Part 13 of the offseason guides brings us to two teams that are in similar situations both on the court and financially. The Miami Heat, who are looking to build on a 2023 NBA finals appearance and the Sacramento Kings, who made the playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades in 2023 as well.
The Miami Heat are the zombies of the NBA. Whenever it seems they are out of a game or series they always seem to find a way back into it. The Heat have had a very successful start to the beginning of the franchise. They won a title in 2006 with Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O’Neal heading the roster and then again in 2012 and 2013 with the big three of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. Even since their last title in 2013 it hasn’t been for lack of talent or opportunity. Miami is an attractive place for free agents. Miami the city being the main attraction, but also playing for arguably the best coach and front office in the league also has its perks. Erik Spoelstra, one of the best head coaches in the game, and Pat Riley who is an executive for the team. Riley is considered the creator of “Heat culture”. A culture that is consumed with winning. Everything that is involved with winning, Riley makes sure it's incorporated within the team. The Heat are known for their insane levels of conditioning and their gritty play. They even have players monitored for body fat percentage on a weekly basis. This insane focus and devotion has helped the Heat be one of the most successful franchises in the last 20 years. However, recent years suggest they might need to dip into their culture a little more to gain some more success.
In 2022, the Miami Heat were one Jimmy Butler three pointer away from making another NBA finals. Their furious comeback in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics was almost complete, except Jimmy Butler missed the potential game winning three pointer with 5 seconds left. In his press conference, Butler claimed that the Heat would be in the same position a year later and get the job done. That claim looked ridiculous, especially when the Heat were struggling in the play-in game against the Bulls. They pulled that game out and then did the unthinkable. The 8th seed Heat were able to pull off three straight series upsets to make the NBA finals, becoming only the second NBA team to achieve that feat. This past season however, could not be duplicated as they again were the 8 seed, but were bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics. So that leads us to the current roster.
Jimmy Butler joined the Heat in 2019 during free agency. Since then he’s been the face of the franchise and had some iconic playoff runs throughout his time in Miami. It’s notable that the Heat chose not to extend Butler this offseason as he has 1 year left on his current contract with Miami and a player option available after. With Butler being 35 in the upcoming season, they feel like not extending him is a calculated move. Butler has been their rock in the postseason and personifies their Heat culture. He’s their leader and their best player, but the front office feels like they have a good future for life after Butler and rightfully so.
The current roster has four crucial pieces in place and under contract for the next two seasons: Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. Adebayo is arguably the most versatile defender in the league. At 6’10 he guards a number of players on the opposing team and is often very successful when defending them. He signed a 3 year, $166 million extension this offseason and anchors the Heat’s defense. His offensive development has improved since he first came into the league. He is more comfortable operating in the mid-post and has started to extend his game to the perimeter. His 3pt attempts this summer with Team USA are evidence of the potential. Tyler Herro is a dynamite scorer for the Heat. He’s a little happy with his selection, but he’s the Heat’s best offensive creator. He can score at all three levels and he has really improved his pick-and-roll playmaking since entering the league. His main struggle though is on defense. He’s the weakest defender in the starting lineup for the Heat leading to the other 4 guys having to cover up for him. Terry Rozier is similar to Herro. He joined the Heat this past trade deadline and provided some more scoring punch for a scoring deprived offense. However, the fit next Herro gives them a weaker defensive lineup on the perimeter. Jaime Jaquez Jr. was one of the more impressive rookies this past season. The former UCLA Bruin had a tremendous start to his career. His first two months he was arguably one of the best rookies in the league before being injured. He’s a versatile wing defender and has some sneaky offensive skills. The Heat absolutely nailed drafting him in the middle of the first round.
The current Heat team is good, but there are a lot of questions about them going into next season. They’re a team that lost in the first round this past season and haven’t made any real moves this offseason. They lost Caleb Martin after he chose to take less money to play for the Philadelphia 76ers. Martin was an important piece in their 2023 finals run. The Heat are just under the first apron with their current team and have 178.3 million dollars committed to their roster next season. Without making any trades it’s difficult for me to see them going anywhere past the first round of the playoffs, but if history shows us anything, never count out the Miami Heat.
The Sacramento Kings have not been able to enjoy the spoils that Heat have had in the last 20 years. They made the playoffs for the first time since 2006 ending the longest playoff drought amongst current big 4 sports leagues in North America. They lost in 7 games to the Warriors that saw Stephen Curry go for 50 points in game 7. They were a top 3 seed in the Western Conference that season and had their best regular season since 2006. Unfortunately, they were unable to enjoy that same success as they lost in the play-in to the Pelicans. So where does this leave the Kings now? They made one of their bigger splashes in free agency acquiring DeMar DeRozan from Chicago in exchange for getting off the Harrison Barnes contract. Pairing him next to De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis will give them a challenging offense to defend. However, their defense has been their bigger struggle as they were 24th in defensive rating this past season. Adding DeRozan won’t improve their defense so they’re relying heavily on Keegan Murray taking another leap as a defender this year. Murray has also provided the Kings with some much needed shooting. His ability to make threes will help open up the floor for Fox and DeRozan to operate.
Personally I like the move for DeRozan overall, it’s not a risky move that has them giving up a ton of trade assets. They still have 4 first round picks available along with 5 second round picks if they feel the need to add some more talent around the current roster. They are currently 7.4 million dollars under the tax threshold. Instead of jamming up salary and trying to add a third star next to Sabonis and Fox they added a savvy veteran scorer to a younger team. DeRozan’s deal is 3 years for 70 million dollars and gives the Kings some leeway in case it doesn’t go as planned. Along with the addition of DeRozan, the Kings need Kevin Huerter to return to the shooting form he displayed a couple of years ago. The long range sniper’s shot was a potent weapon in the offense in his first season with Sacramento 2 years ago, but he really struggled this past season. His ability to make shots gives more space for Fox, Sabonis, and DeRozan to operate on the floor. Being that none of those three players are prolific three point shooters, it’s important the other two guys can space the floor for those three players.
I think the Kings are a good team as currently constructed and the addition of DeRozan certainly helps them keep up with the rest of the Western Conference. But, does that ultimately move the needle more than its intention. Like I said before, I think it’s a good and safe move for the Kings, but I don’t think it gets them into the top 6 of the Western Conference. Many of their current players will need to continue to develop and the team as a whole will need to show some more resistance on defense. A 24th ranked defense is not good enough to make a deep run into the playoffs. Overall, Kings fans should be optimistic about their chances next year and if a little luck breaks their way, there’s no reason why they couldn’t end up in the top 6 of the Western Conference.
As always feel free to comment below and any news prior to the release of this article will be updated prior to the start of next season.
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