The Miami Heat will have 11 players entering free agency this offseason and will almost certainly bring a couple back.<\/p>\n
Fortunately for the Heat, one of their most valuable impending free agent has already expressed a desire to return. In an interview with HoopsHype\u2019s Michael Scotto, lockdown Heat defender Haywood Highsmith<\/a> says he would \u201clove to stay<\/a> in Miami for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve built a great life out here,\u201d he explains. \u201cMy daughter lives out here as well. If all things are close, I definitely would love to stay in Miami, but we\u2019ll see when that time comes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll still be the same person no matter how much I get paid or whatever happens. I\u2019ll still be in the gym locked in and trying to win a championship\u2026<\/p>\n I\u2019ll push myself to be the hardest worker on the team, continue to get better, be a contributor by guarding the best player, knock down shots, do what it takes to win, stay in my role, and help win championships.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Highsmith, who went undrafted in 2018, is expected to command $8-10 million in free agency. Coming off a career year, the 27-year-old averaged 6.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.8 steals per game in 2023-24, while shooting 39.6 percent from 3. With efficiency and multipositional defense at 6-foot-7, he\u2019s evolved into one of the better 3-and-D forwards in the league.<\/p>\n While his nickname (\u2018The Locksmith\u2019) is an ode to his unshakeable defense, it\u2019s also a nice metaphor for his ability to fit in myriad lineups.<\/p>\n The Heat are focused on the big picture, wanting their proud program to generate tangible results.<\/p>\n For an organization such as the Heat, that can be nothing less than an NBA championship. Looking to raise their fourth championship banner, they\u2019ve built a talented roster headlined by two All-Stars and a high octane backcourt. Indeed, the quartet of Jimmy Butler<\/a>, Bam Adebayo<\/a>, Tyler Herro<\/a>, and Terry Rozier<\/a> hangs up 80 points a game. Nonetheless, the secret to the Heat\u2019s success in the post-Big 3 era has been their defense.<\/p>\n Pushing their players to be in peak physical condition, Miami\u2019s athletic ability shines at that end. That they\u2019re tenacious, hardhat-wearing, and disciplined is both a nod to their nature and to the coaching of Erik Spoelstra. A creative strategist and master motivator with the same work ethic he wants his players to have, Spoelstra is arguably the best coach in Heat history.<\/p>\n However, due to their inability to stay healthy, Heat president Pat Riley has to consider moving one of their Core Four for someone with better availability.<\/p>\n As of now, the odds-on bet might be Butler, who seems to be clashing<\/a> with Riley. He also likely has the highest trade value due to his reputation around the league. Looking at the NBA landscape, Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard<\/a> will be the most attractive target in a Butler deal due to his scoring prowess.<\/p>\n However, Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan<\/a> fits in cleanly as Butler\u2019s replacement at forward. Though he\u2019s a less threatening defender, he\u2019s a more engaged scorer. He\u2019s also far more reliable with regard to his availability; the last time he missed 15 (or more) games was in 2014-15. For comparison, Butler has missed at least 15 games in seven of his past seasons.<\/p>\n If they\u2019re targeting either Lillard or DeRozan though, it makes sense for them to key in on defenders like The Locksmith in free agency. To that point, contributors like Delon Wright<\/a> and Caleb Martin<\/a> should be locks to return as well. Praised for their defensive, they\u2019ll offer plenty of balance for either star on the perimeter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Miami Heat will have 11 players entering free agency this offseason and will almost certainly bring a couple back. Haywood Highsmith Leaning Towards Re-Signing, Contract Revealed? Fortunately for the Heat, one of their most valuable impending free agent has already expressed a desire to return. In an interview with HoopsHype\u2019s Michael Scotto, lockdown Heat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":78899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1608,62,3],"tags":[350,49252,142,297,4557],"class_list":["post-78868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heat","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-demar-derozan","tag-haywood-highsmith","tag-jimmy-butler","tag-nba-free-agency","tag-nba-offseason"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Big Picture<\/h3>\n
Jimmy Butler Trade Incoming?<\/h4>\n