Q: Ira, wish Norman Powell had been that saucy at the end of last season. We could have used some of that to make the playoffs. It was a good run, but also time to move on. – Tim.
A: First of all, when you digest Norman Powell’s initial comments about leaving the Heat in free agency for the Bulls, the words were well measured and respectful of the realities of today’s NBA salary cap and luxury-tax aprons. That said, even if you take the comments as being “saucy,” that certainly is the right of a player who kept the Heat afloat over the first half of last season and made the All-Star Game for the first time. As with many from last season’s Heat roster, Norm got caught in the vortex of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, a deal that also impacted the Heat offseason fortunes of Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis. A case also could be made that the Giannis deal and the cap fallout impacted Andrew Wiggins, Simone Fontecchio, Jahmir Young and Keshad Johnson – at least financially – as well. As Pat Riley often has reminded, this remains a league that starts with the whales. For everyone else, it can be a case of swimming against that tide.
Q: You’re right Ira, the Heat are fielding one of the best if not best power rotations of their history. Unfortunately the best team wins the championship, not the best power rotation. We’re going to find out the hard way in this era of aprons how wise of a decision it was to commit so much of limited salary resources to the front court. – John, Ocala.
A: But you won’t know until you know. And the opportunity to land someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo only comes around so often. We’ve already seen what the Heat looked like with the majority of players – and salary – sent out.
Q: Ira, can this team compensate for a lack of 3-point shooters with a lockdown defense? I can count four out of the five starters as lockdown defenders. – Rodney.
A: You are correct, assuming that Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell will start. But, please, let’s put aside this talk of lack of 3-point shooters. The Heat have plenty of high-percentage 3-point shooters, including Bobby Portis (.456 last season), Wiggins (.414), Tim Hardaway Jr. (.407), Mitchell (.395) and Simone Fontecchio (.375). What the Heat have to learn is whether they can do it at high volume. But the canvas is there.