Q: Ira, now the Dolphins know how the Heat feel about losing Christian Wilkins, Andrew Van Ginkel and Brandon Jones. It’s like the Heat lost Gabe Vincent and Max Strus last summer. Free agency sucks. – Theo.
A: And the Dolphins also lost Robert Hunt. But beyond that, a little perspective first, because the loss of Christian Wilkins would be closer to the Heat’s loss of Bam Adebayo. But such is life in a salary cap world. The difference in the NFL is that it is much easier to restructure contracts, which is not the case in the NBA, with its ironclad guarantees. In your opinion, the losses of Max Strus and Gabe Vincent were clearly felt. But it must be recognized that the Heat managed to fill the gaps. The Heat have long been a destination franchise when it comes to filling such holes, as the recent buyout market has demonstrated. Now we’ll see if it’s the same for the Dolphins and what they build under Mike McDaniel.
Q: I think the problem isn’t just that Bam Adebayo is in bad shape, it’s also the fact that we’re still missing Tyler Herro and Kevin Love. This exacerbates the problem. If they both played, Bam’s play wouldn’t be as egregious. – Pipsy.
A: First of all, it seems like this time of year, everyone is missing someone. Beyond that, these concerns are why the Heat added Terry Rozier at the cost of a future first-round pick. Sorry to sound like Erik Spoelstra here, but the Heat should have what it takes to withstand the absences of Tyler Herro and Kevin Love.
Q: Ira, the Heat beat the Nuggets and everyone will forget the Wizards game. – Ed.
A: No, they won’t. Because after the Heat played the Nuggets on Wednesday night, there are still three games combined this month against the Pistons and Wizards. So they had better remember the one who got away, because there might be others who might also run away. But the reality is that to get to where they want to get at the top seed, the Heat will also need to pick up a few quality wins, perhaps starting against Denver.
