The Miami Heat are always finding players… from somewhere. Whether it be the Kendrick Nunns, the Hassan Whitesides, the Duncan Robinsons, the Max Strus experience, The Big Yurts, the Derrick Jones Jrs, and on and on and on. That list expands quite the distance now.
Here though, in their latest developmental foray into the NBA Summer League, they have ran up on a mountain of problems. That’s, only of the best natured ones to have, though.
When it comes to the Miami Heat’s summer league roster, it had so much talent this past circuit, of course, with it now being over. That’s a beautiful thing, right?
Well, it is when fleshing out all three of your rosters, the summer league, further and in-depth developmental time with your Sioux Falls squad, and the main roster. However, when that time comes to have to, potentially, let some talented players get away and go elsewhere, it’s not so much as beautiful.
The Miami Heat will, without a doubt, see some talented players leave the organization. That is the gift and the curse of being great talent-developers.
When it comes to guys like Javonte Smart, Micah Potter, Dru Smith, Brandon McCoy, and another few names, they would be wonders to be able to stash on the Miami Heat’s G-League affiliate for a year or so. With Marcus Garrett and DeJon Jarreau being the leaders in the clubhouse for the two two-way slots, well they should be, some of those guys won’t stick around because they’ll get a better opportunity elsewhere.
While you hope that each player has the fullest of opportunities to go on and pursue their professional dreams, it’s a fine line between understanding/wanting that and wanting to continue to hoard all of the great talent that you can. That’s the place that the Miami Heat find themselves in right now.
It isn’t an enviable place to be, the devision-maker’s chair, meaning those aren’t enviable decisions to have to be made. That’s the name of the game though and hopefully it all works out in the favor of the Miami Heat, but that’s the gift and the curse of being some of the best talent-evaluators and developers in the sports… period, but assuredly the NBA.
You won’t be able to keep them all. And that is saddening.