7 Free-Agent Options Miami Heat Should Pursue to Bolster Shooting Guard Depth
Well. That was an eventful trade deadline. Especially for the Miami Heat.
With former Phoenix Suns point guard Goran Dragic now in tow, per ESPN's Marc Stein, the Heat are poised to make some real noise in the Eastern Conference over the next few years. They don't have the depth to be considered a true title contender. Not yet anyways. But they have the top-shelf talent, and that's most of the battle.
This summer, it's going to be up to Pat Riley to find that depth—especially at shooting guard, where the Heat are dangerously thin. Doing so may be easier said than done. It's hard to say exactly how things will shake out for Miami cap-wise, as both Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng are armed with 2015 player options, per RealGM.
What is clear, however, is that Dragic and Hassan Whiteside are both slated to get big paydays soon. Miami can't afford to tie up too much money in bench players.
Let's take a look at a few of the Heat's options at shooting guard this summer and how they might fit in Miami.
Marco Belinelli
1 of 6
In terms of pure shooting, it's hard to picture a better acquisition than Marco Belinelli. It's unlikely he leaves the San Antonio Spurs, considering how well he fits their system, but stranger things have happened.
Belinelli is a career 39.4 percent three-point shooter, and only once has he hit less than 37 percent from downtown (he shot 35.7 percent in 2012-13). The bulk of his attempts are threes, and he's been automatic from the corners. This is the kind of shooter Miami (and really every team) needs.
Belinelli isn't the type of player you just prop up in the corner, however. While his offense is based mostly on jumpers, just 31 percent of his shots have been spot-up attempts. He's constantly in motion—running off screens, taking handoffs from bigs or making sneaky baseline cuts for easy twos.
A bit of that is due to the Spurs' motion-heavy system, but most of it is just Belinelli himself. He's always functioned best as a roving shooting threat who can pull defenses in uncomfortable ways. Miami has had some experience with this type of player over the past few years (Ray Allen comes to mind). Head coach Erik Spoelstra would be able to draw up some neat sets for Belinelli to take advantage of.
He's even a pretty good passer for a pure shooter. He's not the type of player who can kill defenses with his slash-and-kick game. But he can make basic drop-off passes to bigs and has a knack for fitting the ball into tight windows.
Wayne Ellington/Marcus Thornton
2 of 6
It may seem strange to combine two players like this, but...my goodness are these guys similar. Just look at their numbers this year. Thornton shoots a bit more, but other than that, they're essentially the same player. They're even both 27 years old and in their sixth seasons!
Neither Ellington nor Thornton would play a starring role for the Heat, but both would provide valuable shooting and spacing to a backcourt that desperately needs it. To be honest, they really don't do much else, though each can create a bit of offense when called upon.
Ellington's weapon of choice is a surprisingly good pull-up jumper—pretty typical for a guard who can't handle the ball especially well. He's hitting 43 percent of them on the year and a very good 38 percent on his attempts from beyond the arc.
Thornton, on the other hand, is better ball-handler and gets to the rim at a greater clip. He's not a particularly good finisher when he's there, but his ability to get there alone is enough to get defenses scrambling.
It's worth pointing out that Ellington is a slightly better defender than Thornton (ESPN's real plus-minus system rates him as a good bit better). But either would be a solid addition, and both should be available for cheap this offseason.
Gerald Green
3 of 6
Gerald Green has enjoyed a great two-year run with the Phoenix Suns. He'll probably be looking for a longer or bigger deal than Miami is willing to shill out.
Green is hitting just 36 percent from deep this season, but he made 40 percent of his threes last year. He's also jacking up shots from beyond the arc at a historic rate, giving him a ton of value as a floor spacer.
The Heat are a bottom-10 team in terms of three-point attempts. That isn't a huge problem, but ideally, they would have a few more willing shooters surrounding Whiteside when he dives to the rim.
Green's fit in Miami would be intriguing. Obviously his shooting alone would make him a valuable piece for the Heat. But Miami could squeeze more productivity out of him if it was willing to get into transition a little more.
The Heat currently play at the slowest pace in the league (though that's bound to go up with Dragic around). That makes them a less than ideal pairing for Green, who's fantastic in transition and does a lot of his damage there.
Miami's bench lineups have also played at plodding paces this season. If the Heat did end up signing Green, it would be interesting to see if they were willing to mix Dragic in with those units to up the tempo. Green-Dragic lineups have historically scored at crazy rates.
For all that he would add offensively, it is worth pointing out that Green is a truly terrible defender. In fact, ESPN's real plus-minus system ranks him as the worst defensive player in the league.
Not just shooting guard. Player.
Miami would have to put together specific lineups to cover for his deficiencies.
Gary Neal
4 of 6
Gary Neal is in the middle of a pretty terrible year, so the Heat should be able to snatch him up for cheap if they're so inclined.
The best and worst quality about Neal are actually the same: He's an unapologetic shooter willing to pull up from just about anywhere. When he's at his best, that makes him terrifying to opposing defenses. Unfortunately, when he's not shooting so well (which has been basically all of this season), he can really damage his own team's offense.
With that being said, there's no reason to think that Neal will shoot this poorly moving forward. Though he's only hitting 29 percent from downtown this season, he's a career 38 percent from behind the arc. He's hit a surprisingly low number of his open threes this year relative to others, and it's fair to chalk some of that up to bad luck.
Neal also has a little off-the-bounce juice, though he might be the one guy you want settling for long twos. He's a career 50 percent finisher at the rim and is shooting an astoundingly bad 29 percent in the restricted area this season.
That's quite literally the worst mark of all NBA rotation players. Neal has had years where he's finished well at the rim in the past. And his low percentages this year are partially due to just how much offense he's creating on his own. Still, that kind of shooting is troubling.
Investing too heavily in Neal might be a mistake, as he'd need a bit of reining in to play effectively off the bench. But snagging him on a cheap one- or two-year deal could be a smart gamble.
Lou Williams
5 of 6
Lou Williams could end up being a bit out of Miami's price range. But he would be awesome coming off the bench, especially if the Heat could convince him to sign for cheap.
Williams is a good scoring guard and one of the weirder players in the league.
Despite shooting under 40 percent from the field (and 33 percent from three), he's been the Toronto Raptors' most efficient offensive wing. The secret lies in his uncanny ability to get to the free-throw line (his free-throw rate is 45 percent) and the sheer number of threes he takes.
Nearly half of Williams' shot attempts have come from beyond the arc this season, a huge number for a guy who handles the ball as frequently as he does.
He has no conscience from behind the line, and only a handful of players are launching as many pull-up threes as he is. He's only shooting 29 percent on those threes (yuck). But his sheer willingness to launch them forces defenders to go over screens.
That sets up Williams for easy off-the-dribble attacks. As a pick-and-roll ball-handler, he's scoring 1.01 points per possession, placing him in the 95th percentile in the league. That's crazy, especially when you consider how poorly he's shot the ball overall.
The Heat could really use that kind of punch off the bench. Williams could also play well alongside Wade as a point guard or at the 2 when Miami goes small. Though he's shooting poorly from outside as a whole, he's hitting 40.4 percent of his spot-up threes and has been an assassin from the corners.
Again, this is something of a long shot, but Williams would be a fantastic short-term addition.
Mo Williams
6 of 6
At 6'1”, the Minnesota Timberwolves' Mo Williams is more of a hybrid 1/2 guard than a full-time 2. But he fits the bill as an off-the-bench shot-creator. If he's not looking for much more than the deal he signed last summer (one year, $3.75 million, per HoopsHype), he would be an awesome contributor.
Williams is shooting just 34.7 percent from deep this season, but that number is a bit misleading.
Only 54 percent of his threes have been assisted this year, a very low mark. He's knocking down 43 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes. It's safe to assume that his shooting would more closely resemble his career average (38 percent) if he ended up in Miami.
On the ball, Williams is actually similar to Lou Williams in the sense that most of his game revolves around pull-up jumpers, many of which come from behind the arc. In fact, just 10 percent of his offense has come from inside of 10 feet this season, a stunningly low number for a guard who uses a lot of possessions. He's taken 30 shots in the restricted area all year.
Unlike the aforementioned Lou, however, Williams rarely gets to the line. That makes him very hit-or-miss on the offensive end. If they did sign him, the Heat would be wise to stagger Wade's and Dragic's minutes so that one of them could help run the bench units.
Williams is a nifty passer, and it would be fun to see the Heat take a page from the Suns' playbook and run three-guard lineups with him, Dragic and Wade.
Miami would likely take a real hit defensively, but there aren't a lot of teams capable of defending units like that. Spoelstra would have a lot of fun coming up with sets for the three to take advantage of.
All statistics accurate as of 2/19/2015 and courtesy of NBA.com/Stats or Basketball-Reference unless stated otherwise.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
