The Miami Heat are still attempting to trigger mechanisms to add bodies to their roster. After the NBA Trade Deadline passed, the NBA Buyout Market will be the Heat’s only last resort.
With names like Russell Westbrook, John Wall, and a former Miami Heat guy, kind of, in Stanley Johnson now being out there after being released by the Spurs a day or so ago, they aren’t the only names still on the market. And when you use the word “name“ here, you really mean it.
And to be frank, that’s really the question with his next guy. Is it worth it because he still has something to give—or is it just his “name” that’s intriguing?
Report: Serge Ibaka and Miami Heat have mutual interest https://t.co/dDPlJBqShf
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 13, 2023
With the report of interest between the Miami Heat and Serge Ibaka, there’s one huge question to it all. How much does Ibaka still have left in the tank?
The Miami Heat do still need to add a piece or two to their roster and Serge Ibaka’s name has come up. Just how much does he have left in the tank though?
Playing right around 70 of a possible 138 games combined in the last season and a half so far for the Clippers and the Bucks, it’s worth asking if Ibaka can give what the Heat might desire of him. While you can expect so much out of a guy acquired at this particular time, being let go by other teams, asking what exactly that might be is still fair.
In example, if you look at a guy like say, Stanley Johnson, you could, at least, count on him to be able to provide the minutes or the impact across time that you need. With Ibaka’s recent history, there is a question of whether he can sustain stretches on the court that the Miami Heat might need of him or whether they are better off going with another option.
If Ibaka still has stuff left in the tank and his last few stops weren’t indicative of the player he currently is, yet situationally dependent from the perspective of his minutes, then what he has, otherwise, offered over his career couldn’t drastically help the Miami Heat.
He’s a guy that has shown capable of hitting the three, while he’s still big enough to play in the interior and paint. He can help provide some level of rim protection, rebounding, and a source of physicality—if he’s right.
And not having looked the same since a back surgery a few seasons ago, that’s just it, as again, how much of that he has to offer is the question.