The Miami Heat aren’t the greatest team when it comes to defending their own painted area and the rim. It’s an issue that’s been a problem since last season, to be honest.
It showed itself massively in the NBA Finals too. During that series, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Dwight Howard all dominated the Miami Heat on the interior at times.
It wasn’t a fun thing to behold. Entering this year, we just knew we would add another big to the mix.
Well, we did but we didn’t. Though we added rookie forward Precious Achiuwa to the group, he’s still but a rookie, so you thought you might add another guy.
The Miami Heat need more rim and paint protection. Alex Len is waiting.
With that though, there has been a break in the market. On Wednesday, reports started to circulate that the Toronto Raptors had released veteran big man, Alex Len.
Len was a top pick of the Phoenix Suns several years back, but hasn’t managed to quite live up to that. He has since played in Atlanta and then this season in Toronto before being waived.
That brings up an interesting question for a team that has issues defending their rim and paint though. There’s a seven-footer on the market, who is capable of helping defend your rim.
That’s where the issue comes in. The Miami Heat already have a completely full roster.
As much as I hate to say it, I wouldn’t be opposed to waiving Meyers Leonard or Chris Silva to make room for Len. I say either/or for good reason.
With Leonard, he does offer something that most other bigs don’t with his shooting, though Len is a career 33 percent three point shooter himself. Silva is still so raw that you might not want to give up on the potential you initially saw just yet.
Those are the questions that need to be answered or sorted out. The fact remains though, I believe that Len would be an upgrade and could help this team when they have issues defending their middle.
Again, as much as I would hate to have to waive either Silva or Leonard, this seems like an easy way to make the team better. After all, that is the point of the whole thing, right?