The Heat must be aggressive this offseason and willing to remain in luxury tax territory to improve the roster, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. If Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant and/or Zion Williamson become available at the right price, the Heat should pursue those opportunities. That also includes looking into the possibility of making a deal with the Celtics, who are facing a prohibitive tax bill next season.
The Heat should also seek out the Hornets’ interest in removing protections on the first-round pick the Heat owe them for the Terry Rozier deal, perhaps by offering an unprotected 2032 pick with added incentives. What the Heat need to stop doing, in Jackson’s view, is overvaluing their assets. Even Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro could be in play regarding a blockbuster deal if it helps them acquire an even more talented player.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The Heat should seriously consider moving the No. 20 pick in this year’s draft, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines. The pick they owe the Hornets currently puts them under restrictions from trading some of their future first-rounders. If they deal the No. 20 pick for any first-round pick in 2027, it could open multiple first-round picks for trades ahead of the current 2030 limitation, Winderman notes.
- Jett Howard got more opportunities in his second season with the Magic but didn’t take advantage of them, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel writes. He appeared in 60 games but averaged just 4.5 points in 11.7 minutes per game. Howard remains confident he can be an impact player with more playing time. “I can shoot the ball at a pretty high level,” Howard said. “Getting used to doing that out there … It’s hard being called in sometimes and not other times, but that’s just with anything [as] a young guy trying to get into the league, trying to get navigate through that and get some comfortability with that.”
- As we relayed earlier today, Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington earned All-Rookie honors. How rare is that for the Wizards franchise? They are the first Washington players to make an All-Rookie team since Rui Hachimura was a second-team pick in 2019/20, Varun Shankar of the Washington Post notes. The only other time the franchise had two selections was when Rod Thorn and Gus Johnson earned the honor in 1963/64 for the Baltimore Bullets.