The downside of having a great development program like the Miami Heat do is that it can be hard to say goodbye to good, homegrown players. But that's what the Heat have had to do over the years, and last summer was no different.
The Heat lost five players to free agency last summer and some have been missed more than others as the team toils through another regular season.
Let's revisit who the Heat lost and how much the organization regrets not re-signing them (if at all).
5. Cody Zeller
Miami has been trying to find a backup center for the past couple of years. Cody Zeller was one of the options, and during last regular season, Zeller showed good minutes and connected with Jimmy Butler in the pick-and-roll.
At the time, I could see Miami bringing Zeller back for another season. But, in the playoffs, it went downhill for Zeller. During the Finals, it was rough watching Zeller try to defend Nikola Jokic. A lot of fans remember Zeller playing one minute in the Finals and his minute hurt Miami in a big Game 5 when Miami was making a comeback.
After that, there was no chance Miami was bringing back Zeller.