The Miami Heat desperately need to address their lack of frontcourt depth behind Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware. (Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images)
Exiting another disappointing season, the Miami Heat have a lot of questions they must answer heading into the 2026 offseason.
They were able to duck the luxury tax last season, avoiding any repeater tax penalties. And they are entering this offseason with over $35 million in projected space under the luxury tax, so they will have some flexibility to toy with.
Despite that, they can’t leave this summer without addressing their biggest weakness — figuratively and literally.
The Miami Heat need frontcourt depth:
It’s been nearly 10 months after the Miami Heat acquired Norman Powell at the cost of Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson. Yet their need for at least one more big is just as great as it was then.
After the Miami Heat waived Precious Achiuwa, who was unplayable in the preseason, the Heat operated with two bigs on the roster for most of the season. Undrafted rookie Vlad Goldin made spot appearances in garbage time, but Goldin spent most of his season in the G-League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. In 31 games, Goldin averaged 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks across 23.6 minutes.
Thus, the Heat were hamstrung in the frontcourt, limiting their lineup flexibility. Head coach Erik Spoelstra leaned more into the Kel’el Ware-Bam Adebayo frontcourt over the season’s final 25 games (when it was far more impactful), but there were no suitable options behind them; Keshad Johnson and Nikola Jovic were the best two options after that, and neither is a big.
Who are potential options?
There aren’t many bigs available in this year’s draft — Flory Bidunga and Mo Krivas are among the few who have already decided they’re returning to school — so I’d expect the address their frontcourt depth in free agency.
The free agency list at center isn’t loaded. But here are a few names they could target:
Mitchell Robinson
Mo Wagner
Andre Drummond
Robert Williams III
Jaxson Hayes
Jock Landale
Most importantly, the Heat need more lineup flexibility. Their best lineups are with Adebayo at center, but they have also needed him to play at center out of necessity last year. Ware and Adebayo have both grown as shooters, and more optionality isn’t a bad thing, especially since the team’s positional size across the board remains below-average.
Who do you think they should target?! Let us know in the comments!
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