Miami Heat Predicted To Build Roster Around Andrew Wiggins With ‘Versatile’ 76ers Forward in Free Agency
The Miami Heat made history this season by becoming the first 10th seed to make the NBA playoffs through the Play-In Tournament. Miami finished 10th in the Eastern Conference after the team traded Jimmy Butler and limped to a 37-45 regular season record.
Miami was overmatched in the first round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but PFSN has one free agent they should target to build around the recently acquired Andrew Wiggins.
Heat Predicted To Add 10-Year Veteran SF via Free Agency
Jimmy Butler was a thorn in the Heat’s side this season up until the NBA trade deadline. Butler led Miami to two NBA Finals appearances in his first five years with the team, but became disgruntled during the early part of the 2024-25 campaign.
In early January, he was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and requested a trade. Butler was suspended two more times for detrimental conduct before finally being traded on deadline day.
A five-team deal was put together with Butler ending up with the Golden State Warriors, and Wiggins coming to Miami along with Kyle Anderson and two picks. Miami’s record slipped under .500 after the Butler trade and never recovered, but the team was able to defeat the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks to reach the playoffs.
Miami’s reward for making the playoffs was being swept by Cleveland by an average of 30.5 points per game. The Heat were overmatched against the top-seeded Cavaliers, and one reason was a lack of production from the wings.
Tyler Herro led all Heat scorers with 17.8 points per game in the series, and Bam Adebayo led the team with 11.0 rebounds per game. Wiggins, disappointingly, averaged just 11.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in just under 31 minutes per game.
The team will need more than one player to compete in the East, but PFSN’s Bjorn Bergstrom recently labeled Kelly Oubre Jr. as a player Miami should target this offseason.
Bergstrom wrote, “Though Andrew Wiggins arrived in the Jimmy Butler III trade, Miami suffered from a lack of production on the wing in the playoffs. Oubre isn’t a star by any means, but he’s averaged over 15 points a night for the past seven seasons in starting and bench roles. He’s also a versatile, hardworking defender who would fit with what the Heat want to be on that end.”
Oubre was the 15th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and spent his first three and a half seasons with the Washington Wizards. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns mid-way through the 2018-19 season, but averaged a career-high 15.2 points per game between the two teams.
He was traded twice during the 2020 offseason, eventually landing in Golden State. He signed with the Charlotte Hornets in the 2021 offseason, and the 2022-23 campaign was the best of his career. Oubre averaged 20.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 48 games.
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He signed a one-year, $2.9 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2023 offseason and averaged 15.4 points per game. Oubre started all six of the team’s playoff games and signed a two-year, $16.36 million contract to stay in Philadelphia. Oubre’s contract has a player option for next season, and he’s likely to decline the option.
As Bergstrom said, Oubre isn’t a star, but he’s a solid contributor who can add quality minutes for a competing team. Keep his name in mind for the Heat this offseason.
