Q: Ira, do you see the Heat either releasing or trading a player to get back under the luxury tax after the signing of Precious Achiuwa? – Barry, Deerfield Beach.
A: Considering the haste with which the Heat seemingly had to get off of Haywood Highsmith’s salary, it would appear that the mandate is not to linger for any appreciable period in the tax, even if a remedy is eventually possible. Last season, the Heat thought they were out of the tax until a twist arose in the Jimmy Butler trade math. If the Heat truly were willing to take a later-rather-than-sooner approach with the current tax math, then it would have seemed as if the Highsmith move could have been put on hold, potentially with added value coming in instead of going out. So to sum up, based on what happens (or doesn’t) with Precious Achiuwa, it would seem the Heat would soon thereafter complete companion move to assure being again below the tax.
Q: I like this move, Ira. I think Precious Achiuwa and Bam Adebayo will see considerable minutes together throughout the year. Also would think this allows Erik Spoelstra a little more creativity with the bigs now. – Douglas.
A: Actually, I doubt it. I would contend that when it comes to two-man pairings, you will see more of Adebayo-Ware, Adebayo-Jovic and Ware-Jovic than the combination of Bam Adebayo and Precious Achiuwa. In fact, if the Heat were to go small, you just as well could see some Simone Fontecchio or Andrew Wiggins as the four in an alignment with one of the aforementioned big men. The perspective here is that Precious Achiuwa was added as insurance for games that might be missed by Bam or Kel’el Ware.
Q: Terry Rozier’s problem is he wants to look good playing the position and be a stat shark. He isn’t gritty like Dru Smith on defense and Pelle Larsson scrapping and in making the right plays. – David.
A: But let’s also not lose sight of why Terry Rozier was brought in. He was added to be a scorer, to help a struggling offense. There was never pretense of Terry as a defender or even someone willing to defer or only take high-percentage shots. Terry is what he always has been, only now has been doing it without the ball actually going through the basket. Still, with Tyler Herro out, there are few others on the roster as capable of instant offense.