The Miami Heat have created a reunion with Precious Achiuwa. The one-time first-round draft pick by the Heat has agreed to a one-year deal to come back to Miami after spending the past two years with the New York Knicks.
There is value in having Achiuwa on the roster, and it's not hard to envision how Erik Spoelstra will rotate Achiuwa. But considering Miami just used its 15th roster spot for now on a 6'8" forward, Achiuwa doesn't address one of the glaring flaws the Heat had in 2024-25.
Precious Achiuwa is reunited with the Miami Heat
A lot of the talk that surrounds Miami is how they are going to jump-start their offense in 2025-26, especially without Tyler Herro for at least the first month of the season.
But one of the other not-so-hidden problems the Heat had last season was the sheer lack of rim protection.
Beyond finishing dead last in the NBA in blocks per game, Miami was tied for 3rd to last in the NBA in opponent field goal shooting inside six feet (65.7%).
For comparison, Oklahoma City was 2nd in this category in 2024-26.
When one thinks of Miami's roster, it's not hard to envision why rim protection is an issue at times. Bam Adebayo does a lot of good things on the defensive side, but he's not a shot blocker. Kel'el Ware started to come along during the back half of last year, but Miami doesn't really have a second big man to rotate for him.
For Achiuwa, he was okay enough around the rim, but he wasn't elite. Last year, opposing shooters averaged 63.5% against Achiuwa inside six feet. For context, Washington was 17th in the NBA with a team average of 63.5% against inside six feet.
Achiuwa is a capable rebounder and a decent option to find down low for some points. When he took zero or just one dribble, his field goal percentage was 56%. As a whole, he averaged 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game last year.
But using the 15th roster spot on Achiuwa almost certainly means Miami is going with more small ball in 2025-26, for better or for worse.