The Miami Heat could find a few ways to go out and get a guy this summer, or they could find a way to go get a few.
Kenneth Wilson (@ksaidwhat)- Split Midlevel exception between Dario Saric (PF) and Josh Jackson (F)
For starters, I tend to side with Tristan Tucker, as he says that he would like to bring back the entire crop of players on this team that are set to be free agents. That prefaces everything else here that follows.
With the Miami Heat operating without a true point guard for the most of this season, it’s safe to assume that maybe having one is more of a luxury for this team as opposed to a necessity. That, pretty much, opens up the reigns as far as where they could go in signing a guy, or two in our case.
With that said, I would like to take the same mid-level exception that Tristan used to sign Paul Milsap and split it between two players, something that can be done, you know. The two guys in question for me though are both big and versatile forwards, who can be had cheap due to circumstances, but also still can be elite at things in the right circumstances.
Those two guys are Josh Jackson of the Memphis Grizzlies and Dario Saric of Jackson’s former team, the Phoenix Suns. While they both still have the chance to become upper echelon players, they have been dealt a set of awful circumstances, with most of it being his own fault in Jackson’s case.
Coming into the league with relatively high expectations in both their cases, Jackson being the fourth overall NBA Draft pick in 2017 and Saric the 12th in 2014, neither lottery pick has fully lived up to their potential. Jackson has been largely a disappointment on and off the court, after making the All-Rookie team in his first season, while Saric was strongly coming into his own before being traded by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Two factors give the inclination that there is a way to ink them both to deals using the around $9 million dollars appropriated by the mid-level exception.
With them both coming off of lackluster seasons and downturns in their most recent places of play, along with the fact they should both be eager to prove that they actually still have the goods on one year prove it deals before hitting the open market again as soon as possible, the Miami Heat and their excellence as an organization could provide just that opportunity for them both.
This isn’t to mention that the team is heading in the right direction, from a success and winning standpoint, as well as the fact that they both fit extremely well with their skillsets. Josh Jackson is a defensive stop waiting to happen, with supreme athleticism to boot.
Dario Saric is a near seven-footer, with a lethal outside stroke when he gets going. Even in a down year with Minnesota last season, the 6-10 sharpshooter shot nearly 40 percent from the outside. That would be amazing next to any of the Miami Heat’s other frontcourt players.
Either Jackson or Saric could come in and immediately have an impact on the team. You can never have enough size and shooting, especially when they come from the same place such as Saric, while someone like Jackson would serve to take a lot of pressure off of Jimmy Butler defensively.
No matter which way the Miami Heat may decide to go, we have faith in Pat Riley to make the best decision. Until then though, we will keep you posted and this has been AUCH’s latest Miami Heat roundtable!