Miami Heat looking at Precious Achiuwa return? | Five on the Floor

Miami Heat looking at Precious Achiuwa return? | Five on the Floor

Welcome to the latest episode of Five on the Floor on the Five Reason Sports Network. Thanks for joining us on your favorite podcast app on Apple, Apple Podcast. On Android, we recommend Spotify. Also check out the Five Reasons YouTube channel for all your content on the Dolphins. Also check out Prize Picks. Use the code five fivial fantasy sponsor of the Five Reason Sports Network. NFL is all on there. We’re doing shows for Monday night, Sunday night, Sunday afternoon, Friday night, Thursday night. We got shows for everything. Go to prize picks. Use the code five fiv. Put down your five, get your 50. It is legal in the state of Florida. Also off the floor, that’s our Discord server. 10 different channels, plus the stage shows, the place for the most heat anywhere, the most heat information and conversation. It’s prizepix.com. Use the code fi. And now today’s episode. Uhoh. Yeah, it’s Mercy. Music by Mercy again. Heat nation the coach I need you to call some out radio blanket open for the shot still five on the floor still ride for my dog on the court still survive in the wall keep your eye on the ball or get burned from the heat off the wall without turning the cheek from night to day no sleeping pad so allowed to mourn us they love to sleeping us never catch us alive from Miami we pour in the heat Five uses sports from the court to the streets. Ahs. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Welcome to Five on the Floor, a daily insider show on the Miami Heat and the NBA featuring Ethan Skolnick, Greg Sander, Alex Toledo, Brady Hawk, and others from the Five Reason Sports Network. Also, make sure to subscribe to Off the Floor for the most heat anywhere. All right, welcome back to Five on the Floor. Here’s today’s floor plan. I’m Ethan Skolick. You can follow me at Ethan Jol at Five Sports. I got Alex Toledo. You can follow me at Tropical Blanket. We’re getting a little closer to training camp here. Make sure you check out all the episodes we put out there this summer because you may have forgotten us, but we did a lot. I mean, we basically potted every single day. Don’t really know how we did it. uh couple episodes about the Hall of Fame weekend, so check that out. Greg and I did those. Also, Matteo has been doing episodes as we commemorate the 2006 championship. So, some stuff in the past, but we looked to the future, obviously, and talk a little bit about the present. And there was a report today first from Myra Winderman. We’ve speculated on this name before. Uh the there there are certain names that are out there. They’re fairly obvious. Uh which you know, the guys that could be free agents that and the Heat have an obvious need for an extra big like we’ve talked about that at Nauseium. uh unless they’re going to count on Vlad Golden, which I don’t know that either of us feels that comfortable with that. They really don’t have a fourth quote unquote big on the roster that’s really playable. They could go with Keshot Johnson uh in limited minutes perhaps, but I don’t think that’s something that everybody really wants to lean into. And then uh of course, Yovic doesn’t really play like a big. We saw a little bit of that uh in this uh run here for Serbia, which by the way is over. All the Heat players are out. All of them acquitted themselves well though. Uh, Yovic for Serbia, Fonteo for Italy, and Larson for Sweden. You could argue that Fontekio and Larson were their team’s best players, and Yoic was definitely in the top three on his. So, all the players played well, and it’s going to make for an interesting training camp. But, there is a report out there that the Heat uh this is from Ira have been in contact with Precious, See, this is another one. I thought we were done with him and now I didn’t have to pronounce his name anymore, but uh Precious Aua, right? Yes, that’s right. Uh, of course, first round pick of the Miami Heat, who is best known for not being Tyrese Maxi or Desmond Bane. Like that’s that’s how he got characterized in Heat history. Uh, he did some decent things as a rookie. I always was dubious about him and Bam playing together. I remember asking Riley about that at a press conference. He said, “Oh, we wouldn’t get we didn’t draft him unless they were going to play together.” And then Spo really didn’t play him much together. Uh, he was kind of under too undersized to be a center. had some limitations as a four, but did resurrect himself as a rotation player after a stint in Toronto uh with New York and he’s available right now and so the Heat have made contact with him. Now, just before I get to your view of him, Alex, because I know you have a definitive view, uh I I don’t think this is imminent. We’ve said repeatedly that the Heat are not really looking to go over the luxury tax for any big that they may add at this point. uh they can do it a little bit later and it won’t affect them quite the same. But there’s also the Terry Rosir spectre here and how that plays into this. But let’s just go let’s get into your view of Precious as a player. Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to have to speak about Precious again. Maybe ever, right? But um look, man, it’s obviously somebody that the Heat have drafted before. We know that they have a hole right there in their front court where they obviously need another big man, I think, just to be able to have a body out there who can play if need be, right? Like I I’ve made my my position clear that I think what is going to happen is you know they’re going to have B and we’re wearing as their bigs but in case you know like throughout the season like what are the odds that both of them are going to play 82 games right like I just think there’s going to be a point in the season where they’re going to need another big and somebody who can just step in and play some minutes to you know get things through and and I think Precious kind of fills that you know it checks off that box like they they almost certainly can’t sign anybody that is more than the veteran minimum. He’s a little bit younger. He’s not like a DeAndre Jordan or a Trey Li who are out there who have bigger minimums because they played so many more years in the league, right? Like Precious kind of is closer to Kai Jones in that sense where I think he was only drafted like I think he he’s only got one more year than Kai Jones where they have a very similar minimum and can just kind of wait till mid to late December to sign them, right? So I think it very much fills like those types of boxes, right? Like um an NBA player with experience um and and that’s about as much as I can say for him. I think defensively he’s still got some stuff there. Like when you look at the stats like that’s the the one positive about him is that he can he can be a rotational player for you on defense, right? Like I mean not rotational like I want I would want him to be in the rotation. That’s absolutely not what I’m saying. I just mean like that is the value that he brings as an NBA player right now is that he is he’s decent on defense on the offensive side of the floor is the complete opposite. Like he is he is not a threat. He doesn’t shoot it well. um he tries to sometimes create for himself, which it’s cool that a big camp, but he doesn’t do it at a high level by any means. And then when you go and look at the stats, it’s like the past two seasons with the Knicks, the defense got a little bit better when he was on the just a little bit, right? It got marginally better, which is a good thing for somebody who, you know, is not somebody you’re depending on. Like it’s good that you can throw him out there and they’ll be and you’ll be fine on defense. The problem is on offense, like I’ve been saying, it got worse by six points per 100 possessions. That is a drastic drop. and that’s over the last two seasons um just with the Knicks. But yeah, like he is somebody who I think checks off those boxes for another like an an end of roster player in order to have another big. I’m really not trying to like talk down on him. I’m just trying to be real about where he’s been the last couple of years. It’s not somebody that I think would excite Heat fans and just like very much in the Kai Jones sense of like you need somebody else on the team. on the Kai Jones episode. I kind of like the idea of him more just because he was more of like a screen and roll athletic big. The role was very clear or it would be very clear with Precious. I I don’t know what he does on offense. I think like last year they had him taking less jumpers which is a good thing, but he still took some midies. You know, he’s not exactly like this um above the rim athlete as a roller either. He still feels very much like a tweener on offense. Um, and yeah, like I I don’t think it would be a bad move to sign him later on in the year when it’s possible. But yeah, it’s just it checks off the boxes. That’s what I can say about Precious. Well, it checks off the boxes and they know him, right? So that’s the advantage is that he would come in and then they would know immediately, not just those who would sign him, but also Spolstra like what he can do and what he can’t do and not put him in positions where he can’t do certain things. Obviously, it’s different when you’re a first round pick and there’s high expectations and the fans are clamoring for somebody to play and you know, you’re trying to make a push there and then, you know, and then he’s not the player that some other some others after him became and so then there’s that additional pressure and fans were not really like they weren’t heartbroken when he was traded along with Dragitch to get Lowry at the time. They just they weren’t. Uh but yeah, I mean he did some functional things with the Knicks and like you said, they need a guy. Uh Kai Jones is uh it doesn’t look like that’s happening anytime soon and and we talked about him a bit. I heard uh there might have been some kind of an ailment during the workouts themselves. I’m not really sure exactly what played out there, but there there it doesn’t seem like he went to America Cup. I don’t think he played. Um I’ve talked to Timothy about that. So I’m not really sure where that stands right now. I don’t think he’s signed overseas at this point. He had an offer that was pretty well publicized to go overseas that I don’t believe that’s happened to this stage. And there’s other bigs that they could call upon if they really needed to. But again, this gets to the point that they don’t really want to spend on one who’s not going to play a lot. Like, you know, you get yourself out of the tax situation by moving Highmith. Like, the last thing you want to do is move in somebody who’s just going to sit at the very end of your bench. So, I understand it from both perspectives, but I want to get to the Rosir part of this on the other side because they could accommodate him if they just buy out Terry now, right? But I I was told that wasn’t a strong possibility of that happening. And so, I’m a little surprised that there have been a couple of reports to the effect that it’s still being considered. So, we’ll get into that in a second. Before we do, we do know that if Precious had to play because say Bam or Wear would hurt, there would be pain, right? Right. So, I’m just I’m just bringing in the sponsor here. 305800 PAIN. That’s 3058000 PANE. 247. Always ready to take your call after an accident. They’re based here in Dural. They’re committed to Miami Dade and South Florida. The community focus. Fast connection with trusted doctors and attorneys. BBB, that’s Better Business Bureau. Accredited with an A+ rating for car accidents, personal injuries, and related legal matters. The number itself is the brand 305800 PAIN. That’s 305800 PAIN. Your first call after an accident, make it to them because every minute counts. With one call to 305800 PAIN, you get immediate access to trusted doctors and attorneys who guide you step by step. Check them out. Again, it’s 305800 PAIN, and you probably find them on some of our injury report segments at some point later this season as it starts. uh the Rosir thing, they’re not going to be able to trade him. We’ve established that the FBI FBI investigation, as far as I know, was still going on. I there was a false report that it had been Malik Beasley had been cleared. That does not appear to have been the case. I they’re not necessarily tied one to the other, but it doesn’t seem like anything is resolved in that situation. Of course, Rosier, it’s related to that, you know, situation he had in Charlotte, which he may or may not have known about. Obviously, uh he was cleared by the NBA, but the FBI is still investigating. Okay, but they’re not going to be able to trade him while that’s going on. It’s been described to me as toxic, not by people inside the Heat organization, but by people outside. So, it’s just not going to happen. So, we’ve talked about the waving possibility. I don’t think that’s happening. The uh the buyout, though, the reason I was told the buyout was not likely was because he would have to accept taking less money than he’s otherwise going to be paid. He has some these non-G guarantees in his contract, too, which are worth about 1.7 million. But he he would have to accept taking less, but he’s not going to make that up anywhere else because nobody’s going to sign him while the FBI thing is still going on. So, like I I don’t know. I Barry raised it as a possibility today, but I still don’t see it. And I don’t see why they would do that and basically give away the expiring contract which could have some value in a trade at some point if he’s cleared just to bring in Precious and stay under the luxury tax, right? Like that doesn’t make sense. Yeah, I’m not really there with that. I don’t think Precious or Kai Jones is necessarily worth um you know hurrying things up for. Uh I never really thought the bio thing for for everything all the reasons you’re saying like was any sort of possibility. It just doesn’t seem like it there’s any reason for Terry to do that given everything like where he it it’s just the worst time the absolute worst time for him to try to do this. Like it’s almost it’s it’s harder to come up with a worst scenario for a player like Terry to to try to negotiate a contract buyout here. So, no, I’m with you there. I don’t I don’t see that happening. The the the other angle with him was the one that kind of like caught my attention just cuz I it’s it seemed more palatable. Like it’s up to the Heat. they can just outright wave him. But I’m not sure I see that happening either just because I think, like I said, I don’t think Precious Orai is necessarily worth giving up the um obviously not a player that you’re going to play, but the small possibility perhaps that you can use his u contract for in in some sort of trade. Again, I’m not saying that’s going to happen. I expect that to happen, but it’s like that small possibility. I’m not taking that away for Precious or Kai Jones because what if you know a player becomes available all of a sudden. God knows who that player would be, right? But like you need an extra contract to help make, you know, uh make the salaries match there. You’ve got this ginormous contract in Terry who you know the other team might not want. But again, like um I just think there are ways that his contract could be potentially used in a trade. Nothing I would expect, but yeah. Um, I think they’ll probably just wait it out and see if, you know, some of these guys are still available in a couple of months since, you know, the season is going to start a month from now and they’re still unsigned. So, um, and there’s no other like there’s no premier big out there that I think that they they’d be rushing to sign. Like the guy who’s been constantly talked about becoming available is Vousvich and nothing ever really came with like nothing happened with that. So maybe if there was somebody like that out there who like, “Okay, we want to play this guy. We want to give this guy real minutes.” But I don’t think Precious or Kai Jones or even like any of the others, DeAndre Jordan, Trey Lyles, who are still out there are guys that they would necessarily rush the process for. Yeah, I’m with you. I I don’t I don’t see any of these guys making a substantial difference. And by the way, while they’re all still out there, they have options. So, they don’t need to like rush on one who’s not necessarily going to be that much of a better uh wait a lot longer with the other two veteran guys, though. Just That’s true. No, no, you’re you’re right about that. That That is accurate. I I I just I just I don’t see it right now. I really don’t. I mean, there’s not this great I mean, now some of these players may make decisions to go overseas and then some of them will have outs and some of them won’t have outs or buyouts or any of that kind of stuff uh with whoever their their country is or their their their team is that they’re playing for in some foreign country. But I I look the thing with Precious is I think we get back to the point where uh you know the Heat are going to try to make do I think with what they have and you’ve talked about it that using Kashad Johnson as as kind of you know a flex player as the fourth quote unquote big or more likely more likely and I know Mark Stein reported this today again he threw Wiggins’s name back out there. The Heat have been very firm about not moving him before training camp. things change, but as of right now, I’m not hearing that he’s going to be moved. Uh, but playing Wiggins at the four is something else I think we’re going to see a lot of. So, I I think as Brady and I have talked about that and the possibility that Wiggins is going to be eating up a lot of those four minutes with the closing lineups, I think uh with with DaVon, Hero, Powell, and Bam. You know, we’ll see if Yovic can work his way in there or Larson can work his way in there, but but right now I think that’s the or where. Right. We’ve talked about all three of them, but I think it’s a very strong possibility that could be the first closing lineup we see. And if that’s the case, then Wiggins is going to be playing those last six minutes at the four anyway. So, it it does alleviate the need for another big, so to speak. He’s tried to make it work with smaller bigs than Wiggins. Uh bigs than Wiggins, right? I mean, he’s I mean, Trevor Arza and well, Hwood Highmith for that matter. So, uh Caleb M. Right. Exactly. I mean, you and me. Okay. And Brady. Anyway, uh check out not only Off the Floor, but also um Alex and I are both writing for Sports Illustrated Heat page, which I’m actually managing now. So, the two of them are stuck with me in another capacity, and we’re relaunching that this week, so be on the lookout for that. The links will be in the description. Alex told me to remind you of that, so I have. Anyway, have a good day, everybody. Thank you for listening to the five on the floor on the five reason sports network. After all, someone needs to listen to my dad.

After the Sun-Sentinel reported that the Miami Heat have been in contact with former first-round pick Precious Achiuwa, Ethan Skolnick and Alex Toledo discuss whether that would make sense.

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