MIAMI — This is not one of those pieces about the “10 most compelling questions about the Miami Heat entering training camp.”
Because it can’t be.
While the Miami Heat are many things entering camp, “compelling” is not one of them, not when the first-round pick is a developmental prospect, when the prime offseason acquisition is a 32-year-old who essentially was given away by his previous team, when the warm-and-fuzzy embrace is of a former first-round pick previously sent away after a single season.
So, no, this is not like a year ago, when the anticipation was of the costume of choice for Jimmy Butler (Dreads? Emo?) or whether he would show up at all on media day in advance of his extension year (he did, but curiously late, with it all going downhill from there).
Yes, there still is the swag of Tyler Herro. But that now will be on hold through at least the first month of the season following last week’s ankle surgery.
Yes, there is the steadiness of Bam Adebayo. But the Heat captain rarely has been about style and sizzle.
Yes, there is next-gen youth poised to potentially take over. But none of that next-gen youth, including 2025 first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis, is perceived to be poised to take over now.
As for the lone newcomer of consequence, Norman Powell has long stood as a complementary component, whether alongside Kawhi Leonard in Toronto, Damian Lillard in Portland or James Harden with the Clippers.
And as for the reunion angle, there not only is no guarantee that 2020 Heat first-round pick Precious Achiuwa will be in the rotation, there is no guarantee in his contract.
When it comes to compelling Heat story lines on the eve of Monday’s media day at Kaseya Center and Tuesday’s start of training camp in Boca Raton at Florida Atlantic University, the most compelling angle arguably is one the Heat least want to talk about, namely the status of guard Terry Rozier in the wake of last season’s dramatic drop-off and his being linked to an ongoing federal gambling investigation.
That, of course, does not mean there aren’t questions for a team coming off a 37-45 season and third consecutive trip to the play-in round.
1. Is there hope of escaping the play-in round for the first time in four seasons?
A. Sure, but it might not be the preferred course.
For as marginal as the competition stands in the East, it will take at least a 10th-place finish — where the Heat finished last season — to even make the play-in tournament, let alone the top-six finish required in the conference to advance directly to the playoffs.
At the moment, it would be difficult to make a compelling argument that the Heat are definitively better than anyone in the East this side of the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets and, say, Charlotte Hornets.
Then also consider that the Heat own their own, unencumbered first-round pick in June. So while “tank” is not necessarily in the Heat vernacular, there is a pathway to instant 2026 lottery gratification.
2. Is this a playoff team?
A: Based on the current roster, and based on Herro being sidelined for at least the first month of the regular season, the answer in most other seasons would be no way.
But this isn’t most other seasons in the Eastern Conference. This is the Pacers without Tyrese Haliburton and the Celtics without Jayson Tatum due to Achilles tears. This is the Bucks having lost and then waived Lillard due to the same injury.
This is the Knicks regrouping under a new coach and the Cavaliers attempting to recover from last season’s playoff failure.
This is the Pistons and Magic still attempting to prove they belong.
So, yes, a potential pathway to at least No. 6.
But it’s also the 76ers with Joel Embiid back, the Hawks bolstered by the additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the Raptors’ youth healthy again.
So to sum up these first two questions, it could be another season of the Heat being caught in the middle.
3. Can the Heat score?
A: At the moment, this is little reason to believe so, based on losing Herro for the start of the season and being so categorically inefficient in that regard the past few seasons, including 24th in scoring and 27th in pace last season.
When Herro returns, the addition of Powell could provide the expected kickstart. Otherwise, it could come down to loading up on 3-point attempts with a higher percentage of 3-point conversations.
Otherwise, in the void of Butler’s path to the foul line, easy points figure to be hard to come by. Plus, there is the loss of Duncan Robinson’s known-quantity 3-pointers while waiting for something similar to arrive.
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4. So defense or bust?
A: Not sure Pat Riley or Erik Spoelstra would have it any other way.
And there is a pathway to such success, the Heat capable of putting out defense-first closing lineups with the likes of Adebayo, Kel’el Ware, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson and Dru Smith.
To a degree, Herro’s absence also could open a window into where the Heat stand without having to cover for his defensive deficiencies.
5. Is there lineup, rotation clarity entering camp?
A: For some? Yes. With most? No.
Adebayo, Powell and Wiggins are almost assuredly locked in as starters. With Herro out for at least the first month, likely Mitchell as well.
The fifth starting spot is expected to come down to Ware or Jovic, but Spoelstra has been known to zig when others zag.
As for the rotation, change already is in motion with Herro’s absence, which could mean more reliance on the shooting of Simone Fontecchio, and more of a rotation role for both Larsson and Jaime Jaquez Jr. Plus, if Smith is all the way back from last season’s Achilles tear, he could be all the way back into the rotation.
Of the others on standard contracts, less clear is what comes next for Achiuwa, Rozier, Keshad Johnson and Jakucionis.
IN THE LANE
WAY OF THE WORLD: Unlike the ongoing debate about Tom Brady balancing his roles as Fox’s lead NFL television analyst and as Raiders part-owner, the NBA clearly has decided there is no issue with team personnel expressing their views on national television. So over from ESPN to Amazon Prime goes former Heat forward Udonis Haslem, who continues to hold the title of Heat Vice President, Basketball Development. And it hardly makes him an outlier. Steve Nash, this past week named a Phoenix Suns senior advisor, also will be working the coming season as a Prime television analyst, as will Dirk Nowitzki, who carries the title of special advisor with the Dallas Mavericks. The blurred lines went even further on Thursday, when former Heat guard Kyle Lowry also was named an analyst for Prime, even while playing on with the Philadelphia 76ers. And remember, former Heat guard Dwyane Wade, now a part owner of the Utah Jazz, also will be working this season for Prime. “We’ll deliver something fresh and special for basketball fans worldwide,” Lowry said. “A current player can do both.”
PREGAME ACTIVITY: With the Heat’s exhibition opener against the Magic next Saturday in Puerto Rico cutting their training camp short by a day, the Heat will send proxies from the team for an adjacent celebrity game in San Juan on Friday. That will have former Heat players Alonzo Mourning, Glen Rice and Carlos Arroyo acting as assistant coaches for the celebrity team that will play in Heat colors. Among celebrities expected to participate in the Puerto Rico-centric event are Anuel AA, Wisin, Denise Quiñones, Felix “Tito” Trinidad, Zuleyka Rivera, Carlos Beltrán, Ivan Rodríguez, Yadier Molina, Zion, Luar la L, Tito El Bambino, Raymond Arrieta, Jowell, Miky Woodz, Jencarlos Canela, DJ Luian, and the recently crowned boxing champion Xander Zayas.
PLAN B: From Heat rookie revelation in 2019-20 to NBA washout, Kendrick Nunn has emerged as an example of how a closing NBA door can lead to a thriving overseas career. No less than former University of Miami forward Lonnie Walker IV cited that as the case. “It all really started because of Kendrick Nunn,” Walker told EuroHoops of his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate. “He’s one of the pioneers of this all, as far as Americans feeling more comfortably coming over here. He’s shown that it’s possible. When you have a player like that, it’s kind of just a domino effect.” Nunn is coming off a EuroLeague MVP season in Greece, with Walker now playing in Israel.
NUMBER
7. Players drafted in the first-round by the Miami Heat on the team’s current roster: Kasparas Jakucionis (No. 20, 2025), Kel’el Ware (No. 15, 2024), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (No. 18, 2023), Nikola Jovic (No. 27, 2022), Precious Achiuwa (No. 20, 2020), Tyler Herro (No. 13, 2019) and Bam Adebayo (No. 14, 2017). The last player drafted in the first round by the Heat not on the current roster was 2015 No. 10 pick Justise Winslow. (The Heat did not have first-round picks in 2021, 2018 and 2016.)
