Will the Miami Heat bring back Meyers Leonard? Not likely, with Jae Crowder now a starter in his place.
Meyers Leonard will not be resigned
Also a free agent after this season, it’s safe to assume that the Miami Heat will be going in another direction there. With Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk eating up his minutes, along with the fact that KO will likely be back based on his player option, keeping Meyers around just seems excessive.
He’s been a good solid player at times for the Miami Heat this year and may come up huge in the playoffs for this team, however, it just doesn’t seem like he is in the plans moving forward. You can’t keep them all and unfortunately for a player who has been such a fan favorite, he might be a casualty here.
Jae Crowder will sign a deal to stay
We touched on this a second ago, but I didn’t want to give up all the details there, at least not at that point. Jae Crowder is put together the right way. He already had the stuff that the Miami Heat culture is made of running through his veins when he got here.
That is just one of the similarities between him and Jimmy Butler. They both have had to fight and claw to get here, as they both started in the Junior College system, while they both then went on to play their major college ball at Marquette.
They both came into the league as lowly heralded players, who then worked and scrapped to raise their profiles and pay statements. Like Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder belongs in Miami based on the way he carries himself, how hard he plays the game, and how he approaches games. He wants to win at all cost and will do anything on the floor necessary at the time to achieve it.
The cherry on top of it all… Ja3 has been one of the absolute best three-point shooters on this team and dare I say… the league since arriving in Miami. Also, take into account that he has played himself into the starting lineup. That’s why I believe he will sign a deal to remain in Miami.