It’s been a quiet summer for the Miami Heat. Norman Powell is the star acquisition for Erik Spoelstra’s roster, after enjoying a stellar campaign for Ty Lue’s LA Clippers last season.
Unfortunately, Powell is unlikely to become a leading star for the Heat. Instead, he will be a high-level member of the starting lineup who can shine in a well-defined role. And, it’s for that reason that ESPN’s Tim Legler, speaking via the “All NBA Podcast,” doesn’t believe we will see much improvement from the Heat next season.
Legler envisions Miami to be a team that wins around 38 or 39 games next season. With such a low win total, Legler’s projection is likely suggesting that Miami’s overall ceiling remains low, compared to that of a genuine contending roster.
“He’s going to bring something to their team because he had his best year of his career offensively,” Legler said. “He’s always been a guy who plays hard defensively. I guess on that alone, maybe you think there’s an uptick because they were at 37 last year. They add Norman Powell, so you think 38.5 should do it. You know what it is for me? I think I’m just a little bit bored with the Heat.”
Legler continued.
“I’m going to go under, and I will probably be wrong on that because they won 37 and they added Norman Powell,” Legler continued. “That alone should be enough, and Kel’el Ware had a very good rookie year. Maybe he just comes out of the gate like a monster.”
As currently constructed, the Heat should be good enough to challenge for a spot in the playoffs, or at worst, the play-in tournament. However, they lack an elite talent to spearhead the charge for a championship. Therefore, their overall ceiling will likely be a first-round or, at best, a second-round exit in the postseason.
Heat’s Adebayo is Pleased Davion Mitchell Re-Signed
During his annual youth basketball clinic, Bam Adebayo spoke to the media in attendance. One of the topics he touched on was that Davion Mitchell had signed a new contract with the franchise. The new deal will see him earn $24 million over the next two years.
Mitchell impressed for the Heat after joining the franchise midway through the season following a trade with the Toronto Raptors. His hard-nosed and gritty approach to defense fits perfectly in Spoelstra’s system.
“Davion being back, obviously, we’ve been missing somebody that can really play on-ball defense,” Adebayo said. “And having him come in and be that guy and understand his role, I’m looking forward to him being here for a full year and all of us being together and getting to know one another and turning this into more of a brotherhood. We were kind of disconnected a little bit trying to figure out everybody’s role and trying to figure out everybody’s style of play. But now we’re going to have a good training camp and then we go from there.”
Mitchell thrives when guarding at the point of attack. He can navigate screens at speed, and does a great job of keeping offensive players out of rhythm by getting into the ball with aggression. He will lead by example when it comes to trying to implement a lockdown defensive mentality.
Heat Please to Have Landed Kasparas Jakucionis
During a recent conversation with Keith Smith of Spotrac, a member of the Heat’s front office explained why the franchise is excited about landing Kasparas Jakucionis in the 2025 NBA Draft.
“I’m not going to tell you where he was on our board, but it was a heck of a lot higher than where we picked him!” The anonymous executive told Smith. “The great thing about Kas is that he wasn’t very good in California. And he was mad about that. Here (Las Vegas) he was much better. That’s what will work for him in the NBA. He’s not going to settle for anything other than being great.”
Miami has struggled to find a reliable ball-handler and playmaker in recent years. And, while Jakucionis will take time to develop, his style of play could resolve one of the biggest issues within the Heat’s overall roster construction. Long-term, Jackucionis could prove to be Miami’s most important pickup of the 2025 offseason.
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