Should the Miami Heat target Ben McLemore in free agency?

Decision time

There are many reasons why this move would represent a low-risk, high-reward signing by the Heat.

Firstly, McLemore is still highly inexperienced with undeniable talent. Although completely different players and personalities, parallels can be drawn between McLemore and Heat center Hassan Whiteside. Ironically drafted by the Kings in the second round in 2010, Whiteside bounced around the league, and the world, until finally finding his feet with the Heat.

The result: last summer, Whiteside signed a four-year, $98 contract and followed it up with a career season. But unlike Whiteside, McLemore was a high draft selection, and hasn’t bounced around like the Heat center before finally establishing himself.

But what he has found himself is one of the worst situations any draftee could’ve faced in recent seasons. Not only have the Kings been an embarrassment on the court, but their off court instability and ineptitude has led to the types signings lauded to earlier. A genuine late bloomer, McLemore found himself in virtually the worst spot in the league when it comes to player development.

Then there’s the Heat. You only need to look at recent stories such as Whiteside and Josh Richardson, both second round picks who have found a real NBA home. D-League projects such as Tyler Johnson, Rodney McGruder and Okaro White who have worked their up the ranks, with Johnson last summer signing a $50 contract extension.

And last season, two significant reclamation projects in Dion Waiters and James Johnson, who after years of under-performing were able to reach a level of play that was seemingly out of reach before signing with the heat.

Considering McLemore’s talent level and upside, there’s absolutely no reason that head coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff can’t revive the career of the 24-year-old St. Louis product.

Furthermore, another excerpt from Draft Express’ college report almost predicted how McLemore’s career would pan out:

"Long term, the question is what type of role McLemore can grow into in the NBA…..it really depends on what the expectations from him well be, which will be decided in large part on where he ends up being drafted."

As that alluded to, there can be a lot of luck involved in where a player is drafted. Clearly for McLemore, the situation with the Kings was far from ideal.

Therefore, if the Heat were to offer McLemore a similar deal to Waiters last summer–two-years, $6 million with a player option after one year–there is no real downside for either party.

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The Heat sign themselves a real talent with superb athleticism, while McLemore can finally have the chance to discover his true potential in an elite culture.

Considering the success of Waiters and Johnson last season, this seems to be a win-win for both player and franchise.