Now that Ben Simmons has signed with the Sacramento Kings, there's reason to believe that the Miami Heat may have missed out on their best chance to solve some of their playmaking concerns heading into the start of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era.
The Heat have one roster spot remaining, and there have been conversations about whether they will fill it with a veteran guard or if they'll keep roster flexibility heading into the start of the season. Either way, at least from the outside looking in, Simmons seems like a potential low-risk, high-reward move that the team should've been open to taking.
Sure, signing Simmons is nothing but a roll of the dice, but he's the type of big guard who would've looked great for the Heat on paper. Even if he never returns to form again, there's no question Miami would've welcomed a playmaker like him.
Ben Simmons was too big of a risk for the Heat
In the end, though, it was clearly too much of a risk. And on multiple fronts.
It's not just the risk of Simmons not returning to form; at this point, it would likely be foolish to think that's even a possibility at this point in his career. But there's an even bigger risk of health.
The availability concern. And, perhaps more than anything, that's likely one factor that would've pushed the Heat away from taking a potential flyer on Simmons.
If there's one thing the Heat need in support of Giannis and Bam Adebayo, it's availability. Durability. The last thing the Heat needs is a supporting cast of players that can't stay healthy. It hurt them last year (with both Tyler Herro and Norman Powell missing extended time), and that can't be the case again this year.
In the end, it probably didn't matter much for the Heat last year. That roster wasn't talented enough to make any noise in the Eastern Conference after all. However, that's significantly different with Giannis on the roster.
There are expectations tied to the Heat again. And big ones. So, when you view it from that lens, it makes even more sense why the Heat likely passed on Simmons.
The Heat don't have any easy paths forward
But now that he's off the table, the Heat likley has to options left before the start of training camp. They can either sign a familiar face in Gabe Vincent to fill that 15th and final roster spot, or take a vacancy into the start of the season and hope that an in-season buyout candidate emerges.
Neither option will answer the team's concerns with playmaking.
Theologically speaking, Simmons was the last player on the open market who would've given the Heat the opportunity to do that. And even then, it was a far greater risk than most would've admitted.
But now, there's no denying it. The Heat will have to hope their playmaking concerns can be quelled internally. And, unfortunately, if that wasn't the case already, it just puts that much more playmaking pressure on Davion Mitchell.
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