Miami Heat Rumors: Adding Shane Battier Means Mike Miller Is on His Way Out

The potential signing of free agent Shane Battier for the Miami Heat will spell the end to the short career of one of their free-agent signings last year in Mike Miller.

The Miami Heat will be very involved in this year’s free-agency period, as they are going to bring in a big name. However, it will not be met with the same response like when the Big Three were announced last year. 

That’s not to say that the targeted signing of Battier will not have a lot of coverage behind it. Already, Yahoo! is reporting that Battier is high on the Heat’s free-agent radar. 

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Battier has been a primary target in free agency for the Heat, and sources say the pitch of Riley, coach Erik Spoelstra and key Heat players could ultimately confirm Battier’s strong feelings about chasing a championship in Miami.

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Miller looks to start this season on the disabled list, as he is dealing with a sports hernia. With the one-time amnesty exception, the Heat could release Miller after his one year with the club. 

For Miller, being released would be a sad end to his short time with the Heat. He was brought in last year as the sharpshooter that would be the final piece to Miami’s championship puzzle. 

Instead what they got was someone that dealt with a thumb injury, a wrist injury, a concussion and now a sports hernia. 

If they do sign Battier when free agency starts, it will give Miami that healthy body that can take the pressure off of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. During the NBA Finals last year when James and Wade failed, Miller was not there to pick up the scoring. 

With the potential signing of Battier, it gives the Heat a player that has a career three-point percentage of 45 percent, a career field-goal percentage of 46.53 percent and has played in 78 or more games in eight out of his 10 years in the NBA. 

This signing will not have the same fanfare as the Big Three last year. However, adding Battier will solve their shooting problems. Now, when LeBron fades away in the fourth quarter, they will have a good option to pick up his production. 

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