With free agency having begun, who are some players the Miami Heat could look to target for depth? After reported trades are finalized, they will likely need more depth and/or youth and could look to some of these players for assurance.
Day 1 of free agency has already passed, with many star players being signed and not many players still available. Despite the uncertainty currently surrounding what the Miami Heat roster or cap space will look like after the first few days of free agency, they will likely need to sign one or two players to help with depth, either scoring or otherwise.
Here are some currently unsigned free agents the Heat could, and should, target as “reclamation” projects. In other words, these once highly touted players or prospects are currently cheap and are in desperate need of saving. Something that could prove to be mutually beneficial.
PF Dragan Bender
Dragan Bender was the entire reason for making this list, as the Phoenix Suns declined his fourth-year option on his rookie scale contract, making him a free agent this summer. Bender, who was taken fourth overall in the 2016 draft has ultimately failed to live up to expectations, much like others taken in the lottery of this draft such as Marquese Chriss (another Suns pick), Georgios Papagiannis and to a lesser extent, Kris Dunn.
Bender only posted 5.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists on 39.4% shooting in his Suns career despite showing flashes multiple times of the potential he boasted going into the 2016 draft.
So why should the Miami Heat look into Bender?
Firstly, Bender is only 21 years old despite being selected three drafts ago, which makes him younger than the majority of this draft and makes him younger than most players on Summer League rosters currently. He is also just days older than fellow No. 4 overall pick (this time in the 2019 draft) De’Andre Hunter.
Age is not everything for a player, often times players that are young never reach their full potential. However, Bender was chosen by the Suns, who are notoriously one of the more “dysfunctional” franchises in the NBA right now. The Suns have taken many players in the lottery in recent years and some have turned out excellently such as Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, but more have not, including Bender, Chriss and Josh Jackson.
If Bender (and Chriss or Jackson for that matter) was thrown into the Miami Heat’s notorious and rigorous training program, there are no doubts Bender would benefit. Bender’s advanced stats are horrible, there’s no denying that, but he also only averaged 20.3 minutes per game, and with the coaching staff turmoil in Phoenix, no one could agree on how much he should play.
This previous season, Bender went from a benchwarmer to a starter basically overnight. Bender only played in 46 games, but he started in 27 of those games. Of the 36 games Bender did not play in, Bender was a coaches decision scratch nightly.
Bender also excelled when put next to some of the better centers in the game, and played his best basketball when he was put next to Ayton. Because his playstyle relies on offense and scoring, he seems to work best when he has a center next to him that can generate offense, and it just so happens that Miami has an up-and-coming star big man in Bam Adebayo who can help Bender achieve new heights, and another center in Hassan Whiteside who could cover Bender’s defensive flaws if the duo shared the floor.
Under strict basketball development, Bender could turn into one of the next star power forwards in the league, as he is nowhere near entering his prime years. If Miami could swing a low, prove-it offer to the Croatian big man, it could give Miami an offensive spark off of the bench and a nice developmental piece to add to the ever-expanding young core, and could revive Bender’s nightmarish NBA start.