Q: Ira, there comes a time in any sports franchise where there is a change of the guard. Out with the old in with the new. Everyone sees it. And we’re here. Respectfully Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are with the Old Regime. Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis and Jaime Jaquez Jr. are the new guard. This year should be focused on maximizing them. Norman Powell shoots too much, which is why he’s been discarded by three teams. Bam and Tyler took the Jimmy Butler era as far as it could go. And Andrew Wiggins is disappearing strangely, but explains Warriors’ frustrations. And while the message is and always will be: we have enough. The sad truth is, we don’t. So if not, focus on the next iteration of the Miami Heat. Because insanity is the definition of these last three years. – Joe.
A: First, I think it can be more subtle, but also still with an eye toward the future, perhaps less dramatic than you suggest. If value – particularly in terms of draft picks – is there, you potentially can move on from 30-somethings Andrew Wiggins and Norman Powell at the February trade deadline and still have your core of the past and core of the future. When it comes to Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, such massive moves likely would be better handled with a full read on the season. But also keep in mind that this remains a live-in-the-moment franchise, so tearing it apart rarely has been the approach. But, yes, there is a future in place that must be served. To his credit, Erik Spoelstra seems to have settled on Kel’el Ware as a starter and is making a point of finding time for Kasparas Jakucionis. So, to a degree, the turn is already being made.
Q: Will anyone on the Heat tell Jaime Jaquez Jr. to settle down? Every time this kid checks into the game, he immediately hunts for himself, and it kills the team’s momentum. I can’t count how many possessions he ruined against New York, and it made me even angrier watching Erik Spoelstra just allow it. – Sam, Pittsburg, Kansas.
A: Disagree. The role of a sixth man is to enter and change the pace. That is exactly what Jaime Jaquez Jr. has done this season. Now, if he was playing as a starter, that would be a different story. Did he hit a rough patch at one point this season? Sure. But he has come around lately and was instrumental in keeping the Heat on Sunday in New York.
Q: I would think that Heat would be better served with Bam Adebayo playing closer to the hoop and the shooters taking care of 3s. Do you agree? – Simo, Palm Beach.
A: At this point, you make a reasonable case, considering Bam Adebayo is down to .320 on 3-pointers this season and has made only one over the past six games. The issue is that with the “wheel” offense the Heat is playing, it requires him at times to be at the 3-point arc. The thought is that he can be a spacer there. The reality has become something different.