Miami Heat: 3 more under-the-radar free agents the Heat should target
PF Jabari Parker
I contemplated putting Jabari Parker here many times, but his potential is simply undeniable. Parker has all of the tools necessary to become an elite shooter, and despite being labeled a bust by many basketball fans around the world, has put up an undeniable 15.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and .9 steals on 55 percent true-shooting.
He has never posted a season in which he had a field goal percentage of less than 48.2 percent, and posted a 3-point percentage above 36 percent in two consecutive seasons. He also averaged 20.1 points per game in 51 games in his third year in the league.
While health continues to be an issue for Parker, as his three most healthy seasons had him playing in 76, 64 and 51 games respectively, the Miami Heat are able to work with players through rehab more often than not, and even have experience with young players missing considerable time a la Justise Winslow.
The aforementioned Bender has the potential to become an above average offensive player in the league, but Parker already is one. He also does not foul or turn the ball often much, as noted by his mere 2.2 turnovers and 2.5 fouls per-36 minutes.
Parker is also just 24-years old, and despite being drafted in 2014, is younger than last year’s rookie Duncan Robinson.
With all the positives surrounding Parker, it must seem absolutely absurd that he could sign for less than ten million annually, right?
Wrong.
Parker is notoriously a horrible defender, having a career net rating of -4, a career defensive rating of 110(!) and having a career low net rating of -11 and a career high of zero. All of this would be forgivable if this was skewed by his time with the Wizards and Bulls this year, but it is not. He posted terrible defensive numbers throughout his time in Milwaukee, a team that made the playoffs three out of the four seasons he spent there.
Looking at his advanced stats tells an even uglier tale. His career stats include a .9 VORP and a WS/48 of .076, of which the league average is 1.00. While his stats are better than both Johnson’s and Bender’s overall, his defensive stats are worse than both of those players, which is hard to believe considering Bender is crucified for his awful defense.
Luckily for Parker, the Heat believe that defense is a teachable skill, and one the team excels at teaching. If the team thinks that they can revive Parker’s career, and make him at least respectable on defense, then they could be looking at a potential all-star-caliber player on their roster. This would be a perfect player to try to pitch the mid-level exception to, with promise of plenty of playing time and opportunity.
This is not just smoke from myself however, the Miami Heat have reportedly expressed interest in Jabari Parker (and Jeff Green) recently per The Athletic, and even wanted in on the Parker sweepstakes last summer, and this trade deadline when his $20 million expiring salary was noted to be widely available.