The Miami Heat may consider keeping more 3-point shooting depth than size as they make decisions about their final 15-man roster.
The core 13 players for the Miami Heat is essentially decided, but there are still decisions to be made about who will be sitting at the end of the bench.
The Heat stand at 18 players as training camp approaches, and can can carry as many as 20. They’ll have to trim down the roster to 15 by the start of the regular season. As of now, forward Jordan Mickey and center A.J. Hammons are considered the front-runners for the final two roster spots, reports the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. However, the team will consider 3-point shooting specialist Matt Williams.
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If the Heat were to retain both Mickey and Hammons, more than half the roster would be composed of power forwards and centers. Miami is expected to play Hassan Whiteside, James Johnson and Kelly Olynyk substantial minutes, while Okaro White proved to be a reliable reserve last season. They also drafted Bam Adebayo with the 14th pick, and Udonis Haslem is a break-in-case-of-emergency option. Not to mention that Justise Winslow could play some small-ball 4.
It would make sense, then, if the Heat were to favor a guard over yet another center who won’t likely see much, if any, playing time. If Williams were to make the team, it’s Hammons that it likely the odd man out. As Jackson reports, there may be maturity concerns in regards to Hammons.
Williams wouldn’t likely see much playing time–Wayne Ellington is firmly entrenched as the 3-point specialist–but he’d provide depth for an important skill and could take over for Ellington next season after Ellington’s contract expires.
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Williams appeared in eight summer league games with the Heat in Orlando and Las Vegas. He averaged 9.9 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 38 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range.
He started all six games in Las Vegas with Miami, and made 18 of his 40 3-point attempts (45 percent).