Jacari McRae | September 3rd, 2019
ESPN’s Get Up! host Jalen Rose sees a bright future for the Miami Heat. At a recent golf event, Jalen Rose spoke with the Palm Beach Post’s Chris Nelsen Miami’s offseason moves. Rose believes the Heat have something up their sleeve.
“You see how fast they added an All-NBA player that nobody saw coming,” Rose said recently, referring to Miami’s blockbuster trade for Jimmy Butler. “All of a sudden, they’re rejuvenating their roster.”
Rose credited the Heat and their front office for finding a way to upgrade their roster. In a four-team deal involving the Portland Trailblazers, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Philadelphia 76ers, the Heat unloaded Hassan Whiteside‘s contract and acquired All-Star guard Jimmy Butler.
“Hassan Whiteside, once he got his big deal in Miami, wasn’t the player they projected him to be,” said Rose, who works for ABC and ESPN. “Paying that type of money, they wanted him to be among the league leaders in rebounds and blocks, and be able to play 35 minutes a night. He wasn’t able to do it.
“For them to parlay that into Jimmy Butler, who made all the big plays in Philly, just shows the magic of Pat Riley. (Butler) becomes part of a situation with Erik Spoelstra, one of the best coaches in the game, and now they can attract more players. It bodes well for rebuilding their roster.”
The Heat fell short of the playoffs last season. While he doesn’t see them as a title contender this upcoming season, Rose believes the Heat are back to being a playoff team.
“As long as Spoelstra’s on the sideline, and Jimmy Butler’s playing at an All-NBA level, I anticipate them to be a playoff team,” Rose said. “Maybe not a (title) contender yet, but it’s a large step when you’re turning over your roster. Adding Butler helps speed up the process.”
The Heat are currently in the hunt for a second star to pair alongside Butler. This off-season, the Heat were linked to Russell Westbrook before he was ultimately traded to the Houston Rockets. Miami also remains interested in acquiring Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards. Rose believes the Heat could also acquire injured point guard John Wall, who is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 NBA season due to injury.
‘Hey Washington, if you’re dumb enough to trade me Bradley Beal, we’ll take John Wall’s deal,” Rose said. “You know those conversations were being had, since one is injured and one was coming up on a new contract.
“Whether it’s Beal himself, of course you take him. If it’s Beal and Wall, you definitely take them. Regardless, I think Miami will remake their roster and continue to put themselves in position to go from playoff team to contending-level team.”
As of this moment, Bradley Beal is not on the trade block and the Washington Wizards have informed teams they don’t plan on trading him. Beal is currently mulling over the three-year $111 million extension the Wizards offered him last month. Should Beal request a trade, the Heat and other teams will be ready.
A Beal trade doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon though. It’s very likely Miami enters the season with their current roster. But regardless, as Rose said, the future in Miami does look brighter than it did last season.
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