Is Nikola Jovic a keeper for the Miami Heat this offseason?
Q: I hope Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley have seen enough in practice to keep Nikola Jovic off the trading block. Although this was a lost season for him because of injuries, he has shown the offensive skills and has the length of the new prototype NBA big. He probably needs two years to get bigger and stronger. but he is the only big on the current team that has upside potential. – Michael, Boca Raton.
A: So you sort of answered your own question, by noting that with his age (20) and physical build, Nikola Jovic likely is still two years from maturing into the needed NBA body and mindset. The problem there is that Jimmy Butler turns 34 before next season. This team is not in position to wait two years on anything, let alone an untested neophyte. Yes, the Heat should not summarily throw Nikola into just any deal. But if that is what it takes to close a deal for a win-now veteran (Damian Lillard? Bradley Beal?) then it should be considered. It is similar to the Heat having to part with Caron Butler in the 2004 trade for Shaquille O’Neal. Sometimes you have to part with the future to live in the moment.
Q; I know you’ve written about this and as a fan I’m glad because those five points there at the end of Game 5 against the Nuggets could easily have been made up with Tyler Herro on the floor for the second half. I get Erik Spoelsrta’s ultra-conservative explanation regarding the physicality and pace of the game. But, hey, these are pros, they’ve been in just about any situation you can imagine in their careers. So given the magnitude of the game, there should not have been any hesitation to put in the player that exactly met the requirements of the game at that precise moment: offense. – Gus, Port Charlotte.
A: But what only Erik Spoelstra and his staff were able to see, during those closed practices, is where Tyler Herro truly stood with his game. And if Tyler wasn’t fully ready, then it was a difficult moment in an every-minute-counts type of game. And if you doubt that, then consider how Cody Zeller’s mere 61 seconds changed Game 5 and contributed to the end of the Heat’s season.
Q: Ira, I’m surprised that Udonis Haslem didn’t get a few of Cody Zeller’s minutes. He’s strong and has experience playing against bigger guys. He’s been in enough Finals and he doesn’t back down from a challenge. Also, he has a little more offense than Cody. – Rich, Plantation.
A: Because the reality, and a course that the Heat never veered from, was that Udonis Haslem’s role this season, and recent seasons, was purely as mentor. If the Heat truly believed that quality minutes could be gained from Udonis then they would not have added two big men, in Kevin Love and Cody Zeller, at the buyout deadline, perhaps otherwise addressing point guard amid Kyle Lowry’s knee issue. God bless Udonis for what he was and who he is, but in 2023, Cody Zeller is the better player. Take from that what you will.
