well change after both Winslow and Richardson turned out to be stars in the making. But history has shown that Riley would rather assemble a team with proven talent than have to develop players from the ground up.
In short, his big swings for the draft haven’t worked out, while his big swings in free agency have led to banners in AmericanAirlines Arena.
The good news is, so far, it seems like the organization is not on board with tanking either.
Despite #HeatTwitter basking in rumors of Miami looking into the likes of Rudy Gay for Goran Dragic, it has since been confirmed that the Heat are not looking to shop Dragic around.
In other words, they are planning to move forward, as is.
Must Read: NBA Scout isn't high on Justise Winslow
In this league, it seems as though tanking is never really a great move. However, this is especially the case when it comes to a team with as much raw potential and moldable youth, such as the Miami Heat.