The last couple of days have been amazing for the Los Angeles Lakers as they won their 17th ring against the Miami Heat. Miami made a historic effort to make it to the finals and challenge the Lakers to a Game 6. They made a fool out of the Pacers and made "Bubble Warren" look like a joke. They shocked the world and embarrassed MVP Giannis and the one seed Bucks. And of course Boston which was a great series, but the efforts of Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo made it a 6 game series and a trip to the teams 6th finals appearance. It was obvious that Miami was gassed out and they didn't have the energy to take on LeBron and Anthony Davis for the whole game. Miami didn't get the championship they were dying to receive, but their future is one of the best in the league. Today I will be discussing how Jimmy Butler and the crew can make another title run in the years to come.
Bringing Back their Players
The Heat have a good amount of free agents this offseason and the one the most valuable one is Goran Dragic. If Dragic wants a bigger contract it would not be a good idea to bring him back. But if he's willing to come back for a smaller deal, they would be stupid not to offer him. Derrick Jones Jr. is a player they should also prioritize bringing back due to the fact that he is a good young player and he brings attention through the Dunk Contest and his crazy highlights. Kelly Olynyk has a player option so he would return as a spark plug scorer of the bench. Jae Crowder is a valuable player, but he is a key role player free agent this year and a lot of contending teams would want him. If they are not able to bring him back for cheap, then don't bring him.
Giving Young Players a Contract
This plan is for the next couple of years, but if they have no plans for trading any of these guys(which they possibly could). The Heat are eventually in the next couple of years going to have to pay Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn. Bam is most likely going to be a max type player due to his unlimited potential and being one of the faces for the modern big man. Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn are guys that were undrafted and Miami gave them a chance so I believe that they could both sign deals that aren't too big, but good for their value. Tyler Herro is most likely going to be the top scorer for this team for years to come and as he just came off his rookie season they don't have to worry about paying him big time money for a little while. Miami is looking to only commit so far into paying Jimmy, Bam, Tyler, Kendrick and Duncan so that they could have that money to make moves.
Bringing in that Superstar
This is where it gets interesting. This year's free agency class is good, but not good enough that they should bring one of those players to the team. Miami's cap space in the 2021-2022 season is great. They have the money to bring in a max player. What a perfect time. That offseason has potentially the greatest free agency pool in NBA history. The option that everybody has been mentioning is Giannis. Giannis came off two disappointing post seasons in Milwaukee and a generational talent like himself won't want to be losing for that long. If he signs his deal this year than nevermind, but if he doesn't next offseason he could be on the move. There are a bunch of stars like Paul George and Kawhi Leonard who can potentially want out and join the team. They options are plentiful. It's been common knowledge especially with gms and the media that Miami is the place to be and it's going to be free agent hotspot. I'm excited to see what they do with that money
Let me know what you guys think about Miami's future. Do you think this same core of Jimmy, Bam and the others can run it back next year. We will see. Leave a comment and like and have a great day!
Matthew Theodros