The Miami Heat were reportedly working hard to try to keep Kasparas Jakucionis out of the blockbuster deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Considering their lack of playmaking currently on the roster next to Giannis, with the start of training camp days away, we now know why.
If it wasn't obvious before, it surely is now. The Heat wanted to keep KJ out of the trade offer for Giannis because they knew they were going to need some natural playmaking in the backcourt. For as great a piece as Davion Mitchell is, he's certainly not the natural playmaker that KJ is.
Looking back, it's what was at the heart of the Heat's reasoning in trade discussions to try to keep KJ out of the eventual deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.
"Miami's top two creators are both bigs, so some guard has to create shots. [Sam] Quinn says that is why the Heat fought hard to keep Kasparas Jakučionis out of the Giannis deal, though Jakučionis ended up on the Bucks anyway."
The Heat's lack of playmaking in the backcourt could be a problem
Of course, the Heat weren't going to let KJ be the reason why they didn't land Giannis. And, in the end, they parted ways with what they needed to land the superstar. However, there's no question the Heat's backcourt would be in a much better situation if they had kept a natural playmaker like KJ.
Without getting it twisted, this is not necessarily a Mitchell vs. KJ topic. That's moot. It's the idea that the Heat don't have enough playmaking in the backcourt on their roster and how KJ would've helped resolve that.
The question is, how much will the Heat's lack of natural playmaking in the backcourt hurt them in the long run?
Miami is clearly comfortable with Mitchell as the starting point guard, and with not much depth beyond that. That's where the loss of KJ hurts most. And there's reason to believe that the Heat's decision not to pursue more playmaking in the backcourt could end up being a big downfall for the team this year.
The year one supporting cast around Giannis is pretty strong, much better than most could've predicted. But they still don't have as much playmaking as they'd like. Especially not in the backcourt. And that could end up severely hurting this team's offense as a whole.
I'd imagine Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is going to build an offense around Bam Adebayo and Giannis being the primary creators. However, at a certain point, they're going to need other facilitators. And it remains to be seen whether the Heath as enough currently on their roster to get by.
At the very least, the Heat are gambling with this type of roster construction.
And the team's lack of playmaking isn't just due to their inability to keep KJ out of the Giannis trade. But there's no question it's part of it, and it certainly hurt their ability to build a complete roster on the fly.
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