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With the 2020 Miami Heat's improbable run in the Orlando bubble, expectations for the Miami Heat coming into the season were relatively high. They made it to the NBA Finals and were ultimately just two wins away from winning the NBA Championship as fifth seed. In fact, they were viewed as dark-horse contenders for much of the year.
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However. due to a myriad of COVID-related issues/injuries, the Miami Heat stumbled out of the gate, winning just seven of their first 21 games. Nevertheless, they eventually got healthy, added some key rotation pieces, and finished with a 40-32 record, claiming sixth spot in the East.
But after qualifying for the postseason, they were unceremoniously swept in disappointing fashion by Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.
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Depending on if the Miami Heat exercise Andre Iguodala's ($15M) and Goran Dragic's ($19.4M) team options, they could head into this offseason with only five players guaranteed under contract next season. They could also have upwards of $25 million for free agency.
On that note, let's take a look at the three players the Miami Heat need to target this summer to bolster their roster.
#3 Doug McDermott - Indiana Pacers, (NBA Unrestricted Free Agent)
Doug McDermott will likely be one of the more sought after sharpshooters in free agency this offseason. McDermott is coming off his best season, where he averaged a career-high 13.6 points in 66 games with the Indiana Pacers this season, with 37 of those games as a reserve.
The Miami Heat have a premier sharpshooter of their own in Duncan Robinson, who's made the third-most threes in the entire NBA. during the past two seasons. However, Robinson will be a restricted free agent this offseason and will most likely receive numerous hefty offer sheets.
With that said, the Miami Heat may opt to let Robinson walk if they deem he's too expensive to retain. If so, the Miami Heat may pivot to McDermott as a consolation prize and ultimately Robinson's replacement. Regardless, with or without Robinson, McDermott would be a decent addition for a Miami Heat team who finished 25th in PPG last season.
#2 Lonzo Ball - New Orleans Pelicans, (NBA Restricted Free Agent)
Lonzo Ball quietly had the best statistical campaign of his career for the New Orleans Pelicans this season, averaging a career-high 14.6 points. Along with that, Ball led the Pelicans in assists per game (5.9), steals per game (1.5).
But overall, with the eye-test, it was apparent Ball wasn't as impactful this season as he was last season, and he struggled with consistency issues throughout the year. The main reason behind Ball's inconsistencies may have had to do with Ball playing in a vastly different role this year under head coach Stan Van Gundy, from last year under head coach Alvin Gentry.
Nonetheless, Ball will be entering his fifth season next year, and he'll merely be 24 years old. With that said, Ball possesses a considerable amount of upside, and has steadily improved each year as an overall player since entering the league.
From what we've seen from Ball, he's shown to be a cerebral point guard with exceptional basketball IQ. He improves his teammates' quality of play by constantly placing them in the best situations offensively on the floor. Furthermore, even though he's still in the early stages of his NBA career, Ball is already an above-average playmaker, three-point shooter, perimeter defender, and rebounder.
Most Heat fans likely believe Toronto Raptors six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry is the PG the Miami Heat need to go after this summer. While Lowry would be a great short-term option, he'll be 36 at the end of next season.
The Miami Heat have lacked a true pass-first point guard for what seems like an eternity. While Dragic has been sufficient in the aforementioned role for the past seven and a half years with the Miami Heat as a starter and sixth-man, he'll be 36 years old at the end of next season and is more of a scorer than a playmaker.
Additionally, as stated earlier in the article, Dragic may not even be on the Miami Heat's roster next season. Because of this, the Miami Heat need to go into this offseason, looking for their point guard of the future.
For that reason, it would benefit the Miami Heat to go after Lonzo Ball, although he's a restricted free agent and can make an offer the Pelicans cannot refuse.
#1 John Collins - Atlanta Hawks, (NBA Restricted Free Agent)
One of the Miami Heat's biggest issues throughout last season was being able to rebound the ball. Matter of fact, the Miami Heat finished the year as the second-worst rebounding team in the NBA. The Miami Heat were also tied for being the worst offensive-rebounding team in the league, which more than likely coincided with being last in second-chance points.
Enter John Collins.
Now statistically, Collins was worse for the most part than last season. However, this could quite easily be chalked up to the Atlanta Hawks adding numerous quality players to the rotation from last year, namely Clint Capela, thus taking shot/rebound opportunities away from Collins.
In any case, Collins is set to be one of the more attractive players in the restricted free agency market. Being only 23 years of age, Collins has immense upside and has the highly coveted skill of being able to score inside and out, along with being able to effectively play at the power forward and center position.
Plus, he's shown massive improvement on the defensive end within the last year, as a one-on-one defender and a rim protector.
Having said all of that, Collins wouldn't eradicate all of the Miami Heat's rebounding issues, but he certainly would be a tremendous aid. Moreover, Collins would be a big boost for the Miami Heat's offense overall, which finished with the worst offensive rating in the 2021 playoffs.
In addition, Collins perfectly fits the Miami Heat's timeline of trying to win-now while also preserving/developing young talent for a long-term and bright future. Last but not least, the addition would enable the Miami Heat to form a formidable front court of Collins and Bam Adebayo, one that could wreak much havoc on the NBA for years to come.
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