Miami Heat mailbag: Do the Heat need a true backup point guard?
By Wes Goldberg
Do the Miami Heat need a backup point guard? What is Josh Richardson’s ceiling, and what can we expect out of the new Nike uniforms?
Welcome to the Miami Heat mailbag. You can send future mailbag questions to LockedOnHeat@gmail.com. In addition to answering them on the Locked On Heat podcast with my co-host David Ramil, I’ll also elaborate here.
I think the Miami Heat need to get a true backup point guard! Tyler Johnson will be fine backing up Dragic, but what about those games in which Dragic may not be available? (There will be games like that) TJ is a good combo guard, but he just doesn’t have the ability to lead the offense like a true point guard, I’d say Josh Richardson is actually better than him in that aspect. It doesn’t have to be some household name player, it could be someone at the end of the rotation who basically serves as insurance for Dragic, should he be forced to miss any action. – Dario
This is partly the reason why the Miami Heat signed Derrick Walton Jr. to a two-way contract. If Dragic were to be sidelined with an injury at some point, the Heat could call up Walton Jr. for up to 45 games next season, giving them a true point guard in that event.
Outside of an injury to Dragic, though, I don’t see a need for a backup point guard taking up one of 15 valuable roster spots. I’d rather have more versatile players taking up the end of the bench who could fill a variety of needs, whether it be ball handling, 3-point shooting or defense.
Brad Stevens recently said that the traditional positions are useless, and that the NBA now works with three main roles: ball handlers, wings and bigs. Under these new definitions, a good potion of the Heat’s roster is made up of ball handlers. Tyler Johnson, Josh Richardson, Dion Waiters, James Johnson and Justise Winslow can all step in.
What do you think Josh Richardson’s most optimistic and pessimistic, realistic, projections are? – Jeff Nicholas
Let’s get the pessimistic projection out of the way. At 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, Richardson is slight. We’ve also seen a season derailed by various injuries. The worst-case scenario for Richardson is that his development is derailed by injuries.
He’s eligible for an early extension until the start of the regular season, but Miami could wait to see how this year plays out before signing him to more guaranteed money (and years). This is a big year for Richardson.
As for the optimistic projection, we tend to use Andre Iguodala a lot in comparisons to Justise Winslow, but I like the Richardson comparison, too. Iguodala is bigger than Richardson, with more muscle, but he was also slim when he entered the NBA (he was listed as 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, as a rookie, the same as Richardson). If you look at what Richardson does well–length/defense, athleticism, 3-point shooting, above average ball handling–it’s the same as Iguodala.
Could Richardson develop into a change-of-pace ball handler who can take on the toughest defensive assignments, hit open 3s and drive the rim? In the best-case scenario, I don’t see why not.
Is it possible that if Miami currently holds the best offer, that the longer the Cavs wait to trade Kyrie Irving, the less Miami would be willing to trade due to the Cavs having no leverage? – Taylor Monk
I just don’t see it. Even if a team like Phoenix refuses to include Josh Jackson, they could still beat any offer less than the reported Dragic and Winslow for Irving deal. For instance, Bledsoe and Miami’s 2018 first at that point would be better. If Miami has offered Dragic and Winslow (and they have refuted reports that they have, for what it’s worth), that is likely their best and worst offer. The longer the Cavs go, however, the less leverage they have over Irving.
Is anyone as excited as I am to see the new Miami Heat jerseys? Will someone just leak them already!? – Jake Albright
Jake, I’m a sucker for this stuff. I love the intrigue of the new Nike jerseys, and am super excited to see what Miami’s new threads look like. Nike has gotten rid of the traditional home and away jerseys for what they can the “Icon” and “Association” jerseys, the Icon being the team color uniform and association in the traditional white. Mostly, the uniforms we have seen haven’t changed much, save for Indiana and Sacramento. Still, even a small tweak is enough for me.
Next: What should the Heat give up for Kyrie Irving?
That said, here’s what I’m personally hoping for: The Heat keep their classic white jerseys for the Association version, and swap out the all blacks for the all reds for the Icon set. As for the first alternate, you can’t go wrong with those throwback Heat unis in black. For the second alternate, I’ve always hated the tuxedo uniforms. Throw them away, and bring back the Floridians!