5 Worst free agent signings in Miami Heat history

4. Brian Grant | 7-years, $86 million

As the Miami Heat looked to build a true contender, the team signed Brian Grant in hopes that he would make a difference in the team’s championship aspirations, despite the public questioning the deal. Grant was a talented and valuable player, but was he really worth the deal that Pat Riley so enthusiastically handed to him?

For reference, Grant was paid more in the first year of his new deal (2000) than Jason Kidd, Michael Finley, Glenn Robinson, Glen Rice, and Jerry Stackhouse, to name a few. Even more concerning than the annual value was the length of the contract (seven years).

The honest truth is that Grant was not a bad NBA player. In fact, during his first season with the Heat was quite promising as he averaged a career-high 15.2 points per game along with 8.8 rebounds as he filled in for Alonzo Mourning, who was dealing with a rare disease that affected his kidney.

Grant never lived up to his lofty contract, but in all honesty, he probably should have been offered it in the first place. At no point in his career up to that point had he shown the potential to be among the top 50 players in the league, but that was how he was paid.

It’s reminiscent of the current Philadelphia 76ers contract controversy surrounding forward Tobias Harris. Both Grant and Harris were/are fine players, starting-level contributors on a playoff team even; they just simply don’t compare to the other players in their pay scale.

Ultimately, though, it is not Grant’s fault for selecting such a lucrative deal, but his contract will forever be remembered among Pat Riley’s misses. He was, however, a part of the package that brought Shaquille O’Neal to Miami, so in a sense, he did make a difference in the Heat winning their first NBA title.