Would Miami Heat be at loss without gaining Damian Lillard?

Q: Definitely a net gain for the Heat’s roster this year, compared to last. Much more height and size. One more potential gain. – Orlando Robinson may become a better backup center than Cody Zeller. – Morgan, New Orleans.

A: First, the player stepping in for Cody Zeller, in that support role behind Bam Adebayo, likely will be Thomas Bryant. So can the Heat get him back to the form of his pre-injury self when he was with the Wizards? Then you have to account for the losses of Gabe Vincent and Max Strus. For argument’s sake, you can consider Josh Richardson in and Max out as a wash. So then you get down to whether you have offset the loss of Gabe Vincent either with the addition of Jaime Jaquez Jr. or the growth of Nikola Jovic. You also could point to potential growth from Tyler Herro and Bam, but that first has to be witnessed. So “definitely” a net gain? That might be a reach. But it is a possibility if things fall into place and players such as Jaquez, Jovic and even Robinson step up in the void of a Lillard trade.