If the Miami Heat is going to pursue a buyout candidate, there’s one clear player that they should prioritize over the others.
As the NBA all-star break quickly approaches, there are many teams around the league that must make decisions regarding potential buyout candidates over the next few days. And one of the teams that hast to make a decision about whether or not they intend on adding to the team as currently constructed is the Miami Heat.
And there’s a bit of even more heat (no pun intended) on this team after the fact that they decided not to pull the trigger on any moves at the NBA trade deadline. One would assume that would enforce the idea that the Heat is going to wait until the offseason to make a move. However, this is not generally a franchise that usually waits to upgrade the roster if there’s a potential upgrade on the open market.
But if the Heat does in fact believe that there’s a buyout candidate that could help this team heading into the push toward the playoffs and eventually, hopefully, into the postseason, they should absolutely explore the option.
The Miami Heat should only pursue Kevin Love on the buyout market
While the Heat has been linked to more than a few buyout candidates, I firmly believe there is only one they should explore signing. And that player is Kevin Love, who recently agreed to a contract buyout with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Even though Kevin Love is no longer the player that he once was during his prime, he is still a player that makes a lot of sense for a team like the Heat. He plays a position that is a great need for Miami, and the expectation is that he would fit at the power forward position quite nicely next to Bam Adebayo.
Of course, he’s not the defensive presence that Miami would ideally want at the position, but he does stretch the floor, and at the very least would add another dimension to the frontcourt that the Heat has desperately been lacking this season.
Even though Love is not the shooter he was at one point in his career, he is still a lot better than what the Heat has on the roster. Or at least considering the amount of struggling the Heat has had this season from 3.
Miami is one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league, and you can’t help but wonder where this team would actually rank in the standings if they were just average in that department. I’m not saying Love could come in and completely change the ceiling for the Heat heading into the playoffs, but he is a player that could prove to be useful for a team that has glaring needs at the power forward position and from a 3-point shooting perspective.
So no, the Heat should not explore Russell Westbrook. Although that would be quite an interesting scenario to watch play out, it’s unlikely that he would truly help the team considering their real areas of need.
Will Barton could help the team off the bench, but I find it hard to believe that he’s going to sidestep other potential offers to sign in Miami. Patrick Beverley would make some sense, considering he has some history with the team, but he’s also not a player that is going to suddenly change much for Miami.
Love is truly the only player on the buyout market that makes sense. He’s a better option than Serge Ibaka, who the team has been linked to. If the Heat does make a move for a buyout candidate, it would be pretty silly if Kevin Love wasn’t the team’s primary target.