The Miami Heat just got quite a bit better by adding Trevor Ariza
By Max Marshall
Over the last day or so, the Miami Heat made it official as they acquired Trevor Ariza from the Oklahoma City Thunder, in exchange for Meyers Leonard and a 2027 second-round pick. For the simple fact that Leonard is out for the season with a shoulder injury and him being away from the team due to his own transgressions, it is a win for Miami to get a distraction off of their team and get something in return.
Ariza hasn’t played this year with Oklahoma City but has been working out in Miami for most of the year. Miami needed a wing who could come in a do what they thought Moe Harkless could do, who has given Miami nothing this year.
Ariza has been on Miami’s radar for years and now, they finally have their guy. Ariza is your typical “three and D” guy.
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The Miami Heat just got better by adding a veteran, Trevor Ariza, who excels at his role.
Over the past five seasons, Ariza ranks fourth in the league in corner threes with 382. So, the corner three is real for Ariza, plus that fits in with Miami’s ball movement offense, as when Jimmy Butler is attacking the rim, he always looks for a last second kick-out.
The reason why I really like this move for Miami is that Ariza can play both forward positions and especially that small-ball four. It matters because besides Kelly Olynyk, Miami doesn’t have another forward that can stretch the floor consistently.
One thing that was concerning me is that Andre Iguodala was playing a lot of regular season minute’s this year at the age of 37 years old. I’d say it was not in Miami’s plans this year to play him as much as he has during the regular season this year.
With the trade for Ariza, that should make life easier for Iguodala, who has played good this year but you would like to see get a bit more rest for another Miami Heat playoff run, as that’s where his value is at a peak high.
Like Iguodala, Ariza has deep playoff experiences, so it shouldn’t be a problem for Miami to put Ariza out there in crunch time. Ariza, at 6’8” is another long defender who has a 7’2” wingspan and can defend multiple positions.
It is, yet another, chess piece for Coach Erik Spoelstra to have. This was a really nice move for Miami, as I said before, as Harkless has given Miami nothing this year.
It will be nice to have someone that can help Olynyk and Iguodala at the four. Miami has had the number one defense in the league for the past month and they just got another plus defender.
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Just give Ariza some time to get in ” Heat shape” and he will fit right in. Heck, according to some reports, he may already be there.