A new rumor on why the Miami Heat lost the LeBron James free agent sweepstakes this week offers a worrisome outlook on the team’s hopes of contending for a title next season.
Heading into the week, the James chase looked to be down to four teams: the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Heat. However, the best guess by most in and around the sport was that either a return to Cleveland or Miami was the likely result. Instead, the 22-time All-Star surprised many by picking the 76ers.
In the hours since, the big question in Miami has been why didn’t he choose a reunion with Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra and the Heat? He has no ties to Philadelphia, and the franchise has a weaker championship pedigree than the other three, since it hasn’t won a title in over 40 years. Well, a new report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst sheds new light on the why, and it isn’t a good look for the Heat.
“The Heat are a little thin after they traded four young players — Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis — for Giannis Antetokounmpo and lost All-Star Norman Powell in free agency. James’ focus on picking the team best positioned to win a title might have negatively affected the Heat’s standing.”
The Giannis Antetokounmpo trade did not make the Miami Heat title contenders?
Windhorst notes that Miami was among the final three choices. And that his agent, Rich Paul, told fellow ESPN NBA insider Ramona Shelburne on Friday “that, for a time, he believed James was headed to Miami.” Obviously, he didn’t.
The Heat traded for the Milwaukee Bucks icon because they felt he could make them a title contender next season. Antetokounmpo also claimed he chose Miami for that same reason. However, the trade has severely damaged the team’s depth. Now, they have close to $110 million invested in just two players next season — Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo — little money to add talent, and no young, affordable impact players on the roster.
The assumption was that Antetokounmpo would make Miami a popular destination for veterans looking to win a title, like James. However, it seems that is not at all the case, and it doesn’t bode well for their title hopes next season.
After earning his journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos served as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sucka … More about Jason Burgos