Miami Heat: 8 biggest questions as 2023-24 training camp opens

Heat begin training camp at Florida Atlantic University Tuesday.

The 2023-24 Miami Heat opening night is exactly Jimmy Butler (22) days away, and we are now officially Damian Lillard Josh Richardson (0) days away from training camp, which tips off Tuesday in Boca Raton, Fla. With that said, let’s dive into the eight biggest questions I have at the start of camp.

1. Well, first … what does the roster look like?

I wouldn’t normally pose this question, but in lieu of *gulp* Lillard getting traded to the East rival Milwaukee Bucks, Miami enters camp with actual roster clarity (for the time being). So, let’s go through it!

They begin camp with 13 players on standard contracts, one short of the league minimum (that they will need to fill by opening night, per the CBA), with all three of their two-way contracts occupied by Dru Smith, Jamal Cain and former first-rounder R.J. Hampton.

The Heat began the offseason by drafting Jaime Jaquez Jr. with the No. 18 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. In free agency, they lost two starters — Max Strus and Gabe Vincent — and traded Victor Oladipo to the Oklahoma City Thunder to create additional cap flexibility by generating a $9.5 million trade exception.

Conversely, Miami brought back Josh Richardson on a two-year minimum and also signed center Thomas Bryant to a two-year minimum; it also converted big Orlando Robinson, who will compete with Bryant as the backup center along with Robinson, to a partially guaranteed minimum contract.

2. Who are the training camp invitees?

They signed the five players to Exhibit 10 deals: Cheick Diallo, Justin Champaignie, Drew Peterson, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams.

Here is a description for each player:

• Cheick Diallo, F/C: Diallo, a second-round pick in the 2016 draft, had stops in New Orleans, Phoenix and Detroit, where he last appeared in the NBA two seasons ago. He most recently spent time with the Cangrejeros de Santurce, a professional team in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional in Puerto Rico.
• Justin Champagnie, G/F: Champaignie was in the Heat organization with Sioux Falls last season, averaging 18.2 points and 8.1 rebounds on 61.5 percent true-shooting. At the professional level, Champaignie’s proven to be a gifted offensive rebounder and cutter at 6-foot-6 while showing flashes a floor spacer.
• Drew Peterson, G/F: Peterson, a rookie, was a five-year college player at Rice (two seasons) and USC (three years), where he earned All-Pac-12 honors. He averaged 10.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals on 47.1 percent shooting from deep with Miami in the 2k24 Summer League.
• Cole Swider, F: Swider was cut by the Lakers earlier this offseason, but was arguably the best shooter in their adept developmental system. He averaged 17.1 points on 50.6 percent shooting, including an absurd 43.6 percent from 3-point range on 7.6 triple tries per game in 27 games with the South Bay Lakers—Los Angeles’ G-League affiliate.
• Alondes Williams, G: Williams struggled to find consistent playing time with Miami over the summer. Though Williams, who spent last season with the Long Island Nets (Brooklyn’s affiliate), was extremely feisty at the point-of-attack, and has a very good track record as a playmaker and scorer.

3. Who starts at point guard?

One of the Heat’s biggest losses this offseason was losing Gabe Vincent to the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency. Last season, Kyle Lowry was the starting point guard before getting replaced by Vincent midseason.

Vincent started throughout the Heat’s improbable playoff run while Lowry, 37, transitioned to a less-taxing bench role. Though the results, at times, remained unfruitful and it’s unlikely that Lowry will be tasked with big ballhandling responsibilities in 2023-24, should he be with the team.

The Heat enters the season in a similar position than it did at the start of 2020-21—without a true point guard. Tyler Herro, who began his second NBA at point guard (which benefitted him greatly in years 3/4), could be the starting “point guard” again three seasons later.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra commented during media day that he’s not going to throw Herro out there at point guard “day one.” Spoelstra and multiple players who spoke to the media Monday augmented a unified message that there will be shared responsibility—specifically from Butler, Herro, Bam, Martin and Richardson—for who could organize the offense on any given possession.

For now, Butler will likely be the de-facto “point guard,” because of how often he will be relied upon to generate offense, even though different actions, in different situations with different lineups/pairings will induce myriad distributors.

4. What’s next with Kyle Lowry?

The biggest buzz Monday ended up surrounding the man who this time spoke the fewest words: Kyle Lowry.

Lowry, who was in attendance for Media Day, chose not to speak to the media. He is entering the final year of a three-year, $85 million deal that will pay him $29.7 million this upcoming season.

Last year, he wasn’t happy with team president Pat Riley last summer for commenting about his weight. And now, Lowry’s refusal to speak to the media raised more questions than it indeed answered regarding his role and, frankly, his future with the team. Does anyone know? That remains to be seen…

5. How does Josh Richardson’s reintegration fit with this roster?

Miami’s biggest acquisition of the offseason was a player who was already familiar with their system: Josh Richardson.

Richardson, 30, is an older, more season-veteran than he was during his first stint in Miami as “Rook 2.” He’s also stronger and smarter, having multiple roles during his stints with the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs.

The Heat nabbing Richardson for a two-year minimum could be one of the best value free-agent signings across the NBA this offseason. No, he’s not going to be tasked with averaging nearly 20 points per game again, but Richardson can fill in the gaps departed by both Strus and Vincent. Richardson is a quality 2-2.5-level scorer, can guard three positions, is a smart cutter, has good foot- speed/dexterity defensively and is an improved playmaker.

Erik Spoelstra can work with that, especially when flanked by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, forming a lethal defensive triumvirate. A few who could also greatly benefit next to Richardson: Herro (also an improved playmaker), Martin (another athletic sparkplug) and Duncan Robinson (whose gravity is greater than Jupiter’s), among others.

Richardson and #HEATCulture™ is a near-perfect match, where he can be an incredibly malleable piece in myriad lineup combinations.

6. Who is the backup power forward and center?

Last year, the Heat inserted Caleb Martin at the 4-spot after P.J. Tucker’s departure to Philadelphia. But he was eventually replaced by Kevin Love midseason after the Heat signed him from the buyout market, moving Martin back to the bench, where he specialized as a hybrid wing.

Heading into the new season, I think Love could be the favorite to begin the season as the team’s starting power forward because of his floor spacing prowess, even though his minutes will dip to around 20-25 per game.

The biggest contrast from the last two Heat rosters is they have more viable options, including Haywood Highsmith and, perhaps at some point, second-year 6-foot-11 (point) forward Nikola Jovic.

Martin and Highsmith are the most athletic and versatile options defensively among the aforementioned options, and Spoelstra has shown that he wouldn’t mind sacrificing size for switchability next to Bam Adebayo. Highsmith is the better rebounder, but Martin is the better on-ball creator and spot-up shooter offensively.

Love doesn’t have the best foot speed at this stage of his career, but is a good rebounder and outlet passer. Jovic, who’s 20 pounds heavier entering his sophomore NBA season, is an improved shooter and adds a playmaking dimension to the 4 that we haven’t seen with this core. He will need to continue improving on the defensive end (in space and in the drop), however.

At center, it’s a debate between Bryant and Robinson. The former struggled to find his footing in Denver behind superstar Nikola Jokic after the deadline, but showed promise as a rebounder and as an interior scorer when Anthony Davis was injured before he was traded. Robinson, meanwhile, flashed his long-range shooting that he had at Fresno State, this time in Summer League. He does lack the vertical pop to play against bigger centers, but his fundamental improvements over the summer were remarkably encouraging for Robinson.

7. Can the young bucks crack the rotation to start the season?

Sorry, should I have used a trigger warning for the word “bucks?” Too soon? My mistake.

Jokes aside, assuming everyone’s healthy, here are the “write it in pen” rotation candidates: Butler, Adebayo, Herro, Richardson and maybe Martin. That’s five, so bear with me here.

As I previously mentioned, I expect Love, Lowry (if he’s with the team) and one of Robinson/Bryant to be in the rotation to begin the season; that’s eight players. I also think Haywood Highsmith earns the benefit of the doubt, leaving presumably 1-2 spots available.

No, I don’t have any sources; this is all projecting, But I’d imagine Jovic has the leg up in the rotation over Jaquez, but neither spot will be given until they earn it in camp.

Yes, both can earn it. Spoelstra made Tyler Herro earn his starting spot last year; I’d imagine he’ll do the same with Jovic and Jaquez in the rotation this year. Both possess completely different skill sets that will be very useful in different facets, but both will have to earn the opportunity to work their way up the food chain as time goes by—just like Herro and Martin did.

8. Should Jimmy Butler keep his emo look throughout the season?

Yes, in my personal opinion. But Jimmy won’t care what I — or anyone else — thinks, which is the beauty of all of this.

In all seriousness, what a way to 1.) Troll the fans/media and 2.) Ease any tension and deflect attention away from … other events that happened leaguewide over the past week.

Since it’s his “Halloween,” I guess the better question is: What will his costume be next year? Let us know in the comments!