The Miami Heat has been a model franchise in the NBA for the past two decades. During that span, they’ve won three NBA Championships, seven NBA Finals appearances, nine conference finals appearances, and have missed the playoffs just four times.
While a big reason for the Heat’s success over the last 20 years has been their stars (Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo), they also wouldn’t have accumulated all of that success if it wasn’t for what could be described as the league’s best developmental system.
The next reclamation project for the Miami Heat
Miami has done well in acquiring star talent, but you can argue that they’ve been even better at developing talent. Specifically, the Heat has been great regarding “reclamation projects” in the league. Miami has become one of the places in the league where afterthoughts go to revive careers.
In recent years, the Heat’s examples of successful reclamation projects have been Derrick Jones Jr., James Johnson, Dion Waiters, Hassan Whiteside, Wayne Ellington, and Chris Andersen. But even beyond that, the list goes on and on throughout the Heat’s history.
The question is, who could be the team’s next reclamation project? With the offseason here, we explore eight potential high-ceiling reclamation projects for the Heat.
Cam Reddish, restricted free agent
Cam Reddish is a player that has been linked to the Miami Heat in the past. At this past year’s NBA Trade Deadline, the New York Knicks traded Reddish to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the Josh Hart deal. In the right scenario, Reddish is a reclamation project that the Heat could turn to next.
Considering he’s a restricted free agent, the Heat would likely have to work a sign and trade with the Blazers. While that may seem unlikely, it’s not something we can entirely discount with how much pressure the Blazers’ front office is to make win-now moves.
And if Portland successfully builds a contender around Damian Lillard this summer, it’s pretty safe to say that Reddish won’t be part of that core. Maybe the Heat could swipe in and steal an extremely talented young player that simply hasn’t lived up to his potential through the first few years of his career.