Miami Heat: Is shedding contracts worth enough to take on CP3’s deal?
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James Johnson has been criticized at times for what some see as underperforming as well, but that isn’t necessarily accurate either. On the offensive side of the ball, Johnson is as versatile as they come. He is still a great athlete, he can handle, distribute, play from anywhere, and will always try to make the right plays, but what get’s him into trouble is his inconsistent jump shooting.
If his shot from the outside isn’t falling, that makes it hard for him to penetrate and do damage in the paint, which is where he really excels offensively. Defensively, Johnson more than does his job, as he was probably still one of the best and most versatile defenders for the Miami Heat whenever he took the court. Taking the court was a slight issue this past season for Johnson though, as he missed 27 games due to injury.
Dion Waiters can be effective at times, but his scoring is a bit streaky, which isn’t a good thing for Dion. He can become a bit of a wildcard when he isn’t being effective offensively, while he hasn’t had the best luck with injuries during his Miami Heat tenure either. If there were one deal in particular that the Miami Heat should be looking to get off of, it would probably be Waiters’.
Even in feeling that way though, none of these deals are bad enough to warrant trading them for Chris Paul. Not only is the money due to Paul enormously insane, but he isn’t the most durable player either. Besides, with the three guys in Johnson, Olynyk, and Waiters, you certainly get more bang for your buck.
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Also, these deals all come off the books by the summer of 2021, a year prior to Paul’s. Not only would you be taking on a crazy amount of salary for a guy that doesn’t make you much better than these three combined should, but that would decrease some of their maneuverability during that free agency period. This is why it would not be worth it to take on Paul’s contract, even if it allowed the Heat to get off of some of those aforementioned salaries.