The Miami Heat drafted Precious Achiuwa for a reason. Might they continue to stand on that reasoning with his development?
While the Heat are more than likely going to trade Achiuwa if the chance to land a star presents itself, there is also a chance that he stays on the roster. Achiuwa will most likely play for the second unit as a front-court of him and Bam Adebayo would provide very little spacing. If they decide to keep him, the Miami Heat will be hoping that he can take a leap to make a more significant impact in terms of scoring and rebounding.
2. The Miami Heat take a chance on Precious
Like widely reported, the 2020 rookie class did not get a chance to have an offseason or to participate in the NBA Summer League. Both allow young players to get the chance to get accustomed to the fast-paced style of the NBA. With this in mind, it is hard to judge any player on how well they did when thrown right into the thick of it. They barely had a chance to get ready or get used to how different the NBA is from college ball.
Make no mistake, Achiuwa was underwhelming in most of the games he played this season. He averaged about five points and three rebounds per game. However, there is a silver lining. In the 4 starts he got, Achiuwa averaged 14.5 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game in his rookie campaign.
Those are very solid numbers for a 20-year-old player in his first season. After a full offseason under his belt, Achiuwa could make a big leap and become a real contributor for the Miami Heat. They struggled with rebounding when Adebayo was on the bench, so if Achiuwa is able to really improve this offseason, he could be the second unit’s main rebounder and help on the glass.