ASK IRA: How would Heat’s reality have changed if now-retired Derrick Rose was the 2008 lottery pick?
Q: I’d take LeBron James, Chris Bosh and two rings over Derrick Rose. – Joseph.
A: This was in response to Thursday’s retirement of Derrick Rose, who went one pick ahead of the Heat’s selection of Michael Beasley at No. 2 in the 2008 draft, after a season when the Heat finished with the worst record in the NBA. And, yes, had the Heat wound up with better lottery luck and Rose, it is possible the thinking would have changed ahead of the 2010 free-agency bonanza that left the Heat with LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. So, yes, hindsight in light of the uneven results with Beasley very much is 20-20. But Wade and Rose could have been something special in its own right. As it was, the Heat sold off Beasley to the Timberwolves in order to facilitate the Big Three roster construction and the addition of Mike Miller that offseason, as well. Still, it was a lottery and draft that stung, and one altered the course of the Heat, even as hindsight shows how it turned out for the better.
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Q: Ira, if you think trading Thomas Bryant would help the Heat with the tax, then why re-sign him? – Franklin.
A: Because sometimes all is not as it appears. Thomas Bryant had the right to opt into free agency after last season, but also could have remained with the Heat by opting in. So by now it is clear that the Heat made clear that if Thomas did not find a better deal in free agency, he would be re-signed. The caveat was that had Thomas not opted out, he would have remained trade eligible. So when he re-signed, the agreement was that Thomas would waive his no-trade provision. That left him in the same position as if he had not opted out. The only difference is that as a player who signed in the offseason, he cannot be dealt until Dec. 15. For the Heat, by Thomas opting out and re-signing, there also was a nominal benefit with the cap and tax. Such is the quid pro quo of certain free-agency moves. The Heat had the chance to offload Thomas’ 2024-25 salary; Bryant had the opportunity to potentially earn more than the NBA minimum in free agency. Neither happened, so the implied return happened, and this is where both now stand.
Q: This team can compete for a championship if . . . Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Terry Rozier, Nikola Jovic, Josh Richardson and Dru Smith are healthy. The Miami Ifs? – Cesar, Sanford.
A: To assume total health is to assume a non-reality in the 82-game, back-to-back set, marathon NBA. But beyond that, there were ample stretches last season when the Heat had relative health and still were not much more than a .500 team. What the Heat, with their relative stagnant roster, need is both health and individual improvement.
