Q: I sure hope Pat Riley and company are not thinking this team is a player away from competing for a championship. Winning those play-in two games only to be swept, killed off not only a potential very high lottery pick, but the pick as well. As soon as Monday, this season is over and our need to get bigger, faster, stronger and more skilled is beyond just one whale and requires draft capital which we now have lost for next season. Our current pick will likely be a throw-in for whatever trade we make. – Brian. Fort Lauderdale.
A: On one hand, I agree that this roster needs a significant degree of overhaul. On the other hand, it would not surprise me to hear Erik Spoelstra or Pat Riley say that what this team needs is a training camp together. Such as what you say in the immediate wake of a season, before you can actually get down to the hard work of restructuring the roster. Even with the limited time with Andrew Wiggins, it is apparent that more is needed alongside Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, if those two are going to remain the franchise anchors. There has to be at least – at the very minimum – one high-end component mixed in to make this work. Is that doable? That’s when we get to see if Pat Riley still has the personnel magic and Andy Elisburg still has the accounting wherewithal. But this cannot be like the season after Dion Waiters, James Johnson and Willie Reed created a somewhat satisfying feeling at the end of that .500 run. More is needed in a highly competitive Eastern Conference, as the other playoff series are showing.
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Q: Andrew Wiggins is playing like a deer in headlights. He appears very timid and is playing with no conviction. The Heat need to trade him to a team where he doesn’t play a leading role. Your opinion? – Daniel, Boynton Beach.
A: I find it difficult to believe that Andrew Wiggins is not significantly limited by the ankle issue that previously had sidelined him. He simply is better than he has looked the last month since scoring those 42 points on that Sunday night against Charlotte. Is he a leading man? No, which is why the Warriors were so willing to deal him for Jimmy Butler. But he also has to be more than a fourth option. From the beginning, he set up as a matching salary in a future deal. It hardly appears as if that calculus has changed
Q: Is Heat Culture dead? – Sandy
A: I know that has become somewhat of a talking point because of how the series has played out against the Cavaliers. But I’m not sure that even the most cultured of Heat rosters would have fared much better against this Cavaliers juggernaut. Also, I’m not sure if many things are more Heat culture than going from 10th place in the Eastern Conference to making the playoffs by winning a pair of all-or-nothing play-in games. The play-in round, if nothing else, showed that Heat resolve remains. It is the talent gap that is at issue now.