Q: Ira, what are we going to do about Myron Gardner? The kid’s got a bit – shall we say – too much energy. – Watson.
A: Which is sort of what you want your team to have as you plow through an 82-game regular season and have to deal with opponents who aren’t even trying to win. No, Saturday night’s dustup in the victory over the Grizzlies with Scotty Pippen Jr. that led to the ejections of both at the end hardly was optimal. But sometimes you also need someone to get under the opponent’s skin, and better than it being a prime rotation player. Of course, you also can’t cross the line where an opponent then retaliates against one of your leading men. But the heart and energy is in the right place, with the Heat next to decide whether they might just have a Dillon Brooks of their own.
Q: Those guards lineups and rotations can only beat tanking teams and not all the time. – Jose.
A: Which is something we still have to see, considering the Heat’s past four opponents have been the Jazz, Pelicans, Hawks and Grizzlies. We could get a better idea perhaps on Thursday night if Joel Embiid plays for the 76ers and then maybe next Saturday against the Rockets. But as long as Erik Spoelstra stands by Pelle Larsson, then smaller ball it likely will remain until final scores require otherwise.
Q: Leading up to the trade deadline, there were reports that the Warriors would have sent Jonathan Kuminga plus a salary filler to the Heat for Andrew Wiggins. It sounds like Wiggins will opt out of the final year of his deal becoming a free agent at season’s end. Kuminga, on the other hand, has an additional year left on his contract at a manageable salary. I also am intrigued by his ceiling whereas we obviously know Wiggins’. If the reports were accurate, would you have traded for Kuminga instead of letting Wiggins walk for nothing? – Sean.
A: And that is another issue with the Heat opting to keep both Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins at the trade deadline, instead of more of a forward-thinking approach. While the preference here would have been draft capital, there is something to be said about not losing a salary slot from the books. The Heat moved in that direction when they turned the final year of Goran Dragic into Kyle Lowry and then the final year of Lowry into Terry Rozier. Granted, that didn’t end well, but it at least provided the Heat with something in hand, rather than a salary slot that still doesn’t get the team below the salary cap. But, again, as with the answer above, this is a team that insists on living in the moment as long as there is even an outside chance of playoff success.