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It has been a week since LeBron James decided elsewhere was better.
So instead of signing up with the Heat’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, it’s off to the 76ers and Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.
At 24 seasons in, the right to chase rings has been earned.
As, to the chagrin of some, was the right to hold up NBA free agency.
So where did the decision (we’ll keep it lowercase this time around) leave the Heat?
With every right to still feel darn good about their offseason.
Because they got the best player to have switched teams this offseason.
This isn’t the NFL, where 22 start, let alone special teams, which can mitigate the impact of a Myles Garrett going to the Rams, an A.J. Brown going to the Patriots, or a Dexter Lawrence going to the Bengals.
This is high-usage Giannis Antetokounmpo in a sport where only five play at a time. The impact of one in the NBA is unlike any other team sport (save, perhaps, for Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, who is in a league of his own).
Those doubting the Heat because of what they don’t have are moving way too far off script. This is a league where it’s all about who you do have.
Over the past 10 years, NBA teams have won championships starting Josh Hart, Lu Dort, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Otto Porter, P.J. Tucker, Danny Green and Zaza Pachulia.
Not everyone has to be a star or an All-Star.
The Heat, at the moment, will be augmenting Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo in their opening lineup with Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell, as well as whatever their remaining cash under their hard cap can fetch.
From there, there are the proven reserve boosts of Bobby Portis, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Simone Fontecchio, the reliability of Pelle Larsson and Dru Smith, the hope of Nikola Jovic, Myron Gardner and Ryan Conwell.
So the sky is not falling.
With more top-two talent (i.e., 40% of the starting lineup) in Antetokounmpo and Adebayo than the Heat have had since the 2014 end of the Big Three era of LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh (with all due respect to what Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic briefly had in 2019-20).
Would LeBron have eased the path forward? Certainly, as the 76ers recognized.
But there also is the trump card of Erik Spoelstra.
With this the moment when you play the card of having the coach with the second highest salary in the league behind only the Warriors’ Steve Kerr.
At some point, that also has to come into play.
And, to his credit, Spoelstra’s approach has long been to bring it on.
“It all can look good on paper, and then you’re going to have to go through the process of working it out. I love that part of the process, and I love it when it’s not all smooth,” Spoelstra said of the jagged edges of what he next gets to work with.
“I think we have like-minded pros that have this overarching goal to do something special. If you have that, then you’ll be able to work through all the nuances.”
For years, where others have seen voids with Heat rosters, Spoelstra has seen opportunities seized by the likes of Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and others who have contributed to Heat runs to the NBA Finals.
The Heat weren’t good enough in 2020 . . . and they made the NBA Finals.
The Heat weren’t good enough in 2023 . . . and they made the NBA Finals.
“We have enough” has become ubiquitous among coaches to the point of ringing hollow.
Yet as you stand alongside at game-day shootarounds on the road, the days when the Heat clearly don’t have enough available, Spoelstra offers those three words with the conviction of a coach about to cook up something special.
That is how he sounded on the day the Heat introduced Antetokounmpo and Portis, while also addressing the addition of Hardaway Jr.
An energized Erik Spoelstra is the trump card, the way to make sense of a roster that some insist doesn’t make enough sense.
Two months remain before training camp for Pat Riley, Andy Elisburg and the cash of the Arisons to make this an even better fit.
But two months also remain for Spoelstra to cook up something with the ingredients already in place.
Doubt a Spoelstra recipe for success at your own peril.
REVOLVING DOOR: To appreciate how topsy-turvy the world of the NCAA’s transfer portal has become, consider that Auburn forward Keyshawn Hall, who had his moments during summer league with the Heat, is now considering where he next plans to play … in college. Granted a court injunction for an additional NCAA season after going undrafted, Hall kept alive the chance to return to college by playing in summer league while unsigned. For Hall, an NCAA return could mean a fifth school, having previously played at UNLV, George Mason, Central Florida and Auburn. He is currently being linked to Indiana, Arkansas and Kentucky. Hall averaged 5.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Heat at the Las Vegas NBA Summer League, making it likely that in the NIL collegiate world of earning far more in the NCAA in 2026-27 than on a Heat tryout contract or in the G League, where base season salaries top out at $46,000, rising to $91,000 with Exhibit 10 bonuses after attending NBA training camps.
GREATER UNDERSTANDING: Snubbed (to a degree) again by LeBron James in his free-agency move to the 76ers, current Heat executive Udonis Haslem and Heat icon Dwyane Wade said it can’t be allowed to turn into the aftermath of when James left the Heat in 2014 free agency and how Heat President Pat Riley reacted at the time. “One thing I didn’t like about it, when Bron left,” Wade said of that 2014 parting, on Haslem’s and Mike Miller’s “The OGs” podcast, “first of all, I don’t think it was handled well. And I was surprised about that because, and this is a gift that we all got to play together for these four years. Man, that man wanted to leave now. It’s some things that got messed up in the process because it wasn’t enough communication. And I think that’s the hard part. If we would all just been able to communicate and sit down and say, ‘Hey man, it’s been a great four years, but do what’s best for you,'” Wade continued. “That was the part that sucked. But the man came here, he conquered, he did what he’s supposed to do.” As in visits to the NBA Finals in each of those four seasons, with Heat championships in 2012 and ’13. “And I was shocked,” Wade continued, “because me and Riles got into it at practice about it one day. Like, man, Riles is mad, Riles being Riles. It was a little dark cloud over us.” Haslem then lightened the conversation by interjecting, “Yeah, because we weren’t good no more,” Wade added. “The dark cloud was, ah, we got to go back to being not good.”
ANOTHER HONOR: With a downtown street by Kaseya Center previously named in his honor in Miami, Wade last week had one so named in his hometown of Robbins, Ill., just outside of Chicago: Dwyane Wade Boulevard. And this was no honorary designation, unlike the name-only designation of Northeast Seventh Street in Miami. “I had to go to Cook County and change their records,” Mayor Darren Bryant said of the change from Claire Boulevard, according to the Chicago Tribune. “Driver’s licenses will change. Addresses will change. The whole shebang.” Because of that, Wade was somewhat apologetic, “When people gotta change their licenses and the addresses for their mail … I know you all rolled your eyes and saying. ‘Why do we have to do that?’’’ Wade told the assembled crowd. “I’m sorry. But it’s for good reasons, man. For good reasons.” For meaningful reasons. “When I look around, I don’t just see a street sign, even though it’s a beautiful street sign,” he said. “I see memories. I see neighbors. I see best friends. I see bikes riding up and down the block. I see basketball being played in the backyards. I see kids squeezing every last minute outside before the streetlights come on.”
DEPT. OF EX-HEAT: Former Heat guard Kendrick Nunn, who has carved out a career as a leading man in Greece, made clear in a recent social-media post that feelings remain for Miami. “Bump into at LEAST 3-5 people a day asking me when I’m coming back!” Nunn, 29, posted. “The city is talking!” But the money is talking elsewhere, with Nunn recently having signed an extension through 2028 with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos . . . Then there is the remarkable post-NBA career of former Heat forward Jamal Mashburn, whose financial empire is set to soon include ownership of AS Monaco of the French League, a team that previously featured former NBA players such as Kemba Walker, Norris Cole and Nikola Mirotic. Mashburn’s portfolio includes over 100 franchise locations, including brands such as Papa John’s, Dunkin’ and auto dealerships including Toyota and Lexus.
5. Games Heat were scheduled for on national television (ABC, NBA, ESPN, Prime, Peacock) at last summer’s NBA schedule release, with the Milwaukee Bucks, by contrast, scheduled for 18. With Giannis Antetokounmpo having moved on from the Bucks to the Heat, the impact should be curious when the league unveils the 2026-27 schedule and national-television dates in just over a week.
Continue reading...
So instead of signing up with the Heat’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, it’s off to the 76ers and Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.
At 24 seasons in, the right to chase rings has been earned.
As, to the chagrin of some, was the right to hold up NBA free agency.
So where did the decision (we’ll keep it lowercase this time around) leave the Heat?
With every right to still feel darn good about their offseason.
Because they got the best player to have switched teams this offseason.
This isn’t the NFL, where 22 start, let alone special teams, which can mitigate the impact of a Myles Garrett going to the Rams, an A.J. Brown going to the Patriots, or a Dexter Lawrence going to the Bengals.
This is high-usage Giannis Antetokounmpo in a sport where only five play at a time. The impact of one in the NBA is unlike any other team sport (save, perhaps, for Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, who is in a league of his own).
Those doubting the Heat because of what they don’t have are moving way too far off script. This is a league where it’s all about who you do have.
Over the past 10 years, NBA teams have won championships starting Josh Hart, Lu Dort, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Otto Porter, P.J. Tucker, Danny Green and Zaza Pachulia.
Not everyone has to be a star or an All-Star.
The Heat, at the moment, will be augmenting Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo in their opening lineup with Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell, as well as whatever their remaining cash under their hard cap can fetch.
From there, there are the proven reserve boosts of Bobby Portis, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Simone Fontecchio, the reliability of Pelle Larsson and Dru Smith, the hope of Nikola Jovic, Myron Gardner and Ryan Conwell.
So the sky is not falling.
With more top-two talent (i.e., 40% of the starting lineup) in Antetokounmpo and Adebayo than the Heat have had since the 2014 end of the Big Three era of LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh (with all due respect to what Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic briefly had in 2019-20).
Would LeBron have eased the path forward? Certainly, as the 76ers recognized.
But there also is the trump card of Erik Spoelstra.
With this the moment when you play the card of having the coach with the second highest salary in the league behind only the Warriors’ Steve Kerr.
At some point, that also has to come into play.
And, to his credit, Spoelstra’s approach has long been to bring it on.
“It all can look good on paper, and then you’re going to have to go through the process of working it out. I love that part of the process, and I love it when it’s not all smooth,” Spoelstra said of the jagged edges of what he next gets to work with.
“I think we have like-minded pros that have this overarching goal to do something special. If you have that, then you’ll be able to work through all the nuances.”
For years, where others have seen voids with Heat rosters, Spoelstra has seen opportunities seized by the likes of Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and others who have contributed to Heat runs to the NBA Finals.
The Heat weren’t good enough in 2020 . . . and they made the NBA Finals.
The Heat weren’t good enough in 2023 . . . and they made the NBA Finals.
“We have enough” has become ubiquitous among coaches to the point of ringing hollow.
Yet as you stand alongside at game-day shootarounds on the road, the days when the Heat clearly don’t have enough available, Spoelstra offers those three words with the conviction of a coach about to cook up something special.
That is how he sounded on the day the Heat introduced Antetokounmpo and Portis, while also addressing the addition of Hardaway Jr.
An energized Erik Spoelstra is the trump card, the way to make sense of a roster that some insist doesn’t make enough sense.
Two months remain before training camp for Pat Riley, Andy Elisburg and the cash of the Arisons to make this an even better fit.
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But two months also remain for Spoelstra to cook up something with the ingredients already in place.
Doubt a Spoelstra recipe for success at your own peril.
IN THE LANE
REVOLVING DOOR: To appreciate how topsy-turvy the world of the NCAA’s transfer portal has become, consider that Auburn forward Keyshawn Hall, who had his moments during summer league with the Heat, is now considering where he next plans to play … in college. Granted a court injunction for an additional NCAA season after going undrafted, Hall kept alive the chance to return to college by playing in summer league while unsigned. For Hall, an NCAA return could mean a fifth school, having previously played at UNLV, George Mason, Central Florida and Auburn. He is currently being linked to Indiana, Arkansas and Kentucky. Hall averaged 5.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Heat at the Las Vegas NBA Summer League, making it likely that in the NIL collegiate world of earning far more in the NCAA in 2026-27 than on a Heat tryout contract or in the G League, where base season salaries top out at $46,000, rising to $91,000 with Exhibit 10 bonuses after attending NBA training camps.
GREATER UNDERSTANDING: Snubbed (to a degree) again by LeBron James in his free-agency move to the 76ers, current Heat executive Udonis Haslem and Heat icon Dwyane Wade said it can’t be allowed to turn into the aftermath of when James left the Heat in 2014 free agency and how Heat President Pat Riley reacted at the time. “One thing I didn’t like about it, when Bron left,” Wade said of that 2014 parting, on Haslem’s and Mike Miller’s “The OGs” podcast, “first of all, I don’t think it was handled well. And I was surprised about that because, and this is a gift that we all got to play together for these four years. Man, that man wanted to leave now. It’s some things that got messed up in the process because it wasn’t enough communication. And I think that’s the hard part. If we would all just been able to communicate and sit down and say, ‘Hey man, it’s been a great four years, but do what’s best for you,'” Wade continued. “That was the part that sucked. But the man came here, he conquered, he did what he’s supposed to do.” As in visits to the NBA Finals in each of those four seasons, with Heat championships in 2012 and ’13. “And I was shocked,” Wade continued, “because me and Riles got into it at practice about it one day. Like, man, Riles is mad, Riles being Riles. It was a little dark cloud over us.” Haslem then lightened the conversation by interjecting, “Yeah, because we weren’t good no more,” Wade added. “The dark cloud was, ah, we got to go back to being not good.”
ANOTHER HONOR: With a downtown street by Kaseya Center previously named in his honor in Miami, Wade last week had one so named in his hometown of Robbins, Ill., just outside of Chicago: Dwyane Wade Boulevard. And this was no honorary designation, unlike the name-only designation of Northeast Seventh Street in Miami. “I had to go to Cook County and change their records,” Mayor Darren Bryant said of the change from Claire Boulevard, according to the Chicago Tribune. “Driver’s licenses will change. Addresses will change. The whole shebang.” Because of that, Wade was somewhat apologetic, “When people gotta change their licenses and the addresses for their mail … I know you all rolled your eyes and saying. ‘Why do we have to do that?’’’ Wade told the assembled crowd. “I’m sorry. But it’s for good reasons, man. For good reasons.” For meaningful reasons. “When I look around, I don’t just see a street sign, even though it’s a beautiful street sign,” he said. “I see memories. I see neighbors. I see best friends. I see bikes riding up and down the block. I see basketball being played in the backyards. I see kids squeezing every last minute outside before the streetlights come on.”
DEPT. OF EX-HEAT: Former Heat guard Kendrick Nunn, who has carved out a career as a leading man in Greece, made clear in a recent social-media post that feelings remain for Miami. “Bump into at LEAST 3-5 people a day asking me when I’m coming back!” Nunn, 29, posted. “The city is talking!” But the money is talking elsewhere, with Nunn recently having signed an extension through 2028 with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos . . . Then there is the remarkable post-NBA career of former Heat forward Jamal Mashburn, whose financial empire is set to soon include ownership of AS Monaco of the French League, a team that previously featured former NBA players such as Kemba Walker, Norris Cole and Nikola Mirotic. Mashburn’s portfolio includes over 100 franchise locations, including brands such as Papa John’s, Dunkin’ and auto dealerships including Toyota and Lexus.
NUMBER
5. Games Heat were scheduled for on national television (ABC, NBA, ESPN, Prime, Peacock) at last summer’s NBA schedule release, with the Milwaukee Bucks, by contrast, scheduled for 18. With Giannis Antetokounmpo having moved on from the Bucks to the Heat, the impact should be curious when the league unveils the 2026-27 schedule and national-television dates in just over a week.
Continue reading...
