Miami Heat Ideal Offseason Manifesto: Shooting Guards
The Miami Heat have a ton of in-house business to take care of. These next two pieces should be at the top of their list.
2. Shooting Guards
Victor Oladipo
This might be the only unrealistic part of the whole roster and it all depends on how accurate those rumors of Victor Oladipo wanting to be in Miami were. If he really did want to be in Miami as much as was reported, then I think Oladipo re-signing with the Heat on a prove-it type of deal on the Mid-Level Exception is not that much of a stretch.
Obviously, players are going to be concerned with making sure they are locked into a long-term contract so they can have guaranteed money, but if Oladipo can make use of next year to show everyone he is still a star in this league, he will get paid a lot more the following offseason.
Having a Lowry and Oladipo backcourt would fix the Miami Heat’s defensive struggles in that part of the floor while also getting more offensive production than a Nunn and Robinson tandem. If the Heat could work some magic and convince Oladipo to stay for the Mid-Level, then the Heat would automatically have one of the best starting backcourts in the league.
Duncan Robinson
Make no mistake, Duncan Robinson is going to get paid. Let’s just hope the Heat are the team that does so.
Robinson has proven over the last two seasons that he is an absolute sniper from long range and in today’s NBA, a player like him is extremely valuable. A Herro-Robinson guard duo coming in for the second unit to torch teams from deep would be incredibly lethal and open up space for other players on the court to drive.
Obviously, Robinson would have to sacrifice his starting role once Oladipo is cleared to resume playing, but as long as he got a similar amount of touches with the second unit, then I think that he could still showcase his world class jumper.
Robinson shot about 40 percent from three this past season in what was an inconsistent season for him. With a reduced role and some of the pressure off his shoulders, Duncan could be one of the Heat’s spark plugs off of the bench.