By any rational standard, the 2021-22 NBA season was fairly kind to the Miami Heat. Pat Riley’s bunch did not reach the 2022 NBA Finals, but Miami nearly knocked off the Boston Celtics in an epic, seven-game Eastern Conference Finals, and the Heat earned the No. 1 seed with 53 regular season wins. Jimmy Butler deserves all kinds of plaudits for his playoff effort, and the Heat put together a title-worthy defense with versatility and sky-high upside to lay the foundation for success.
On the other hand, Miami’s offense often sputtered in the postseason, and the team’s one-way players (Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson) were sometimes exposed on the biggest stages. The Heat also have a recurring bit of aiming for the fences when it comes to offseason transactions, and the 2022 offseason may be no different. Miami did bring its own first round pick, No. 27 overall, to the table at the start of the summer.
Roster Needs: Another two-way perimeter player, offensive talent
Nikola Jovic (No. 27 Overall), B-: This is a perfectly fine value on Jovic. He has significant defensive concerns, but Jovic is incredibly skilled for a player of his height and size. He isn’t a total knockdown shooter, but his feel is very good and he’s a high-end passer. The thing is figuring out how to hide him on the other end.
2022 Free Agents:
Victor Oladipo (UFA)
Dewayne Dedmon (UFA)
Caleb Martin (RFA)
Markieff Morris (UFA)
Udonis Haslem (UFA)
Kyle Guy (RFA)
PJ Tucker (UFA)
Roster:
Jimmy Butler
Bam Adebayo
Kyle Lowry
Duncan Robinson
Tyler Herro
Max Strus (non-guaranteed)
Gabe Vincent (non-guaranteed)
Haywood Highsmith (non-guaranteed)
Omer Yurtseven (non-guaranteed)
Nikola Jovic