Can the Miami Heat acquire any veteran shooters? It would go a long way to help assist Jimmy Butler and their young core.
The Miami Heat have been extremely active this offseason and after the Jimmy Butler sign and trade, they exceeded the expectations of what was destined to be another exhausting summer.
They quickly turned that around and have now been a constant center of attention, coming up in continuous trade rumors. It was first with Russell Westbrook, but now a somewhat very intriguing but confusing Chris Paul trade.
This current Heat team has already made strides to insert themselves into the playoffs next year and what Miami continues to do that many teams don’t have the patience to do, is work on the tedious and committed development of their youth. You can tell that is the main priority when Justise Winslow, Bam Adebayo, and 13th pick out of Kentucky in Tyler Herro, were named off-limits in any trade discussions.
In retrospect, Miami has already focused on solidifying an already competitive roster that will be led by Jimmy “Buckets” Butler. So instead of reeling in the pros and cons of an already plagued trade involving a 37-year old past his prime Chris Paul, the Heat need to shift their primal focus on adding key shooters for relief.
An action that would round out the already 14-man roster with key elements off the bench. Even if its during garbage time or simply for an added offensive boost. They need one or maybe two more acquisitions to make a dent in a completely new Eastern Conference. Who is still available and can provide that much-needed spark on the wings though?
Two clear cut options that could be a slight difference-makers with the second unit are recently waived J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver. While Korver has been linked to possible one-year veteran deals with both the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, Miami can still attempt a last-minute swoop in to entice Korver to come to South Beach.
It would be especially hard with Miami having less than $1 million left for any contract, but they still should have enough tricks up their sleeves to rake in a low-risk shooter for bench offense. J.R. Smith has always had a solid 3 point FG percentage, with an overall average of 37.3 percent for his whole career. Even though it dipped last year down to 30.8 percent, with a focal role on the Heat, he might realize he could have a positive impact on the young core.
Kyle Korver had a high 39.7 three-point shooting percentage while maintaining an overall 42.9 percent for his career, meaning he can still be a major asset to any contending team in either conference. It might seem like a long shot considering that the complete shake-up of the NBA should see more contenders lined up for his services along with the Miami Heat, but it shouldn’t be completely thrown out of the picture.
They should be throwing a hail mary attempt at filling up this roster at every angle. Those attempts should focus on bringing in shooters though, not silly trade scenarios.