The Miami Heat need to make a major splash this offseason. Here are the top five players the team should target in free agency.
The first year of the post-Dwyane Wade era has been a tumultuous one for the Miami Heat. To say the least. The team currently has an 11-30 record, which is second worst in the NBA. They’ve had so many injuries that the league granted them a provisional spot to add a 16th player. Justise Winslow is out for the season. Josh Richardson’s development has seemingly stagnated. The list of adversities goes on and on.
There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel. For starters, a top three pick is very likely in Miami’s future. Adding a Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball would be huge, and really speed up the rebuilding process.
But I understand, people are sick of talking about tanking and potential draft picks. So let’s look for other positives. How about the fact that Pat Riley is about to have money to spend. A lot of it.
Starting on February 9th, Miami can apply for salary cap relief to get Chris Bosh off their books. That date is the one-year anniversary of his last appearance for the team. Relief from the Bosh contract would open up almost $24 million in cap room. Add in the money that would be saved if every player the Heat signed to one-year deals last offseason took their talents elsewhere, and you have about $37.5 million to spend.
That’s enough to add one max-level player, and another mid-level free agent. It’s comforting to know that at least Miami has the resources to make a splash in free agency. So the question now becomes, who’s there for the team to target?
After hours of painstaking research, I came up with a reasonable list of players the Heat could go after this summer. Let’s get to it.