Even with the magical success of the Miami Heat, relying on folklore will leave this organization in a bad situation when it is all said and done.
When people think of the Miami Heat, they think Pat Riley, Dwyane Wade, stability and culture. But what if two of those thoughts were turned into myths?
The expected response would be to point out the championships, the internal growth on and off the court (front office), as well as the Heat lifers who are still tied to the organization.
Some might also argue that the Heat had no way to predict their epidemic of injuries or Chris Bosh’s battle with blood clots. So, let us put the focus on this season. Miami has, not only, spent the season mixing and matching lineups, but they have had multiple players actually speak up about coach Erik Spoelstra’s lack of direction.
While Dion Waiters publicly disagreed with Spoelstra’s call for patience and Wayne Ellington’s representatives had conversations with the Heat about his future, Kelly Olynyk subtly took the most damming shot after being regulated to a few DNP-Coach’s decisions:
"“It’s different,” Olynyk said. “It’s tough mentally on some people. It’s tough physically. You never know what’s going on.” (South Florida Sun Sentinel)"
Those three instances were anything other than normal for a team who loves to tout themselves as the epitome of culture and stability. And unfortunately, there are no bright sides coming anytime soon.
The Heat have 13 players on the roster who could legitimately make a case for playing time. Which means to keep the chatter down a thinning out process needs to happen. Not in the form of clearing space for free agency either.
Getting in the summer of 2019 race for players such as Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler or Kevin Durant is highly unlikely with the number of hefty contracts Miami would have to shred between now and then. The jaded premise of moving contracts with the goal of freeing up cap space for 2020 is just as bad.
Taking a methodical look at the list of free agents, in two seasons, shines a light on the theory of wishful thinking.
Restricted free agents like Brandon Ingram, Jaylen Brown, Jamal Murray, and Ben Simmons would be longshots because of their teams’ ability to match offers. The unrestricted free agents are another story.
Draymond Green, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan (player option) will not make major impacts without being paired with an elite player. Anthony Davis would be different, but the fact that he shares an agent with LeBron James probably already sealed his future fate.
A quick fix does not exist. So, expect more dysfunction, more Hassan Whiteside on the bench in the fourth quarter and more mismatched lineups being thrown at the wall to see what sticks, unless a disgruntled star falls in Miami’s lap.